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Smoothie Recipe FAQ


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Have you checked out the SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit?

This course contains 8 steps to building a better smoothie. If you have not yet viewed this course, check it out.

Good news! There’s no need to read all of the content below – instead, you can scan the table of contents and click the link of the question you are looking for. It will automatically take you to the section of the page where that question is answered. Once you have read the question, you will be able to jump back to the top of the contents.

If there are any questions that you have that are not answered below or in the Smoothie Quick Start Kit, go into the SANE Coaching and Support Group and ask your question there where your SANE Certified Coaching team will be able to assist.

Ingredients Questions

  1. Do I have to buy from the SANE Store to make these recipes?
  2. What is considered a SANE Cocoa Powder?
  3. What do I look for when buying a protein powder?
  4. What is the difference between the two SANE sugar substitutes?
  5. I have cinnamon in my cupboard at home. Can I use that?
  6. Can I sweeten and flavor my own protein powder?
  7. How much protein powder should I add?

 

Serving Size Questions

  1. The smoothie recipes say they make one serving. Is that right?
  2. Do I have to drink an entire smoothie in one sitting?

 

Storage and Preparation Questions

  1. Can I prepare smoothies in advance?
  2. Can smoothies be frozen?
  3. I don’t like to blend my smoothies in advance. How can I make regular smoothie preparation convenient and easy?

 

Texture Questions

  1. Why doesn’t smoothie have a nice smooth consistency?
  2. Why does my smoothie separate and lose its nice texture?
  3. How can I make a creamy smoothie with SANE ingredients?
  4. Do I need to own a Vitamix?

 

Temperature Questions

  1. Why is my smoothie warm?
  2. How do I achieve a cold smoothie?

 

Goal Questions

  1. How do I use smoothies to increase my non starchy vegetable intake?
  2. How do I use smoothies in place of a complete meal?
  3. I am new to smoothies, which recipe is best to start with?
  4. Is it possible to make a smoothie without any fruit?
  5. I don’t like smoothies, do I need to drink them to be SANE?

 

Ingredients Questions

Do I have to buy from the SANE Store to make these recipes?

None of the foods in the SANEStore are required to “Go SANE.” These foods are an excellent option if you would like to make metabolic healing more convenient and quicker. The items in the SANE Store are recommended due to their guaranteed quality, safety purity, potency, SANEity, and convenience, however, if you have an equivalent item in your area that you can use instead, you are welcome to use that. Please note that the supplement industry is NOT regulated. This means that you must be extra careful when selecting the sources of your supplements and superfood. The SANEStore tries to make this easier and safer for you.

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What is considered a SANE Cocoa Powder?

A SANE Cocoa Powder is one that is 100% raw and not Dutch Processed. It is commonly known as raw cocoa, or cacao. It has a slightly different flavor to standard cocoa. Also, make sure that the cocoa powder does not have any added sugar. We recommend SANE Mood Boosting Cocoa Powder as we can guarantee it’s quality, purity, and potency.

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What do I look for when buying a protein powder?

Whey: We recommend SANE Clean Whey Protein due to it’s guaranteed quality, safety, purity, potency, and SANEity. If you choose to purchase other Whey protein, Whey Protein Concentrate is less processed and preferred to than Whey Protein Isolate. Also, Grass Fed Whey contains highly bio-available BCAAs and essential amino acids which are beneficial for hormonal healing. Ensure the whey has not been sweetened or flavored with inSANE ingredients. Finally, be sure that the whey is sourced from hormone-free “happy” cows to avoid having harmful hormones and toxins transferred from the whey into your body.

Pea, Rice and Hemp: We recommend SANE Clean brands of these proteins due to their guaranteed quality, safety, purity, potency, and SANEity.These protein powders are a great alternative for people who cannot tolerate dairy. Ensure that the plant-based protein powder has not been sweetened or flavored with inSANE sweeteners. These protein powders are great in smoothies, however behave differently to whey when baked, so cannot be substituted when used in dessert recipes.

Beef: Beef protein is a newer product and is not available in some areas. Like with the other protein powders, make sure it is not sweetened or flavored with inSANE ingredients. It has the same beneficial properties that beef does, only available in a powder form and is perfect for smoothies.

Egg White: Like with the other protein powders, make sure it is not sweetened or flavored with inSANE ingredients. It has the same beneficial properties that an egg white does, but it is pasteurized powdered and is perfect for smoothies.

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What is the difference between the two SANE sugar substitutes?

Erythritol: This is a sweetener that has the lowest glycemic load on the body out of all of the SANE sweeteners. It does not behave like sugar when heated, which makes it perfect for sweetening smoothies.

Xylitol: This is a sweetener that acts the most like sugar, making it great to bake with. We recommend that this sweetener be used for baking and any applications where the recipe is heated.

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I have cinnamon in my cupboard at home. Can I use that?

