Remember when your parents urged you to eat breakfast before leaving the house, because it’d help you focus and finally get better grades? Turns out they were right all along! In fact, after an overnight fast, starting the day with a nutrient-dense breakfast has been shown to aid cognitive function and increase brain function efficiency. In other words, no dozing off half way through your 8:30am class (unless you went to the Vil the night before, then I can’t do much for you).
A breakfast made up of protein, whole grains and essential fats keeps you feeling full and awake for longer. I won’t bore you too much with the science behind macronutrient digestion, but essentially, whole grains provide energy for thinking and rushing to class, as your brain and muscles thrive on the glucose provided by the fruit and oats in the smoothie recipe I will be sharing with you. Fats generally take longer to break down in your stomach, slow down digestion, and thus make you feel satiated for longer. Lastly, protein also takes some time to digest, and provides amino acids used for tissue repair as well as nail and hair growth, to mention a few functions.
Not to sound like your parents, but starting your day of with a serving or two of fruit is also great way to increase your daily fruit and vegetable intake (you should aim for 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables, if within your budget, according to Canada’s Food Guide), helping you fight off pesky colds and keeping your heart and digestive system running due to the fiber in the flesh and skin of many fruits and vegetables. But enough of that, here’s the recipe:
“I slept in” Tropical smoothie
Serves: 1 person
Prep Time: 3 mins
– 1 cup of milk (or desired dairy-free milk)
– ¼ cup cold water
– 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice (frozen bananas, berry mix, tropical mix etc.).
– ¼ cup of quick cooking oats (can also opt for certified GF oats)
– ½ Avocado
– Handful of greens (ex. spinach, kale, etc)
– Add honey or stevia to desired sweetness
– Add 2 tbps Chia seeds or flax seeds (suggested but highly optional).
Direction
- Put all ingredients in a blender, blend for a few seconds.
- Serve in to-go mug.
PRO TIP: Lots of grocery stores have a quick-sale section, buying ripe bananas or other fruits from that section can be frozen and used in your smoothies or other recipes for half the cost!
This recipe is budget and meal hall friendly, and can be modified to be gluten-free, dairy free and vegan, so give it a go whenever you have to rush to your first class!
Valentina Selviz is a Nutrition and Dietitics student with primary focus on Sports Nutrition and Kinesiology. She is currently studying to obtain her NASM personal trainer certification. For any comments, requests or questions email her at [email protected].
I love it, thanks Vale
Yummy so good!