A Smoothie Can't Fill You Up?

Hi friends!

*Guess what!?! Steph 2 Chef is now on Instagram! Check it out here!! (@steph2chef)

I wanted to talk about a common misconception amongst many people in the wider community (outside the people in know ;)- in that smoothies cannot fill one up.

And sure, I would agree with that. Especially if you're smoothies consist of half a banana, a handful of berries and some water. There is no way your stomach isn't going to be eating your entire body 30 seconds later (I'm not one to exaggerate much, huh?).

But for those in the know... we know that you can add some sneaky secret stuff to your smoothies to keep you as full as a large bowl of oats stacked with nut butter would. Don't believe me? I dare you to try out some of these additions to your next smoothie.

So below, I have my top tips for creating a smoothie that lasts:

1. Use a milk instead of water

Now, that doesn't have to be cows milk or even soy milk, there are so many great alternative milks out there (almond, macadamia, coconut, rice, oat) which have fortified versions with extra protein/ calcium/ even vitamin D and B's added! I almost always have some form of milk in my smoothies and generally in the form of my next point:

2. Add some soaked oats

Generally I will wake up, pour some rolled oats in a bowl, top with almond milk, stir and leave to sit while I check my emails/ Facebook/ blog/ school stuff (no, that is not in the order of priorities.. exactly... :P)

Those 10-12 minutes is all it takes for the oats to soak up all that creamy milk and form thick oats that will cream up and thicken and make into a sort of cake-batter for your smoothie! They're also filled with filling fibre and the goodness of wholegrains- give it a shot!

3. Add nut butter

My other favourite thing to add is a big heaping spoon of nut butter. Not only does it give the smoothie an awesome nutty flavour but it adds to the creamy thickness and the added benefits of the filling nature of healthy unsaturated fats.

4. And on that note: Add avocado!

One of my favourite ways to make an ultra-thick smoothie is to add 1/2 chopped frozen avocado. With all the other add-ins you can't taste it, yet it's so thick and creamy-it's like the ultimate healthy thick-shake! (Especially if you add in some raw cacao powder- check out my creamy green monster!)

5. Greek yoghurt- a creamy filling machine

If you don't eat dairy, any yoghurt will do! Just watch the sugar content. Greek yoghurt gives a beautiful tang and creaminess and has high protein= filling powers to boot!

6. Sneak in those veggies!

Spinach, kale, frozen zucchini, avocado- they've all found their ways (sometimes separately, sometimes altogether in one delicious drink) into my smoothies and they all offer extra volume without affecting the taste in any way at all as to their subtle, not over-powering flavours!

7. Finally- bring a spoon

The addition of all these ingredients will likely make your smoothie mighty thick (I LOVE IT!) and a spoon will most definitely become necessary and I believe add to the filling factor of the smoothie!

Take this guy for example: My most recent smoothie creation:

This guy had frozen banana, frozen zucchini and frozen cucumber, with kale, spinach, greek yoghurt, mixed nut butter, raw cacao powder, cinnamon and water:

He wasn't one of my sweetest creations but I was more after creaminess and filling-ness (it had to get me through a full five-hour no-break shift at work) and he definitely did the job!

Spoon thickness- check!


I love smoothies and the fact that they are slurped not crunched doesn't affect me or my ravenous monster hunger at all!

What about you?
Do you find yourself starving after having a smoothie for breakfast?
Do you stock your smoothies full of all the good stuff?
Favourite sneaky/ not sneaky ingredient to add to your smoothie? I love the sneaky powers of avocado!

I hope you all have a lovely, lovely day, do something you love, spend time with those you love and as always; eat something delicious! bye for now friendly friends! :D