Yes. There is no requirement to use the cinnamon sold on the store if you have it on hand already. Please note that conventional cinnamon can often contain toxic mold and other contaminants that silently cause hormonal disruption and weight gain. We recommend SANE Clean Cassia Cinnamon as we strive to provide you with the highest quality organically grown, raw, vegan, gluten free, non-GMO products available and exclusively uses low temperature drying techniques to preserve all the vital enzymes and nutrients. Our raw cinnamon powder is certified organic and passes our strict quality assurance which includes testing for botanical identity, heavy metals, chemicals and microbiological contaminants.

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Can I sweeten and flavor my own protein powder?

Absolutely! Purchasing a safe and SANE unsweetened/unflavored protein powder and flavoring it to your preference is a great way to control the flavor and sweetness, as well as ensure that your protein powder is SANE. What is easier than flavoring the powder itself is flavoring the dish (or smoothie!) that you are preparing.

This post from Ana Sward at Proteinpow.com is a great resource on Flavoring (and sweetening) your own protein powder.

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How much protein powder should I add?

If you are using your SANESmoothie as a meal, make sure to add one serving of Nutrient Dense Protein to it. If you choose to do this via a Clean Protein Powder, the size of one serving of the Clean Protein Powder is specified on it’s label.

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Serving Size Questions

The smoothie recipes say they make one serving. Is that right?

Yes. All of the smoothie recipes in the program make one serving of the given smoothie.

However, one of those smoothies may contain several servings of non starchy vegetables, and a serving of nutrient dense protein, whole food fats and low fructose fruits.

This is why when you blend a smoothie for the first time, the volume might be surprising. It tends to completely fill up your blender, or even need to be split across a couple of jugs.

The purpose of smoothies in a SANE context is to conveniently get in a large number of servings of non starchy vegetables – especially optimal green leafy vegetables. It might seem like a lot, though it is a lot more time consuming to sit and chew through the same volume of vegetables.

The idea is that this smoothie is sipped on throughout the day, consumed over a larger amount of time, rather than being drunk quickly like people can be used to when consuming other beverages. You could choose to have half of it in the morning and half in the evening if you felt that suited your lifestyle.

In short, yes it makes one smoothie portion, and yes it is likely to be more than you are used to!

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Do I have to drink an entire smoothie in one sitting?

No. The mantra ‘Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full’ also applies to smoothies. You can choose to transfer the smoothie into one large container and take it out of the fridge whenever you need, or you can portion out the smoothie into several smaller containers and drink from each one when the need arises.

You should never feel overstuffed or too full. If you are at a point with consuming your current smoothie where you cannot eat any more, then do not force yourself to finish it. Put it away and save it for later.

If you are concerned about how, or when to score the smoothie in the app, wait until you have finished the smoothie and score it as stated on the recipe page.

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Storage and Preparation Questions

Can I prepare smoothies in advance?

Yes. If it suits your lifestyle, you can blend a number of smoothies at once and keep them on hand in the refrigerator to drink over a the course of a week.

Note: While these smoothies are in the refrigerator, their contents may separate over time. Giving it a shake or a stir will typically bring it back together to close to its original texture.

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Can smoothies be frozen?

Yes. You can use any containers that you have on hand to freeze smoothies to consume later.

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I don’t like to blend my smoothies in advance. How can I make regular smoothie preparation convenient and easy?

Here are some tips to help with smoothie preparation if you don’t like to blend smoothies in advance.

  • Portion out any dry ingredients that you will be using into individual jars. These may include things such as protein powder, vegetable powders, SANE sweeteners, cinnamon and/or cocoa powder. When blending a smoothie, rather than measuring out each ingredient individually, having it all ready and waiting in a jar means that it can be emptied into your blender jug quickly.
  • Portion out leafy greens, other vegetables, low fructose fruits and whole food fats into individual containers or ziploc bags and keep in the refrigerator or freezer. Once ready to blend, the contents of the container or ziploc bag can be emptied into your blender jug quickly.

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Texture Questions

Why doesn’t smoothie have a nice smooth consistency?

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to improve the consistency, texture, and taste of your SANE Smoothies.

A lot of blenders struggle with blending leafy greens into a nice smooth consistency. If you do not have a high powered blender, it may struggle to process the greens to a smooth consistency. An option could be to let the greens go through several cycles in the blender on their own with water. Then when they are smooth, adding the other ingredients in towards the end. It takes a bit more time than if you used a high speed blender, though it should get the smoothie to a nice enough consistency to drink.

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Why does my smoothie separate and lose its nice texture?

If the entire smoothie is not drunk immediately (which is likely, given the volume of the smoothie), the emulsification from the blending action wears off, and the more buoyant items separate to float on top of the water in the smoothie. This can be minimized by using an emulsifier like guar gum or a creamy ingredient like avocado to bind the rest of the ingredients to the water. It is a normal process and one that is common – many packaged items say “Shake before opening”, this is to account for any natural separation that has occurred while the item is on the shelf.

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How can I make a creamy smoothie with SANE ingredients?

