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!

Smoothies Gone WILD with Nutrition

Join @NutriBulletUNI and @WildBBerries for a #WildYourSmoothie Twitter Chat on Wed Aug 3 at 11am PDT/2pm EDT

Smoothie-making was once viewed as a habit of the health and fitness crowd, but today they’ve become a central part of the American diet. Their portability makes them the perfect nutrition-packed snack or meal replacement for on-the-go lifestyles. Smoothies also make a great breakfast or post workout snack – even dessert – and they come in so many combinations they can win over the pickiest of eaters.

Smoothies GoneWILD with Nutrition (1)

Making a great smoothie means having all the right ingredients and tools on hand to deliver ultimate taste and nutrition! That’s why the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) and NutriBullet University – a hands on Education & Healthy Eating Experience for Students with NutriBullet, the World’s Original Nutrient Extractor, have teamed up for this LIVE Twitter chat. If you’d like to join the discussion, follow the #WildYourSmoothie hashtag @WildBBerries and @NutriBulletUNI on Wednesday August 3rd at 11am PDT/2pm EDT. You can also join the LIVE discussion via TweetChat, following #WildYourSmoothie.

 Who should attend:

This #WildYourSmoothie Twitter chat is perfect for ANYONE looking to up their smoothie game or improve their family’s nutrition with healthy smoothies – great for moms and dads, kids, nutritionists, registered dietitians, mom bloggers and YOU! The back-to-school season is upon us and this Twitter chat is a great way to be inspired to help your kids start the new year full of the nutrients they need to grow and learn.

Some questions we’ll address during this LIVE 60-minute discussion include and MORE:

  • What are the hottest trends in building healthy (and delicious) smoothies?
  • How can parents sneak more nutrition into their kids’ diets with smoothies?
  • Why is nutrition especially important during back-to-school season?
  • How can a Wild Blueberry breakfast smoothie boost memory and concentration in kids?
  • How is NutriBullet working to improve nutrition among school children with the NutriBullet University program?

If you want to learn more about WBANA and NutriBullet, we encourage you to explore the links below:

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Learn about our experts:

The Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) (@WildBBerries) is a trade association of growers and processors of Wild Blueberries from Maine and Canada, dedicated to bringing the Wild Blueberry health story and unique Wild Advantages to consumers and the trade worldwide.

WBANA is dedicated to furthering research that explores the health potential of Wild Blueberries. Every year since 1997, WBANA has hosted the Health Research Summit in Bar Harbor, a worldwide gathering of dozens of scientists and researchers whose work is leading the way in learning more and more about the health benefits of Wild Blueberries. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on disease and the extensive health benefits of Wild Blueberries.

NutriBullet Team:

Sarah Lefkowitz, R.D. is a dietitian living in Los Angeles, California. Her professional foundation was built in the healthcare field, where she learned about the physiology of disease, working with patient care teams, making rounds with doctors in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and trauma centers. These experiences highlighted the impact of nutrition on healing and recovery. Sarah honed her skills, providing outpatient counseling in a center for digestive disease, wound care and geriatric health. Working primarily with a population that was sick highlighted the power of prevention and nutrition education. Read her full bio on NutriLiving.

Krista L. Haynes, R.D. is a Registered Dietitian with extensive knowledge on the benefits of eating a whole food, plant-based diet. Her approach centers on holistic wellness—using real, unprocessed foods to help detoxify the body and maximize its natural functions. Krista also specializes in adult weight management, teaching non-diet strategies based on the principals of Intuitive Eating. As a vegan, Krista promotes the benefits of vegan and vegetarian nutrition, but also realizes that a healthy diet is any diet that provides optimum energy and confidence and helps individuals achieve their personal goals. Read her full bio on NutriLiving.

Gigi Kwok-Hinsley, M.S., R.D. DrPH, is a Registered Dietitian in the Greater Los Angeles area specializing in nutrition and public health research with experience in adult weight management. She graduated from Loma Linda University School of Public Health with an emphasis in preventive care and health care management, Gigi conducted her dissertation research in bitter taste receptors as it relates to a patient’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Outside of work and school, she serves on the committee of professional development through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). Read her full bio on NutriLiving.

Surprising Smoothie Ingredients and Combos from Health & Nutrition Experts

A passionate crowd joined the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (@WildBBerries) Twitter chat on Wed Feb 17th. They were eager to learn about Wild Blueberries and share their favorite smoothie ingredient combinations. Registered Dietitian, Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT (@karalydonRD), helped lead the #WildYourSmoothie discussion. Kara shared some of her favorite smoothie making ingredients including Wild Blueberries, great smoothie making tips  and a little bit about her visit to Maine to see the miraculous world of Wild Blues.

During the chat, we learned about a smoothie ingredient that intrigued all of us — ginger.  Many commented it adds a spicy contrast to the sweetness of a smoothie. Kara said it’s a perfect addition to a Wild Blueberry smoothie because it adds an extra flavor kick. Kefir and protein were also hot topics of conversation. Kefir is a fermented milk beverage that is packed with probiotics. It is a great addition to a smoothie because of the protein it contains. And adding protein to a smoothie either through kefir, dairy or powders helps keep you full and satiated longer, which is a plus when you are using smoothies as a meal replacement as part of weight loss regime.

