Smoothie Recipes To Support Your Weight Loss Journey

Smoothies are a convenient on-the-go option for breakfast. They can be a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your day, and if you choose the right combination of ingredients, can fill you up for less kilojoules than you might expect. 

How should I incorporate smoothies into my meal planning?

While you’re on a reduced kilojoule plan for weight loss, a smoothie can be a great way to curb your hunger between meals.  The key is to keep it low in kilojoules – to do this you can focus on using a range of fresh fruits and vegetables from the Free Foods and Limited Free Foods lists in your Jenny Craig Grocery Guide. 

Alternatively, if you’re looking for an easy way to include fruit and dairy foods into your day, combine your favourite combination with some ice for a quick morning or afternoon snack.

It’s good to note that although a smoothie can be filled with healthy ingredients, it can be very easy to consume many more kilojoules than you might if you were to eat those ingredients as whole foods. 

Think of a mango and banana smoothie with milk, nut butter, chia seeds, yoghurt and honey – when you separate these ingredients, it might look like this:

• • 300mL milk (a little more than 1 cup)
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 2 frozen mango cheeks
  • 1 tablespoon of almond (or other nut better) spread
  • 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
  • 100g yoghurt (1/2 a small tub)
  • 1 tablespoon honey + large handful of ice

If you were to sit down to snack on these fresh ingredients, you would probably stop after the milk and banana because that would be filling enough. However, when you blend this into a smoothie (or buy it freshly made), it’s really easy to drink the whole large cup! 

This smoothie could just about give you enough kilojoules to cover what your body needs for both breakfast and lunch!

A smoothie versus the whole food

When you blend fruits, vegetables, seeds and other fibre-rich foods, the blender breaks down the fibre structure, making it quicker for your body to digest – and this can often mean you end up feeling hungry more quickly afterwards. 

Whole foods can often be a better choice for eating less and for helping you to feel fuller for longer, so choose the option that you think is right for you.

 The bottom line is, smoothies can definitely have their  place in your journey to a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight.  If you’re mindful of the ingredients and the quantities you’re using, you get the benefits of:

• • a healthy and convenient meal on the go
  • an opportunity to include more plant foods into your diet
  • an increased chance to achieve the recommended daily intakes for fruits, vegetables and calcium rich dairy foods (or fortified plant-based milks).  

So why not try one of the smoothie recipes below for a kilojoule-friendly boost of nutrition?

For breakfast on the go

Banana Smoothie with Hazelnut and Almond

1. Combine 1 packet of Jenny Craig’s Hazelnut & Almond Cereal with
   • • 1 small frozen banana
     • 1 cup skim milk
     • 1 large handful of ice
     • ½ tsp vanilla essence
     • a large handful of baby spinach leaves
2. Blend on high speed for 3 minutes and serve in an insulated cup for a delicious breakfast on the go.

Jenny Craig Grocery Serves: 1 vegetable serve, 1 fruit serve, 1 dairy serve

To boost your daily vegetables 

Mixed Berry, Mint and Greens Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1 lebanese cucumber
• 1 celery stalk
• A large handful of spinach (or kale leaves)
• ½ a small fresh beetroot
• A few fresh mint leaves
• A squeeze of fresh lime juice
• ½ cup orange juice
• A large handful of ice
• A little water if smoothie is too thick

Blend on high speed for 3 minutes and serve immediately for a refreshing mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

Jenny Craig Grocery Serves: 2 limited free food serves, 3 vegetable serves, 1 fruit serve

Or why not try another one of our delicious smoothie recipes?

Tropical Smoothie Bowl

Banana and Cinnamon Smoothie

Green Smoothie

If you’re a Jenny Craig member, speak with your Coach about how you can incorporate this recipe into your personal menu plan.

Danielle Bowman, Dietitian

Accredited Practising Dietitian

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Danielle is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, and the Nutrition and Program Manager at Jenny Craig. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics, both from Deakin University. She has worked in clinical nutrition, corporate food industry settings, as well as in private practice. She’s passionate about guiding people towards diet and lifestyle choices that bring benefits to their health and wellbeing.