2. Pineapple Kale Green Smoothie
This smoothie is a perfect balance of carbs, fats, and proteins (20 grams!) to give you energy, and nourish your muscles. Drink it after working out to lose weight, maintain lean muscle mass, and prevent slow metabolism.
Protein also helps you feel full for longer, stabilizing blood sugar, burn extra calories during digestion, and boost energy expenditure. This smoothie even contains 113% of your daily value of Vitamin A, 130% DV of Vitamin B6, 252% DV of Vitamin C, and 1051% DV of Vitamin K (6).
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raw kale leaves, stems removed
- 3/4 cup almond
- 1 banana, cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup raw pineapple pieces
- 2 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 to 3 tsp honey, to taste
Key Ingredients: Kale and Pineapple
Kale is packed with vitamin A, which improves eye function, improves bone health, and supports cell growth and differentiation (7,8). It’s also full of vitamin C, which prevents heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, osteoarthritis, age-related muscular degeneration, and asthma (9).
Pineapple, on the other hand, is a rich source of bromelain, an enzyme that helps digest protein. It’s particularly good for treating inflammatory conditions and joint pain (10).