It’s hot outside. Do not you want to cook. You just want a nice refreshing drink to cool you down and fill you up. Well, you can have that and lose weight at the same time. Weight loss shakes are the answer to delicious and nutritious summer weight loss.
Once you understand the basics of a weight loss shake, you’re only limited by your taste buds when it comes to the endless combinations you can try. But first, let’s review what makes them weight loss shakes and not just old high-calorie shakes.
1. Weight loss shakes rarely, if ever, use milk in the recipe. And if they do, it’s skim milk, soy milk, or skim milk powder.
2. The refreshing coolness of a weight loss shake comes from crushed ice or frozen fruit, not ice cream or sherbet.
3. A shake for weight loss is intended to be a replacement for a meal, a dessert. There is nothing on earth that you can drink with a meal that will make you lose weight.
Those are the basic rules. Your weight loss base should be as follows:
or cold water
or crushed ice
or 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk, if you want a creamy consistency
or 1 tablespoon flax seed or wheat germ oil (for added health benefits, they don’t change the flavor at all!
Once you get those items, all you need is a blender and you’re good to go. Simply add your favorite ingredients, blend in a blender, and pour into a glass to enjoy your weight loss shake.
Most people drink their weight loss shakes in the morning: they get all their vitamins and a healthy dose of natural sugars to kick-start their metabolism, without the mid-morning coma-inducing aspects of bread products or the gaseous effects of milk with cereal.
Even out of season, you can buy bags of frozen berries and store them in the fridge to pour into your blender for a frozen treat. You can also cut up your fruit beforehand and freeze it too.
For an extra dose of protein and great flavor, add a tablespoon of low-fat peanut butter to a banana smoothie. Try it. It’s delicious.
If you like pineapple, substitute coconut milk or even coconut chunks for the skim milk above, for a daiquiri flavor that’s hard to beat.
Make sure you don’t cheat by buying your shake or smoothie at Starbucks. Starbucks tends to use sugary syrups and other ingredients that bump up the calorie count, which defeats the point of calling it a weight-loss shake.
Want the “crunchy stuff” that’s popular in some shakes? Add some walnuts to the mix and voila.
If you’re a chocoholic, don’t despair. Carob powder will give you that chocolate flavor you love so much, without sacrificing calories or fat.