One of the keys to weight loss lies in stabilizing your blood sugar. Blood sugar can spike from a number of things – for example, consuming sweets, experiencing stress, drinking caffeine, or lack of sleep – and that same sugar, when not burned off, ends up being stored in your body as fat. Avoiding sugar and refined carbs, and sticking to low glycemic index foods, will help you reach your weight goal…as will reducing your anxiety and practicing mindfulness!
What if you’ve got a sweet tooth but you’d like to shed a few pounds? Never fear. Every Monday we will be featuring a tasty low GI snack that will actually work towards stabilizing your blood sugar by making use of the wonderful plant Stevia as a sweetener.
Today we are introducing the STABILIZING SHAKE. Most smoothies contain a banana for texture. However, bananas, and fruit in general, are high Glycemic Index foods and not ideal for weight loss. Instead, this shake is thickened with half an avocado, one of the best plant sources for Omega-3. Rather than using dairy, a common allergen, the recipe calls for coconut milk. Full of good, hearty saturated fats, the oil in coconut milk has been shown to aid weight loss by increasing metabolism. You can make this a vanilla, chocolate, almond, or any other flavored shake depending upon what you add to it, so you’ll never get sick of it. And it will always have that lovely hint of coconut. This shake is filling and satisfying and won’t give you a blood sugar rush. What more can you ask for?
STABILIZING SHAKE
6 oz coconut milk
2 oz almond milk
½ avocado
4-6 drops stevia
Your choice of flavoring: almond extract, vanilla extract, a spoonful of cacao, a handful of mint leaves…
Add everything to your blender and mix. Drink and enjoy, but remember to chew slightly in order to encourage your saliva to begin to digest the smoothie!
NOTE:Â If it tastes bland, it could need some salt. Don’t hesistate to toss in a pinch – it heightens any pre-existing flavor. If you’ve accidentally over-salted, just add more stevia…
Tags: dairy-free dessert, dessert, glycemic index, healthy dessert, low glycemic index, low glycemic index dessert, weight loss, weight loss dessert
