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Fruit and veg smoothie

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Rob1969

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At risk of diabetes
My nurse has warned me to take action before I become pre-diabetic so I'm trying to eat more veg and wonder if creating a smoothie may help me consume some earlier in the day.

Checking previous posts it appears that the carbs get absorbed quicker when ingredients are blitzed and that fats may slow down the absorption of carbs. I dug out an old smoothie recipe that contained oats and wondered if (even when blitzed) the oats may slow down the absorbsion of the carbs and maybe I could add some full fat yoghurt.

This is what I'm thinking of without the added fats, 35g carbs in total.

30g rolled oats
100ml Alpro almond no sugars long life drink
50g kale
1 apple

I welcome comments and if I have to abandon the notion of smoothies - well so be it.
 
I think it will be a case of experimentation @Rob1969 to see what works for you. You could add some nuts eg walnuts, and seeds maybe. They would add healthy fats and nutrition. I’d personally say that 30g oats is a fair amount so I’d use less and add nuts/seeds instead, and/or a few berries for sweetness. If your smoothie is for One, you might also get away with half an apple rather than a whole apple, which would reduce carbs.

Kale is fabulous in salads if you’re looking to eat more of that. Swapping your lunchtime sandwich, if you have one, for a nice big salad is a good way to get extra veg in.
 
Inka said:
I think it will be a case of experimentation @Rob1969 to see what works for you. You could add some nuts eg walnuts, and seeds maybe. They would add healthy fats and nutrition. I’d personally say that 30g oats is a fair amount so I’d use less and add nuts/seeds instead, and/or a few berries for sweetness. If your smoothie is for One, you might also get away with half an apple rather than a whole apple, which would reduce carbs.

Kale is fabulous in salads if you’re looking to eat more of that. Swapping your lunchtime sandwich, if you have one, for a nice big salad is a good way to get extra veg in.
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Thanks for your reply. Kale in salads, I'm up for new food ideas so maybe kale, apple and beetroot with mackerel will work.
 
That is probably about 35g of what will almost certainly become fast acting carbs once you blitz them.... the glucose from the oats will hit the blood stream faster when they are broken down like that and no appreciable fat in that recipe to slow things down Yes it gets the kale into you but you destroy some of the benefit of those foods to your BG levels by pulverizing them. Would you be having this as a replacement breakfast or on top of something else like toast or cereal?

I think @Inka's suggestions for swaps is good but try to avoid the higher carb nuts like cashews and peanuts and have more seeds.

Almond production is horribly environmentally damaging so it does concern me when I read of so many people swapping to almond milk and using almond flour a lot in baking. I appreciate that everyone has to make their own choices but many people have no idea of the issues involved, let alone consider the air miles.

Personally I love kale sweated in a little butter or steamed and then tossed in bacon fat.... same as I would cook cabbage. You could then have a plate of it (much more than 40g) cooked as above, with bacon and eggs on top to make a really satisfying, tasty low carb breakfast and ideally all UK produce.
 
Rob1969 said:
Thanks for your reply. Kale in salads, I'm up for new food ideas so maybe kale, apple and beetroot with mackerel will work.
Click to expand...

Red cabbage finely shredded goes nicely with kale in a salad too. I strip out the thick kale stalks, wash the kale, then massage it with a little fresh lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl. Sounds weird but it softens it and makes it juicier. Then put it on a plate, finely slice the red cabbage and add that, plus maybe a few chickpeas or some dollops of hummus, along with a little fruit and seasoning. The nice thing about red cabbage is it’s cheap and keeps well for a few days.
 
Home made coleslaw is so much nicer than the shop bought slime.
I use whatever cabbage stuff I have (red or green) and a carrot (yes, I know it has carbs but it goes a long way when grated), some mayo and then whatever else I fancy - could be nuts, seeds (caraway reminds me of Germany), lemon juice, fresh herbs (dill is great ... but not with caraway), maybe even grated cheese. Basically, I empty my fridge and cupboards (and garden) into it and mix.
 
Rob1969 said:
Thanks for your reply. Kale in salads, I'm up for new food ideas so maybe kale, apple and beetroot with mackerel will work.
Click to expand...
I put all sorts of things in salads, chopped courgette, broccoli florets, spinach, rocket, seeds and nuts. It never just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber which seems to be the standard cafe salad.
 
Leadinglights said:
I put all sorts of things in salads, chopped courgette, broccoli florets, spinach, rocket, seeds and nuts. It never just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber which seems to be the standard cafe salad.
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When I worked in Germany, the staff canteen always had a salad bar which mostly contained yesterday's veg.
I wouldn't recommend cold Brussel sprouts.
 
helli said:
When I worked in Germany, the staff canteen always had a salad bar which mostly contained yesterday's veg.
I wouldn't recommend cold Brussel sprouts.
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I don't think Germans are renowned for their culinary prowess (no offence meant), people usually cook sprouts to death, nothing like putting them on to cook at the same time as the turkey.
I have seen recipes for sprout cake, not quite sure what it would taste like.
Shredded finely in a stir fry or mixed with walnuts with stilton crumbled over and popped under the grill they are transformed.
 
Sprouts and swede make quite an acceptable 'Bubble and squeak' particularly with bacon.
I bought a Nutribullet just before diagnosis and a few trials showed that smoothies were not an option for the carbohydrate challenged
Any finely divided carb containing food is very easily and quickly converted to blood glucose, causing a spike.
Just as a comparison, 35 gm of carbs is my whole days intake most days of the week, as I have a limit of 40gm.
 
Leadinglights said:
I don't think Germans are renowned for their culinary prowess (no offence meant)
Click to expand...
Having lived there, I feel, just like they are not renowned for their sense of humour, their reputation for less than great food is an unnecessary stereotype.
When I was in Berlin for the Christmas markets a few years ago, we had some amazing food.
 
I hate Brussel sprouts but will eat them as a salad with turkey & ham pie.

400g raw brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely shredded
Handful of pecans, roughly chopped
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp fresh cranberry sauce
Zest of ½ orange
 
Shredded raw sprout, stir fried with lardons. Blooming delish.
 
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