Before I was diagnosed, I always had a smoothie for breakfast. Unfortunately, the combination of orange juice, yogurt, banana and frozen fruit had over 100 grams of carb per serving. I tried over the years to eliminate the high carb ingredients and substitute soy or almond milk etc. but it just didn't taste good and so I resigned myself to a smoothie-less future. Well, I recently discovered a couple of tricks to create a great tasting smoothie: First, I substitute a 0 cal vitamin water for the juice. Secondly, I add a quarter of a frozen orange or lemon, peel and all, to bring out the citrus flavor. I buy organic fruit, cut them into quarters and keep them in the freezer. I have a blender that will grind them up nicely. The total carb count varies with the ingredients, but most are around 20 grams. Not super low carb, I know, but much better than 100 grams. Some of my favorite combinations are:
Blueberry/Lemon
1/2 cup blueberries
Cup of Vitamin Water Zero (Blueberry Acai Flavor)
1/4 lemon
Cup of almond/coconut milk or home made yogurt (made with 1/2 and 1/2) or Greek Yogurt
4-5 ice cubes
Strawberry/Orange
1/2 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries
Cup of Vitamin Water Zero (Blood Orange Flavor)
1/4 orange
Cup of almond/coconut milk or home made yogurt (made with 1/2 and 1/2) or Greek Yogurt
4-5 ice cubes
And, believe it or not, I also really enjoy a kale and lemon smoothie, sweetened with stevia.