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to improve the consistency, texture, and taste of your SANE Smoothies.

The main ingredients that SANE advocate to create a creamy smoothie are avocado and guar gum. Guar gum is a natural emulsifier, though please use it carefully. It must be added while the blender is running by tapping a small amount on the side of the blender jug, for no longer than 10 seconds. A recommended brand of Guar Gum is Bob’s Red Mill. Xanthan gum does not behave the same way as guar gum and is recommended for baking.

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Do I need to own a Vitamix?

No, but it is highly recommended. While Vitamixes can be expensive, Jonathan has worked out a special deal where you will not pay over $700 plus shipping. You get the same Vitamix Jonathan uses plus free shipping for a special discounted price using code 06-041 at this page on the Vitamix website. If you have a blender that can process leafy greens to an adequate texture for your consumption, you do not need to buy a Vitamix specifically. Members of the SANE Family have successfully used other blenders. We’ve also seen that every member who has started using a Vitamix has greatly preferred their smoothier SANE Smoothies from that day forward.

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Temperature Questions

Why is my smoothie warm?

The blending process requires a lot of energy, most of it kinetic, to process the smoothie ingredients to a nice texture. In doing so, the smoothie heats up slightly while it is being blended. A warm smoothie is a sign that the ingredients have been blended for long enough and the greens have been broken down sufficiently.

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to help here.

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How do I achieve a cold smoothie?

The easiest way is after blending it to a point where you have achieved a thick texture, add in a handful of ice and re-blend until the ice has been processed.

Another alternative is putting the smoothie into a freezer safe container and placing in the freezer for 20 minutes. Be careful here, if you leave it in the freezer for too long it will freeze solid. 20 minutes will give it enough time to cool down to a nice temperature without freezing solid.

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to help here.

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Goal Questions

How do I use smoothies to increase my non starchy vegetable intake?

This is where you are happy with getting your Nutrient Dense Protein and Whole Food Fats from other sources, however are interested in using smoothies to increase your intake of non starchy vegetables.

To do this, your smoothies should consist of leafy greens, any other non starchy vegetables you wish to include (example: beets, cucumber, celery, carrot etc.), low fructose fruit and SANE sweeteners. Non caloric seasonings like ginger, cinnamon, lemon, apple cider vinegar can also be included, as well as non caloric textural aids like guar gum.

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How do I use smoothies in place of a complete meal?

To use smoothies as a complete meal replacement, include one serving of Nutrient Dense Proteins (example: egg white, whey/pea/rice/hemp/beef protein powder, greek yogurt or cottage cheese) and one serving of Whole Food Fats (example: chia seeds, cocoa powder, coconut, almonds, cashews, macadamias) in your smoothies. You can also increase the number, quality, and affordability of non-starchy vegetables within your smoothie by using SANESuperfoods such as Garden in My Glass.

The result you should aim for is 2-6 servings of Non Starchy Vegetables, 1 serving of Nutrient Dense Protein and 1 serving of Whole Food Fats.

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I am new to smoothies, which recipe is best to start with?

Start with recipes that consist of romaine lettuce and spinach. These greens contain less bitterness than others like arugula, kale, chard, etc.

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to improve the consistency, texture, and taste of your SANE Smoothies.

Recommended starter recipes within the program are:

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Is it possible to make a smoothie without any fruit?

Yes. Low Fructose Fruits are included for flavor, they are not required. If you prefer to have a smoothie without any fruit and just to be sweetened with a SANE sweetener, you are welcome to do so. In fact, studies suggest that if you have struggled with your weight for more than ten years, you will see best results if you minimize your sugar intake as much as possible. This includes natural sugars from fruits.

If you want to add flavor or sweetness that adds no sugar, here are some suggestions:

*Note: The above are suggestions for flavorings and no recipes currently exist in the program for these smoothies.

Please be sure to go through your SANE Smoothie Quick Start Kit as Jonathan shares an extensive list of tips and tricks to improve the consistency, texture, and taste of your SANE Smoothies.

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I don’t like smoothies, do I need to drink them to be SANE?

Smoothies do not need to be included in a SANE lifestyle if you are able to eat double digit servings of non-starchy vegetables without them. If you want to achieve long-term results, eating double digit servings of non-starchy vegetables daily is the single most important change you and make in your diet. Smoothies are one very convenient way achieve this daily non-starchy veggie goal.

The key is to find an enjoyable way for you to double digit servings on non-starchy veggies daily.. SANE is about finding practical ways to eat an abundance of hormone healing foods – foods that we can see ourselves eating for the rest of our lives. If smoothies do not fall into that category for you, you do not have to eat them.

The reason why smoothies are encouraged in the SANE program is that it is a convenient way to consume a lot of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables. Other non-smoothie ways of consuming lots of vegetables are vegetable purees and mashes. Soups are also fantastic. There are soup recipes in the program that can help with this.

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– Raina Singh, Master Certified SANE Coach