Meal or smoothie? When a smoothie can really replace lunch

A smoothie can be a snack, a dessert or a real meal. The difference is not the size of the cup. It is what is inside.

Fibre

A smoothie blends the whole fruit, so the fibre stays in, unlike a juice. Fibre is what makes a smoothie thick and helps it feel more like food.

Protein

This is the part most smoothies are missing. Fruit alone has very little protein. A meal smoothie needs a real amount, from yogurt, milk or a scoop of protein powder. Protein is what turns a fruit drink into something closer to a meal.

A little fat

A spoon of peanut butter, half an avocado or some chia seeds makes a smoothie richer and closer to a real meal.

Watch the sweet extras

Many smoothies are mostly fruit juice, syrup or ice cream. They taste great, but they are a treat, not a meal. A good meal smoothie gets its sweetness from whole fruit, like banana or mango.

A simple test

If your smoothie has fibre from whole fruit, a real amount of protein and a little fat, it can stand in for a light lunch. If it is fruit and ice, enjoy it as a snack.

How Juicy builds its smoothies

Our functional smoothies at Juicy follow this test. Four of the five have protein added, 15g in a regular cup or 30g in a large one, and all five blend whole fruit with yogurt and milk. Power, for example, has avocado, banana, peanut butter, almond milk and protein. You can see the calories, protein and fibre of each one on getjuicy.vn/nutri, or build your own at the counter.