The crowd, mostly registered dietitians and healthy food bloggers, also came prepared and asked some great questions! Some of our favorite tweets from the chat are below. To explore the entire conversation be sure to check out the Storify Archive.

Tweet by @vsrnutrition
Tweet by @karalydonRD
Tweet by @LaurenPincusRD
Tweet by @chardincharge
Tweet by @StreetSmartRD

And, of course we wanted to let everyone know about our #WildYourSmoothie contest for registered dietitians and healthy food bloggers and remind everyone to submit their entries before the contest wraps  up on March 1, 2016. To see some of the amazing entries follow the hashtag, #WildYourSmoothie. Stay tuned. We’ll announce the winners soon!

#WildYourSmoothie Tweet

Thanks everyone for joining us for our first Twitter chat. And thank you Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT, The Foodie Dietitian, for making this chat even more special! If you have questions about smoothies or Wild Blueberries, just give us a tweet at @WildBBerries. Be sure to include #WildYourSmoothie in your tweet.

Read the original blog post about the #WildYourSmoothie Twitter Chat

#WildYourSmoothie Twitter Chat

Join us Wednesday February 17th at 1pm EST for a Twitter Chat featuring Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT

#WildYourSmoothie Twitter Chat

Peanut butter and jelly – they just go together. Right? Well now there’s another amazing combination that pairs perfectly — frozen Wild Blueberries and smoothies. Frozen fresh at harvest, these tiny little berries provide the perfect (healthy and flavorful) punch for all your smoothie making needs. Once you try wild, you won’t ever go back, we promise!

Ingredients

To help spread the word about the power of these tiny, potent, wild little berries, the Wild Blueberry Association of North America has partnered with Registered Dietitian Kara Lydon and the voice behind the healthy food blog — The Foodie Dietitian – and she’ll be co-hosting our upcoming Twitter chat. Recently, Kara has shared some of her favorite Wild Blueberry smoothie recipes. According to Kara, smoothies are a great way to incorporate Wild Blues into a meal or snack and up your antioxidant and fiber intake.

Kara Lydon

Please join us (@wildbberries) and healthy food blogger Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT (@karalydonRD) for a LIVE 60-minute Twitter chat on Wednesday, February 17th at 1pm EST, to talk about this amazing little super fruit, its health advantages and how you can incorporate them into your diet. And if you’re a food blogger you’ll learn about our #WildYourSmoothie Recipe Contest and how you can win an amazing trip to the Wild Blueberry barrens of Maine this summer + $1,000.

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In this LIVE 60-minute Twitter chat we’ll discuss:

  • Tips on how to build the perfect smoothie
  • What makes Wild Blueberries such a powerful superfood and perfect smoothie ingredient
  • Why registered dietitians LOVE Wild Blueberries
  • What fuels Kara’s love of Wild Blueberries
  • #WildYourSmoothie recipe contest

If you want to learn more about Kara Lydon, Wild Blueberries, our #WildYourSmoothie Recipe Contest or explore some yummy Wild Blueberry smoothie recipes, check out:

And, if you have a question you’d like to ask Wild Blueberries or Kara, ask us at any time before, during or after the chat – just be sure to include #WildYourSmoothie in your tweet!

Here’s how the Twitter Chat Works:

Follow along with #WildYourSmoothie

  • Include #WildYourSmoothie in all of your tweets – we don’t want to miss anything you have to say!
  • Ask questions. Retweet & Favorite tweets you love. Chime in (include #WildYourSmoothie)!

Learn more about the #WildYourSmoothie panelists:

kara183

Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, RYT, The Foodie Dietitian, (@karalydonRD) is a nationally recognized nutrition and culinary communications expert and yoga teacher based in Boston. Kara believes that the secret to a holistically happy life is nourishing the mind, body and spirit and she instills this integrative philosophy in the kitchen, yoga studio, working one-on-one with clients, and on her food and healthy living blog, The Foodie Dietitian, and in her anticipated e-book, Nourish Your Namaste: Functional Recipes, Nutrition and Asana to be a Healthy, Happy Yogi (May 2016). Her blog features delicious seasonal vegetarian recipes and simple strategies to bring more yoga and mindfulness into your life, and has been most recently featured on SHAPE, TODAY, Fitness, SELF, The Kitchn, Prevention and Buzzfeed.

Wild Blueberry Rakes

The Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) (@wildbberries) is a trade association of farmers and processors of Wild Blueberries from Maine and Canada, dedicated to bringing the Wild Blueberry health story and unique Wild Advantages to consumers and the trade worldwide.

WBANA is dedicated to furthering research that explores the health potential of Wild Blueberries. Every year since 1997, WBANA has hosted the Health Research Summit in Bar Harbor, a worldwide gathering of dozens of scientists and researchers whose work is leading the way in learning more and more about the health benefits of Wild Blueberries. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on disease and the extensive health benefits of Wild Blueberries.