This post is a continuation of the Update Your Plate series, where I demonstrate how to use MyPlate to plan your meals. Read the story behind Update Your Plate here.
This week’s UYP comes on the heels of the last one, which featured an egg ‘n’ fruit breakfast. Today: smoothies.
How could you possibly lay this out on a plate? Well, let me show you:
Pre-smoothied.
Clockwise from upper left: Barbara’s squares, rolled oats, Brazil nut, half banana, frozen blueberries, nonfat Greek yogurt.
Let’s look at this with the handy-dandy MyPlate template over it.
You can see the smoothie ingredients roughly follow MyPlate (remember, this is an approximation, not an exact science). I’ve chosen whole grains instead of refined grains, and nonfat Greek yogurt instead of full fat yogurt. Both of these choices are essential parts of the MyPlate universe. However, as you’ve seen, I sometimes enjoy Noosa, a full fat yogurt. There is room for both in a healthy diet. There’s certainly room for both in mine!
Those of you who are very familiar with MyPlate may notice that technically, I’ve made an error: yogurt is considered part of the “Dairy” group, not the “Protein” group. While I understand their reasoning (milk being the precursor of yogurt and all), Greek yogurt is too high in protein not to count as part of the “Protein” group. Especially as many people don’t otherwise eat much from the Protein group at breakfast (and no, two slices of bacon doesn’t count), yogurt is a great alternative.
Finally (finally), something seems to be missing from my breakfast!
Why, it’s the fluffy abundance of fiber and folate — spinach!
While the smoothie plate was fine the way it was, I’m always looking for ways to add non-starchy veggies to my meals. I blend spinach, kale, even carrots into all my smoothies. That way I get tons of nutrients without the leafy greens taste.
I’d be surprised if any of you remember this (if so, 10 points to you!), but in the four things you need to know for healthy living, Guideline #1 was to eat as many fruits and veggies as possible in as many colors as you can. As for non-starchy veggies in particular: I pile my plate with them.
I ate the Brazil nut, laid the Barbara’s squares off to the side for topping, and blended the rest with a little water.
Reader, I enjoyed it.
Have a great weekend! I’ll see you all Sunday 🙂
Q: What do you like putting into smoothies? If you’re not a smoothie kind of person, what’s your favorite breakfast?
Monet says
October 5, 2012 at 1:24 pmHi Jessie! Totally loved this plate representation of a smoothie! It was cool to see all the good stuff that got blended into that beautiful purple glass. Thank you for sharing. Now off to make a smoothie! (My favorite is almond butter, yogurt, and banana!)
Joanne says
October 6, 2012 at 11:18 amI love that you MyPlate-ed a smoothie!! I actually saw a nutritionist in college at some point when I was trying to gain weight and she said she considered yogurt, esp greek yogurt, to be a protein also…so you’re spot on with that!
Lucy says
October 6, 2012 at 2:50 pmWow, what a vibrant purple color! It’s gorgeous 😉
Oatmeal (with toppings like sliced banana, cinnamon, nuts, etc.) will always be my first love, but I’m also partial to plain greek yogurt with honey, granola, berries, etc.
I’ll have to try smoothies. I found them too cold before, especially first thing in the morning, but it’s certainly warmer in California than in Canada 😉
Jessie says
October 6, 2012 at 10:07 pmOatmeal season is definitely coming up! 🙂