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Incorporating more shakes into your diet routine can be a great way to start eating healthier. Shakes can be a great way to get a boost of important nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals. However, that all depends on what ingredients you add to your shakes; unfortunately, some common smoothie ingredients do the opposite – leading to fat gain and belly bloat.
Fruit Juice
Adding fruit juice to your shakes could add more than just a boost of flavor. Fruit juices have high sugar content, similar to soda. "Both soda and 100% fruit juice pack around 110 calories and 20–26 grams of sugar per cup," Healthline explains.
Those numbers can quickly add up, potentially leading to weight gain.
When shopping, you should be especially careful about the fruit juice labels.
"Be on alert for the terms juice cocktail, juice-flavored beverage, and juice drink. Most of these products have only small amounts of real juice. Their main ingredients are usually water, small amounts of juice, and some type of sweetener, such as high-fructose corn syrup," WebMD says.
Plus, juice does not contain the same satiating fiber of whole fruit. In other words, it's less likely to keep you full – and more likely to make you crave more.
So instead of adding fruit juice to your shakes, stick to whole fruits, which will sweeten your smoothie without ramping up the calorie and sugar count too much. To get the texture right, try adding water, coconut water, or almond juice.
Keep reading for a healthy recipe option!
Classic Fruit Smoothie Recipe
What You'll Need: frozen fruit, plain greek yogurt, protein powder, milk of choice
Full Recipe: Jar of Lemons
