The Smoothie Builder

Hey all you smoothie fans! Need to know how to take your smoothie to the extreme? Whether you make a smoothie for breakfast or have one as a snack, its not about the size of the smoothie, its what is in it that counts! Here are some of tips to get the most out of your liquid meal.

Basics:
Every smoothie needs to start with a base.  Your base should include your fruits or veggies, whether they be juiced or whole.
Try- Bananas, Berries (organic please), Apples/Pears (either whole or juiced), Dark leafy greens ( I always use whole dark leafy greens in every smoothie, favorites are spinach or kale), Carrots (juiced), citrus fruits (freshly squeezed lemons, limes, oranges or grapefruits), beets (juiced)
Remember that your basics are just the start of your smoothie and contain all carbs, vitamins and minerals.  When using these you dont want to have more then a cup and try to not use all fruits because of their sugar content. A good mix is half fruit with half veggies.

Fillers:
After selecting your basics you now need some fillers to fatten your smoothie up! The more fillers you add the longer the smoothie will satisfy you.

Carbs- Add some extra carbs to your smoothie, this is good for any pre or post workout to refuel your muscles.  Keeping in mind that all your basics are pure carbs you only want to start to add extra when replacing a meal or when exercising.
-Sweet potato (a baked sweet potato can blend nicely into any smoothie especially chocolate ones)
-Oats ( don't need to cook them just add them dry)
-Powders (there are some pre or post workout or meal replacement powders you can buy that are usually mainly carbs)

Fats-  Adding fats to your smoothie will delay stomach emptying time and your smoothie will keep you full for a longer period of time.  Please don't use fats if you are making a pre or post work out smoothie though.
-My favorites to add are either a tbsp of coconut oil or some avocado (about 1/4)

Fiber- Fiber needs to be an important part of your diet, in this case though it will be used to delay stomach emptying time and help to slow the release of any sugars into your blood stream.  If you used whole fruits and veggies then there will already be fiber in it but it never hurts to add a little extra.
-My go to is ground flax (1 tbsp), but you can use chia seeds, just remember that they will add a gelatinous texture.

Protein- Protein is important depending on what the smoothie is used for.  If it is for a post workout or breakfast then most definitely add protein, but if it is just for a snack, the protein is optional. 
-When adding protein I always go for a protein powder. 

Extras:  Your smoothie can always be taken to the max by adding some extra body boosting ingredients such as antioxidant powders/supplement, vitamin and minerals (either in liquid or powder form), or even flavors like cacao powder.

So now that you have become a smoothie expert feel free to go out and try mixing different things together.  You will eventually find some favourites! And if you do, please feel free to share! Happy Smoothie Making!

Fancy a drink...or two ....or five?

So I recently did a speech for a class on how alcohol effects your body and what happens in your body after it is consumed.  Here is some of the info...enjoy!
Beer is the worlds most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and is produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar.
When you consume alcoholic beverages (such as beer) 20 percent of the alcohol is absorbed in your stomach and 80 percent is absorbed in your intestines.  After the alcohol is absorbed it enters your blood stream and then 10 percent of it it removed through your kidneys (urine) and lungs (breath) which is why they can use breathalyzers to find out your blood alcohol level. (side note: please dont drink and drive or do anything that requires coordination where you could hurt yourself or others).  The other 90 percent is broken down in the liver and goes from alcohol to acetic acid.
When the alcohol reaches the liver it is broken down in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes by removing hydrogen in 2 steps.  Women actual have less of this enzyme which is why woman will often gte drunk faster then men (ladies please down try and drink a guy under the table...you will most likely lose unfortunately)  In the first step the alcohol dehydrogenase oxides the alcohol to acetaldehyde.  Step 2 uses the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and oxidizes the acetaldehyde to acetyl CoA and produces hydrogen ions.  The vitamin Niacin now picks up these hydrogen ions (drinking tip: if you take some Niacin or a B complex before a night of drinking and it will detox the hydrogen ions faster so you wont be hungover in the A.M) which leads to an accumulation of NADH which slows the cycle and results in a build up of pyruvate and acetyl CoA.  This results in fatty acid synthesis and over time the fat will clog the liver resulting in a fatty liver.

How your six pack turns into a keg?
When you drink alcohol your liver works on detoxing the alcohol from your body so when you consume food it doesn't use the fuel from the food it just stores it away as fat.  Your appetite will increase when you drink alcohol and because of how it affects your blood glucose levels you usually dont crave a salad while your drinking.  As you age your calorie intake should decrease so if you continue to drink the same amount of calories in alcohol you will be increasing your weight.  And where this fat will go on your body is different based on gender, women have more subcutaneous fat and store the weight in their thighs whereas men who don't have as much subcutaneous fat will store the weight in their stomachs.

Finally just some facts on how alcohol effects your health!
Arthritis -Increases risk of gouty arthritis
Cancer -Increases the risk of cancer in the liver, pancreas, rectum, breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx and
esophagus
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome -Causes physical and behavioral abnormalities in the fetus
Heart Disease -Raises blood pressure, blood lipids and the risk of stroke and heart disease in heavy
drinkers. Heart disease is generally lower in light to moderate drinkers.
Hyperglycermia -Raises blood glucose
Hypoglycemia -Lowers blood glucose, especially for people with diabetes
Kidney Disease -Enlarges the kidneys, alters hormone functions, and increases the risk of kidney
failure
Liver Disease -Causes fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis
Malnutrition -Increases the risk of protein-energy malnutrition,; low intakes of protein, calcium, iron,
vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6 and riboflavin, and impaired absorption of calcium,
phosphorus, vitamin D and zinc.
Nervous Disorders -Causes neuropathy and dementia; impairs balance and memory
Psychological disturbances -Causes depression, anxiety and insomnia

CHEERS! (be safe)