Nutrition for the Entire Family with Smoothies Gone WILD!

On August 3rd, an enthusiastic group of registered dietitians (RD), foodies and moms joined us (@WildBBerries) and the RDs over at NutriBullet Living (@NutriBulletUNI) for a LIVE Twitter chat about Smoothies Gone WILD with Nutrition. Using #WildYourSmoothie, we talked about everything from upping the nutrition in smoothies for back-to-school, to the versatility of NutriBullets, and of course, Wild Blueberries.

The number one goal of the chat was to make sure parents had some awesome nutrition information to make great smoothies to help fuel their kids as they headed back to school. . With busy mornings, smoothies are often the perfect nutrient rich grab-and-go breakfast solution even for the pickiest of eaters.  Smoothies loaded with important nutrients like Wild Blueberries can provide kids a great start to their day and get them through a long day of learning by helping them to improve their focus and concentration in the classroom.

We also learned about the NutriBullet University program taking place in schools across the country to help educate children about how to eat better and stay health. If you haven’t heard about this amazing program, you can read about it here!

During the #WildYourSmoothie chat, we discovered that our profound love of smoothies was shared throughout the Twitter-verse. The crazy busy on-the-go lifestyles that so many of us share make smoothies a fabulous option, especially when everyone is trying to get out of the house on time. NutriBullets are also a great tool for families on the go – they can blend 1 – 2 servings at a time, and are so easy to use and clean up.

We asked our Twitter Chat attendees how they made sure their smoothies were tasty AND healthy which lead to a debate over whether taste or nutrition should take top priority when making smoothies. The answer was surprising – neither!  Our attendees said it doesn’t matter how good a smoothie tastes, or how healthy it is – unless the color looks appealing. Interesting! If the color of the smoothie was yuck, kids said forget it!

Since several attendees admitted to hiding vegetables like spinach or kale in their children’s smoothies, we at Wild Blueberries had to let them know that adding just a half a cup of Wild Blueberries per serving is a nutritious way to camouflage those dark green colors (and flavors), allowing kids to drink up! Mixing the smoothies up in a NutriBullet also helped to create a smooth, consistent texture, perfect for palettes of all ages!

When smoothies become a part of your daily routine, people often stick to the same recipe and don’t play around with different ingredients as much. The RD team at NutriBullet Living had some great ideas for ingredients to have on hand to keep smoothies fresh and inspiring. Things like chia seeds, hemp seeds and spices like turmeric, cardamom and even fresh ginger were top of their list. #WildYourSmoothie attendees were also eager to share some of their favorite smoothie making trends – turns out spicy smoothies are totally in vogue! Jalapeños were a universal favorite.

Huge shout out to everyone who came and tweeted along during our #WildYourSmoothie Twitter chat – especially the team at NutriBullet Living (Gigi, Sarah, Krista & more!). If you have any questions about smoothies, frozen Wild Blueberries, back to school nutrition, or anything NutriBullet related, including their in-school NutriBullet University program, feel free to send us a tweet at @WildBBerries or the NutriBullet Living team at @NutriBulletUNI and include #WildYourSmoothie in your tweet!

Check out our original #WildYourSmoothie Twitter Chat blog post here, or catch the Storify archive here!

NutriBullet RDs Share Their Favorite Smoothie Ingredients

As registered dietitians and health research scientists, we all love working with food and seeing the positive impact it can have on peoples’ health. That’s why the NutriBullet is an amazing tool — it helps transform health by increasing fruit and vegetable intake in the average daily diet. Sometimes, by simply changing the texture of a food, you can appreciate it in a whole new way.

As NutriBullet RDs, we get a lot of opportunity to play around in the kitchen and blend together new combos of fruits and vegetables. Over the years, we’ve come to love certain foods in our NutriBlast smoothies, not only because they taste delicious, but because they offer so many great and nutritious health benefits. Here’s a roundup of some of our very our favorite ingredients:

Sarah Greenfield, RD CSSD – One of my favorite ingredients to use in a NutriBlast are figs! They’re high in fiber and they’re so sweet that just a little goes a long way. They also play a beneficial role in digestion, which I love!

Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet lacks good sources of fiber. It’s recommended women consume 25g of fiber and men consume upward of 38g of fiber on a daily basis.. Fiber helps keep you full so you eat less overall, it helps balance hormones and blood sugar levels, and, most importantly, it helps promote regularity. When you eat more figs, you’re consuming more fiber! When they’re in season, I eat them almost every day!

While fiber is a good for you, make sure to eat figs in moderation. Too many can sometimes lead to excess bloating and upset stomach.

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Sarah’s favorite recipe: Healthy Almond Fig Blast

Gigi Kwok-Hinsley DrPH, MS, RD – I like to look for ingredients with a variety of color. Right now, my absolute favorite smoothie ingredient is a beet. Beets contain iron, a variety of B vitamins and are packed full of phytochemicals, which have a wide array of health benefits.

What’s so intriguing about phytochemicals is their ability to protect the body. Researchers have examined the mechanism of phytochemicals within the body and have shown they help boost immune function, inhibit the progression of chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, cancer and age-related macular degeneration,) and decrease inflammation. While more research is needed to solidify these findings and understand the right amount needed to attain these health benefits, it’s clear that—no matter which research article you read—phytochemicals are an asset to your daily diet.

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Gigi’s favorite recipe: Beet and Wild Blueberry Surprise

Susie Rockway, PhD, C.N.S. – Although I’m not a dietitian, my passion has always been nutrition. My degrees and my work have led me to like-minded people whose goals are to achieve long and vibrant lives though healthy eating. I’ve developed supplements, worked in labs conducting research and have always been fascinated by the impact real, whole food can have on health. That’s why I love using Wild Blueberries when I make my smoothies – the perfect high-antioxidant, low-glycemic fruit with tons of flavor. And like beets, Wild Blueberries are high in phytochemicals.

Wild Blueberries contain 2 times the antioxidant power of regular blueberries and are great for the brain. They can protect the body from inflammation, which is thought to be a main cause of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. I love to mix Wild Blueberries with a generous amount of greens, like spinach and celery, and I use coconut water as my base. These truly are some of the healthiest foods you can eat!

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Susie’s favorite recipe: Wild Blueberry Celery Blast

Krista Haynes, RD – I really like almonds, because they contain healthy fats and can help keep you full. Smoothies are the perfect meal replacements, so I love ensuring that I have the right balance of nutrients to fuel me through to my next meal.

Contrary to popular belief, “Fat on the lips does not necessarily mean fat on the hips!” When you eat foods containing dietary fat, you do not signal insulin secretion and, once fat is absorbed, it goes through a metabolic process that turns its components – glycerol and free fatty acids – into energy, hormones, ketone bodies, or triglycerides. Triglyceride is the storage form of fat. When dietary fat is reduced and replaced with carbohydrates, then insulin levels raise and this “storage” hormone most likely will increase. Replace those carbohydrates, especially junk food carbs that don’t energize your body long term, with foods containing healthy fats, like almonds! That’ll help reduce the fat stored by your body and keep you fuller, longer.

Krista’s favorite recipe: Berrylicious