My favourite blood sugar-balancing smoothies

I’m excited to share my all-time favourite breakfast (and occasional snack or dinner, if I’m being honest!) recipe today. Breakfast has always been my favourite meal, but for a long time I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to setting my day up for success and would opt for things that might have worked for others but always left me feeling not the best. This was before continuous glucose monitors hit the scene, otherwise I would have been able to see the blood sugar spikes and clued in much sooner.

It certainly took some trial and error, but I’m happy to report that I’ve come up with a breakfast formula that helps keep my blood sugars balanced (see below!) and sets me on the right path for the day. I’ve been obsessed with smoothies for as long as I can remember, but so many recipes aren’t optimized for keeping blood sugars stable, so that part was a learning curve for me. Many recipes online call for a juice base, flavoured yogurt, or heaps of fruit with high sugar content (mangos, bananas, etc.). While I totally believe those have a time and a place, I wanted a smoothie that didn’t include those ingredients.

The formula that I use is derived from Kelly Leveque’s Fab Four system, where she advocates that all smoothies (and meals, for that matter) should include fat, fibre, protein, and greens. Kelly’s book is a great resource and goes over all of the science behind why this combo works, but essentially these ingredients help to delay the release of sugar into the blood stream, ensuring no or minimal blood sugar spikes. Her book was the first time I had ever seen a “normal person” discuss the importance of balancing blood sugars and I was hooked. I knew I needed to try out her recipe formula and see how I found it, as someone who could literally watch and see if my blood sugar spiked or not. It sounded too good to be true!

Turns out, it wasn’t! The first day I had a smoothie with fat, fibre, protein, and greens, I didn’t spike at all, and I’ve basically been having versions of the same smoothie ever since. Now, I say that I use Kelly’s formula as a base because some of her smoothie recipes are ahem a bit challenging ahem on the taste buds, especially if you’re not used to eating super healthy foods. So after some modification, here is my everyday bloog-sugar balancing smoothie, plus a few different versions!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (you can add more or less depending on the thickness you like; I prefer mine a bit runnier)

• 4 ice cubes OR 1/2 a frozen banana

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds

• 1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter (can sub for another type of nut butter)

• 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

• dash of cinnamon

• 1 scoop protein powder (my fav is this chocolate one from Niyama Wellness)

• 1 handful of spinach

This is the smoothie I have almost daily, and it’s usually about 10-15 carbs depending on the brands I use (make sure to carb count your own ingredients before bolusing as we’re all different!). I find that it keeps me full in the morning and my blood sugars don’t budge, but check out the tips below for ways to customize based on blood sugar levels!

Daily Green Smoothie

I don’t have this one as often as my chocolate PB smoothie, but it does make me feel like the ultimate pillar of wellness when I do:

• 2 cups of water (you can also use any kind of milk, but I find water gives a nicer taste)

• 1/2 frozen banana

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds

• 1 tablespoon nut butter or coconut oil (coconut oil adds a nice tropical taste)

• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I love this one from Niyama Wellness, but it does have an orangey hue, just FYI!)

• 1/3 of a cucumber

• 1 handful of spinach or kale

• 2 stalks of celery (optional)

Mixed Berry Medley Smoothie

When I’m craving something super fresh, this hits the spot! Berries are also nice because they aren’t as high in sugar as some other fruits, so I find I can eat more of them compared to something like mango or banana.

• 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

• 1/2 a banana (I’ll leave this out if my blood sugar is higher or if I’m not planning on being super active during the day, but totally up to you! It does add a nice flavour and creaminess)

• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk

• 1 tablespoon nut butter

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds

• 1 scoop protein powder OR 1/2 cup unsweetened greek yogurt (also adds a nice creaminess)

• 1 handful of spinach (this will turn your smoothie a lovely brown colour, so if that bothers you leave this out. I make up my mind based on the day haha)

Tips

• Depending on the day and how I’m feeling, I’ll adjust the amount of fruit I put in my smoothie. If I just finished or will soon be doing a workout or my blood sugar is trending down, I often add 1/2 a banana or 1/2 cup of mango. If my blood sugar is starting off on the higher side or if I know I’m going to be sitting for a lot of the day, I’ll leave the banana out or reduce the amount of fruit I’m having just to keep the variables to a minimum

• That being said, fruit is one of the things I modify the most from Kelly’s formula. Her philosophy is to have no more than 1/2 a cup of fruit at any time because it will impact your blood sugars, but since we’re in control of the insulin, I think that gives us more wiggle room to add whatever fruit we want. My go-to is adding some banana because I find the taste isn’t overpowering and banana goes with most smoothie recipes, but I also like berries, mango, and peaches, basically whatever I have ready to go in the freezer. But suffice to say I’m pro-fruit, so you do what works for you!

• I don’t always add spinach or greens to my smoothies, because some days I just don’t want to :)