Is Your Smoothie Fertility-Friendly?
Is Your Smoothie Fertility-Friendly?
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of smoothies. I prefer to chew my food rather than drink it, and I find I’m often hungry shortly after having a smoothie, even when my smoothies are balanced.
But don’t get me wrong, I can definitely understand the appeal. Where else can you get an abundance of fruits and veggies, healthy fats and protein all in one shot?!
Smoothies are easy to make, perfect when rushing out the door and it’s true, they can be pretty yummy.
I want to share some common mistakes I see patients make time and time again with their smoothie recipes.
And below, I will also share a fool-proof formula to ensure your smoothie is packing a serious fertility-enhancing punch!
Common Mistakes and our Fertility Smoothie Formula
The most important smoothie tip is to ensure your smoothie is balanced, which means it has enough healthy fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates. Often, we cram our smoothies chock-full of high-glycemic fruits, and although fruits are rich in nutrients that our bodies need, fast-acting sugars in fruits can quickly add up, creating a roller-coaster for our blood sugar levels.
Healthy fats, plant sources of protein, and complex carbohydrates have all been shown to support optimal fertility – see this study. On the other hand, consuming too many simple carbohydrates are actually associated with being harmful to fertility.
Another bonus to making balanced smoothies, is that by incorporating enough healthy fats and protein, you’ll likely be less ravenous shortly after drinking it.
In addition to all this good stuff, we recommend adding 1 (or more!) servings of dark, leafy greens, and 1 serving of high-antioxidant fruit. You’d be surprised at how much dark leafy greens you can squeeze into a smoothie, without having to compromise on taste - think spinach, swiss chard, beet greens or kale!
Our Fertility-Friendly Smoothie Formula
1-2 servings of healthy fat
1 serving of plant-based protein
1 (or more!) servings leafy greens (pack as much as you can in - this is a fantastic way to meet your daily intake of vegetables!)
1 serving of high-antioxidant fruit (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & fresh or frozen cranberries - not dried!)
Full-fat dairy (if dairy works for you – see our blog on dairy and fertility)
*Complex carbohydrates come from the fruit and plant sources of protein.
How can you get these ingredients in your smoothie, you ask?
Healthy Fats in your Fertility Smoothie (1 -2 servings)
Nut butters – 1 serving = 2 tbsp of almond butter = 7g of protein
almond and peanut butters pack the highest protein punch at 7g/serving vs. cashew butter which is approximately 3-4g/serving
pro tip: look at the ingredients and choose brands with a shorter list - ideally just “almonds” or “peanuts”- beware of hidden sugars!
Avocado– 1 serving= 1/3 of avocado or 50g
over 75% of the fat in avocados is “good” fat with 5g coming from monounsaturated fat (MUFA) and 1g from polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) per 50g serving
Olive oil - 1 “glug” is about ½ tablespoon which is about 7g of fat
comprised mainly by mono and polyunsaturated fats and is by far the healthiest oil to support fertility – you often can’t taste a few glugs in your smoothie
*I would avoid coconut oil (I don’t believe it is as healthy as the coconut oil industry claims, but maybe more on that later)
Plant-based protein in Your Fertility Smoothie
Soft tofu - serving size (85g or 3oz) - 5g protein
Soy beans - serving size (1/2 cup) - 11 g of protein
not only do these beans pack a serious amount of protein, they contain only 1g of active carbohydrates! One serving contains a whopping 7g of fiber, which will help keep you regular AND keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day
**PRO TIP: when reading labels, to find the net carbohydrate count, always subtract “fibre” from “Total Carbohydrates”
Almonds or peanuts or walnuts
Almonds: (1 serving = 1/4 cup) - 6g of protein
Peanuts (1 serving = 1/4 cup) - 7g of protein
Walnuts (1 serving = 1/4 cup) - 4g of protein - walnuts top the charts with the highest omega-3 fat content of all the nuts containing approximately 2.5g (5x more than pecans!)
Spirulina (1 serving = 4 tsp) - 8g of protein
Spirulina is a fantastic way to up your iron intake as just 1 serving contains 40% of the daily recommended intake!
*As always, we recommend obtaining the nutrients our bodies need through whole foods. If looking for an alternative way to get adequate protein, ask your ND for a powder/supplement recommendation.
Leafy Greens for your fertility Smoothie
A no-brainer!
Spinach
Brimming with iron, folate and zinc (in addition to countless other nutrients) which are three minerals essential to optimize fertility
Kale
Jam-packed with beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, antioxidants and fiber - easily the super star of the super greens! For a milder taste, opt for baby kale versus the bolder Lacinato and curly variety
Chard
Rich in vitamin K, A, C, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium! Chard is less fibrous than kale and is easily blended for a seamless addition to any smoothie.
Beet greens
Who knew the tops of this root vegetable could pack such a potent punch? Utilize these gorgeous greens! With a soft taste and impressive nutrient profile, containing vitamin A, C, K, iron, copper and magnesium, the last thing you want is to toss these in your green bin!
High antioxidant fruit
Blackberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Goji berries
Cranberries (fresh or frozen but not dried)
Full-fat dairy
If you tolerate dairy well, add a serving to your smoothie for an extra protein, fat and caloric boost (see our post on dairy and fertility). Dairy is an exceptional source of calcium and potassium, and by choosing full-fat, you don’t compromise taste and avoid the added-sugars often hiding in the “low-fat” varieties.
Full fat yogurt – 3-6% fat
Homogenized milk
Bonus Round - Amp up your fertility-boosting beverage with any of these additions
Chia seeds - full of fibre, protein and omega-3’s (drink it quickly though - so it doesn’t get thick and goopy)
Flax seeds - full of fibre, protein and omega-3’s
Fish oil - anti-inflammatory
Beets - folate, iron and nitric oxide - blood building & promotes pelvic blood flow
Green tea - high antioxidant value
Is your blend not tantalizing your tastebuds? Toss in one of these:
half a banana
more blueberries
a few cubes of frozen mango
half an apple
cinnamon
unsweetened cocoa powder
*Try to avoid juices where possible as they are packed with simple sugars
If you can remember this formula (1-2 serving of healthy fats, 1 serving of plant-based protein, leafy greens and high-antioxidant fruit), your smoothie will get the fertility seal of approval.
Here are some delicious fertility friendly-smoothie recipes:
https://minimalistbaker.com/creamy-avocado-banana-green-smoothie/ (We recommend adding in berries and 1-3 glugs of olive oil)
https://meaningfuleats.com/green-smoothie-week-cherry-almond-spinach-smoothie/ (you can boost the healthy fats in this one with some avocado, or olive oil)
Cheers!