Sunday, January 5, 2014

Grinch Smoothie for 3 Weight Watcher Points





Update 2/10/15:  I'm so excited that I took the time to refigure the points on this smoothie.  Somehow I had marked on the bag of flax meal that the two-tablespoon serving was 4 points. It is NOT! The two-tablespoon serving size is only 1 Freakin' point! It must've been blonde math that made me quadruple the points in my notes/translation rather than divide it into Fourths. At any rate, it's almost an entire two points less than I originally thought! Lately, now that I'm working on improving my cholesterol numbers, I've been adding 1/4 c. of pomegranate juice for 1 point.

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Here are the ingredients to make a single serving with a slight banana flavor:

2/3 c.vanilla almond milk (1 point rounded up from .67)
1 oz. banana*
1 c. raw baby spinach loosely packed (0 points)
1/4 c. unpeeled (skin on) green apple (about 1 oz.)*
1/8 avocado (about 1 oz.)* (1 point for the 3 fruits combined)
1/2 rounded Tbs. flax meal (0.25 points per 1/2 Tbs.)
1/2 Tbs. honey (0.5 points)

* I have assigned the three-fruit combo a single point, as it is 0 points individually, but it's fruit! (The old WW Plan has points for fruit. I understand newer points systems have fruits as freebies)

Take all ingredients and blend well.

On my old Weight Watchers plan, this comes out to just over 3 points for me, at 3.25 points.  

Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s, which have been shown to have heart-healthy effects.  Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types of fiber too.  Research indicates that flax may reduce risks of certain cancers, as well as cardiovascular disease and lung disease. For more on flax, check out this information at WebMD. I also add it to other things where it fits.  They say 2 tablespoons a day offers a healthful heart benefit.

I adapted the above recipe into a single-serving size, but there's no issue with using a whole tablespoon of flax in it either.  Now that I fixed the points on this smoothie, I, as you, can double it up or have it again later in the day should I find myself hungry in between meals. 

Tip:  Freeze ingredients! I put the apple, banana, and avocado on a cookie sheet and freeze them in piles (per smoothie).  I put the spinach into individual bowls/cups and freeze that too! When all four items are frozen, I take one serving of the raw, frozen baby spinach and put it into a Food Saver bag with the pre-portioned, Frozen apple, banana, and apple and then add the flax meal to it too.  This way, all I have to do is cut open a bag, plop it into the Blender, add the almond milk and the honey, blend, and voila!




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