Fact or Fiction: Healthy Pineapple Smoothie has more calories than a Pina Colada

Yes! Finally, warm weather is here and I am so ready for summer. As much as I do enjoy the winter, I am so much happier when the weather is warm and sunny. I hope you can relate with me on this next one, but I find, when summer rolls around so do the temptations! I’m tempted to drink more alcohol, I’m tempted to lie in the sun all day and sometimes I’m so busy soaking up all the summer activities that I forget to eat properly. I don’t work as a teacher and I'm no longer a student but somehow summer feels like vacation!

I recently shared a picture of my Virgin Pina Colada Pineapple Smoothie. I was inspired to make this treat for a few reasons, I had leftover pineapple in the fridge and the beautiful sun and warm weather had me craving something decadent. I’m not here to tell you to avoid all indulgences instead I’m here to educate. The more you know about the food you eat, the easier it will be for you to find a healthy balance. For me, I’m trying to enjoy some of the same treats I used to while staying happy and maintaining my healthy size.

Pineapple Smoothie Recipe

1/4 Fresh Pineapple

100g Liberte Vanilla 0%

1-2 Tbsp Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!

This might surpise you, when I compared my Pineapple Smoothie recipe with a Pina Colada recipe from foodnetwork.com there are only 33 calories in difference. I think this is a good time to mention that not all calories are built the same and therefore they should not be the only tool you use to determine the health of a food. Both beverages are of the heavier side for a beverage but are not suitable as a meal replacement. I’m careful not to replace my water intake with caloric drinks like juice or smoothies or beer. Each of these beverages can have around 150 to 400 calories per 12 ounce serving whereas; water is required for bodily functions and does not contain any calories.

“When I compared my Pineapple Smoothie recipe with a Pina Colada recipe there are only 33 calories in difference”

Let me break down the nutrition facts of both the Pineapple Smoothie and the standard Pina Colada. As I mentioned, they have similar caloric values of 283 and 250 respectively. Now you might wonder, why I would choose the Pineapple Smoothie over the tropical wonder that brings me back to one of my favorite girls trips to Mexico:

1. Protein – adding yogurt to the Pineapple Smoothie diversified the nutritional profile to include 11 grams of protein, which helps balance this beverage as well as helps with satiety, your fullness factor.

2. Choosing fresh fruit over juice - The fiber from fresh pineapple and shredded coconut slows down sugar absorption into our blood stream as well as making us feel full longer.

3. No added sugar – I chose to use whole fruit which naturally contains sugar and then I don’t add any honey or maple syrup because the vanilla flavoured yogurt already contains syrup as a sweetener. I think you could get away with using plain yogurt if you’re trying to eliminate your sugar intake.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have an amazing Cinco de Mayo celebration this week. Please leave any comments below and head on over to my instagram if you want to know what I'm up to in between blog posts!

-Megan

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PS Fitbit has got a sale going on right now if you'd like to stock up for the summer or give a gift to someone you care about.