Add These Supplements to Your Morning Smoothies to Curb Cravings

Do you ever notice when you skip breakfast that you feel hungry all day? Or even worse, perhaps you reach for something processed and sugary in a hurry and feel hungry within an hour. It doesn’t matter how nutritious your lunch and dinner may be, if you don’t get breakfast right you can suffer from cravings for the rest of the day. The biggest challenge to getting breakfast right is time. We never seem to have enough of it, and with so much to do in the morning to get the day going, breakfast can easily become your last priority.

Well, smoothies are lifesavers. With a high-speed blender and nutritious ingredients, there is no excuse not to have a healthy breakfast. You can pack as much protein and as many vitamins as you need into your smoothie to keep you full all day long and avoid those pesky cravings.

For the perfect base, you’ll need a liquid, frozen fruit, and something with a smooth texture, like a banana, avocado, or peanut butter. For liquid, try coconut water, nut milk, oat milk, or even just water. Whole Foods has huge bags of frozen organic fruit that I always buy in bulk to save money. My favorite combinations are pineapple and mango or blueberries and blackberries.

To ensure that your smoothie keeps you full all day, add one or a combination of these supplements to your morning smoothie. These supplements will not only fill you up, but they also satisfy your nutritional needs and will help you cleanse and feel energized throughout the day.

PEA PROTEIN POWDER

Starting your day off with plenty of clean protein is essential for crushing food cravings. Without quality protein in the morning, you will experience dips and spikes in blood sugar. For an easy solution, you can add nuts and seeds to your smoothie. One of my favorite protein sources is a vegan pea protein powder. You can pick up a high-quality pea protein from Turnip Truck or Whole Foods, or both grocery stores also have Ripple’s pea protein milk that you can use for your liquid.

MAGNESIUM

We experience stress for many different reasons, but stress can be a major culprit of hunger. When we are stressed it is tempting to reach for anything sugary or salty to make us feel instant gratification. Magnesium is the ultimate supplement for combating stress, and most people are deficient in magnesium. You can add spinach, Swiss chard, and pumpkin seeds to your smoothie for a boost of magnesium, or you can add one of my favorite powders—Natural Calm, which can also be found at Whole Foods and Turnip Truck. Natural Calm works better in hot water, as it absorbs better. Personally, I’d recommend using this in the evenings, but you can add to fit your schedule!

KEFIR

Taking care of your microbiome is crucial if you want to avoid cravings. The “bad” bacteria in your gut feeds off of sugar, so replacing harmful bacteria with beneficial strains of bacteria can help you eliminate sugar cravings. An easy way to add probiotics to your smoothie is to use kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk drink that is similar to a liquid yogurt. You can find many other probiotic drinks, along with kefir, at stores like Whole Foods, Turnip Truck, and even just your nearby Fresh Market or Publix.

COLLAGEN

Collagen has recently gained popularity for its skin clearing benefits, but collagen is another great supplement to add to your morning smoothies to curb cravings. A reduction in collagen is natural as we age, so it is especially beneficial to supplement with collagen on a regular basis. Collagen is a component of the gut’s connective tissue and lining, so adding collagen powder to your smoothie can also improve gut health, which in a similar way to probiotics can help reduce cravings. Collagen also contains glycine, an amino acid that helps promote deep sleep. One of the best ways to fight off cravings is to get plenty of sleep, so take collagen to help you sleep more soundly at night. You can find Vital Proteins collagen powder at Lemon Laine in East Nashville.

Lemon Laine has a variety of smoothie supplements in addition to collagen, including many that I mentioned above. You can also find Ancient Nutrition’s collagen protein powders in Whole Foods or Turnip Truck. Ancient Nutrition is based out of Franklin and founded by Dr. Axe.