Confession:我曾经认为冰沙被高估了。我嘲笑了这种最新的健身趋势，对每个人都睁大眼睛，挥霍蛋白质粉，羽衣甘蓝，有机水果和奇亚种子。我相信燕麦片是赢家的早餐，我非常固执。它是预算友好，健康，温暖，充满馅料的借口，每天早晨不加罪地沉迷于花生酱。但是，在全球大流行期间，我只有时间在我手上，我开始挖掘冰沙的热潮。
And, it turns out, there are a lot of nutritional benefits to consuming smoothies, that is, so long as you limit the amount of added sugar in your drink. If you’re vegetarian, in particular, a smoothie can help you hit fiber, protein, and vitamin goals quicker, and even if you’re not vegetarian, chances are that you aren’t eating as many fruits and vegetables as you should be.
But, there was still one area where I felt as if I was justified in sticking to my bowl of oatmeal: the cost. The retail price of a healthy, green smoothie can range close to $10, depending on your location. And while smoothies are easy to whip up at home, the number of recommended ingredients: almond butter, peanut butter, hemp hearts, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, protein powder, spirulina powder, acai powder, etc, can be overwhelming. Like seriously, where does one begin? Well, recently I simplified the smoothie-making-process and hopefully found a cost-effective way for you to do it, too.
Editor’s Note:我已经测量了这些成分的经验，它们通常足以制作至少二十种冰沙，其中一种是一个典型的一个月。
First: spinach ($0.25 per serving)
You can easily find a 1lb bag of spinach for about$ 5在您当地的杂货店，我保证，它将持续大约几个月的冰沙。几天后，您只需要冻结盒子即可。我只能制作绿色冰沙，因为我坚信，如果我要努力将冰沙混合在一起，那就更好。菠菜本身没有多种风味，因此我很欣赏与其他成分相结合的，同时还提供大量的纤维和营养。假设我可以从这个袋子里拿出二十种冰沙，这是我过去能够做的，这是$0.25/smoothie。
Next: fruits ($0.75 per serving)
由于我喜欢更热带的混合物和奶昔的味道，因此我通常会从冷冻过道中拿出芒果，草莓和蓝莓混合物，以混合我的冰沙风味。我也推荐桃子和香蕉，但确实，您选择的任何水果都不会出错。您通常可以在任何地方找到一个3磅袋$6 to $9，根据商店的不同，我想这将产生足够的冰沙持续两个星期，因此约有一半的菠菜。换句话说，假设$ 7.50/3磅的袋子和每个月的两个，我们正在研究$0.75/smoothie.
然后：蛋白质粉（每份$ 1）
现在，这通常是添加到冰沙中最昂贵的成分，但我鼓励读者对其蛋白质粉的选择战略性。我去了Orgain’s vanilla flavor since it’s made up of a simple blend of vegan ingredients, including chia seeds. I knew I wanted to incorporate chia seeds into my smoothies since they’re a source of both fiber and healthy fats, but the issue is that they’re simply too pricey. By picking a protein powder that already includes it in its blend, I knock out two birds with one stone. The Orgain nutritional label recommends two scoops of the protein powder per serving, but I honestly find the taste to be too overpowering. As such, I use just one scoop per smoothie and this lasts me for about 20 smoothies. Moreover, I’ve always been able to find Orgain on sale, either at Amazon, Costco, or Target, so though it’s priced higher, I’ve never paid more than$20对于一个盒子。只是$ 1/冰沙，which isn’t the cheapest, but given that the protein powder will ensure I stay fuller longer, I say it’s worth it.
最后：您选择的牛奶（每份$ 0.50）
I tend to buy almond or oat milk, since it lasts longer and grocery shopping for one person isn’t easy. I usually need a little over two 32-oz containers of milk to make twenty smoothies, so we’ll assume three to be on the safe side. This would cost about$10对于三个容器，大约$ 0.50/冰沙。
Lastly (optional): any additional toppings
My simple recipes uses just oat milk, spinach, fruit, protein powder, and hemp hearts and I decided on the latter due to my personal brand of health issues. Hemp hearts are recommended for heart disease, which runs in my family, so I’m hoping that by incorporating this into my daily smoothies, I can get on top of an issue that has long plagued my family. I’d encourage everyone to do their own research on which add-ons may be necessary for them, and which can be optional or occasional splurges.
例如，我喜欢偶尔将花生酱或杏仁黄油添加到冰沙中，只有香蕉。
I’ve found that a 1lb bag of hemp hearts is$10, twice the price of spinach! Luckily, I don’t use too much of it in each smoothie, so I make the bag last as long as my spinach, putting me at$ 0.50/冰沙对于二十种冰沙。
While I haven’t extended my budget to include additions like spirulina powder or flax seeds or acai powder, chances are, you can find a protein powder that incorporates at least some of these ingredients. Personally, I find them to be too pricey.
总数：每冰沙$ 3
如果您一直在跟踪，则总计是：3美元/冰沙。Now, these are relatively small smoothies, I won’t deny that, but I find that the inclusion of protein powder, healthy fats from hemp hearts, and fiber from berries and spinach, not to mention vitamins in vegan milk, keeps me quite full. I’ve definitely added nut butters, avocados, and even zucchini into these smoothies, which helps keep me fuller and would likely increase the cost of the smoothie to$3.50， 如果不$ 4per smoothie, at times. But this is still vastly cheaper than buying a smoothie from a store.
要点：
The key to my minimalist smoothie routine is to find a protein powder that incorporates other additional ingredients you want to add, do the research to narrow down which of the “essential” smoothie additions are really necessary for you and your health, and finding a smoothie “structure” that works for you. Clearly I like green smoothies, but they aren’t for everyone. Others use chocolate or peanut butter protein powder for a sweeter, more dessert-like smoothie every time. I’ve seen riced cauliflower used instead of green vegetables. I’ve even seen bare-bones smoothie recipes that yield a smoothie bowl and then toppings used to make up for the remaining nutritional ingredients. Either way, there’s a smoothie recipe out there that works for everyone. You just need to spend a little time and effort to find it.
Keertana Anandraj是最近住在旧金山的大学毕业yabo88 app生。当她在日常工作中不进行国际宏观经济研究时，您可以在旋转室找到她或计划下一次冒险。
图像通过Unsplash
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