Meal Replacement Shakes; What Ingredients To Look For

Meal replacement shakes are an excellent way to easily achieve your nutrition goals without having to worry about cooking or being tempted to eat the wrong thing when you feel hungry. Experts agree that it is best to eat multiple small meals a day rather than eating a couple of larger meals.

Meal replacement shakes make it easy for you to have as many meals as you should without ingesting too many calories. Here are some ingredients to keep an eye out for when you are looking for the best meal replacement shakes.

Natural Carbohydrates

There are all kinds of great natural carbohydrates for you to choose from when buying or making meal replacement shakes.  Carbohydrates give you the energy to keep going and help to power you through your day. Brown rice, quinoa, and tapioca are all excellent sources of natural carbohydrates.

Fruit also contains carbohydrates. Naturally, fruit is a delicious addition to any smoothie. Bananas are a natural choice because the smooth texture contributes to a delicious smoothie. Mango is also a lovely smooth choice.

Berries like raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries are delicious and full of healthy antioxidants, but some people may not like the seeds. Keep in mind that all of these fruits have lots of sugar, so don’t use too many of them.

Healthy Fats

For many people, meal replacement shakes to go along with dieting, and dieting means that you are trying to avoid fat like the plague. However, healthy fats actually enable you to lose weight more easily and have an important role in a healthy diet.

Unsaturated fats like those from avocado, coconut oil, and sunflower oil are wonderful options for delicious and healthy meal replacement shakes. If you’re looking for some variety in the healthy fats in your meal replacement shakes, you can get creative with seeds including flax, chia, and hemp as well as other oils like extra virgin olive oil.

Easy to Digest Protein

You want to give your muscles all of the fuel that they need in order to stay strong and not get sore throughout your day, including during a workout. Protein that is easy to digest won’t slow you down during the day but will give you the strength that you need.

You want between 10 and 20 grams of easily digestible protein in each shake. Whey protein is a popular dairy-based ingredient and soy protein is a great vegan alternative. If you want to make a really tasty and rich shake, peanut butter is a great source of easily digestible protein. Coconut milk is a tropical option that goes well with a banana smoothie.

Vitamins and Minerals

It is important to get plenty of essential vitamins and minerals in your diet. Too often, it is difficult to make sure that your meals have balanced vitamins and minerals.

Meal replacement shakes are a great opportunity to ensure that you are getting as many vitamins and minerals as you need. If you are replacing one entire meal such as breakfast or lunch with your meal replacement shake, choose shakes that offer a minimum of 33% of your daily value for essential vitamins and minerals like potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and iron.

Is It Healthy to Eat Only Meal Replacement Shakes When Dieting?

Meal replacement shakes can be a great way to keep the pounds off when you are dieting while still making you feel satisfied and full. That said, it is important to keep in mind that your body needs whole foods as a source of fiber and for the health of your jaws, teeth, and digestive system.

While it is absolutely fine to replace one or two meals a day with meal replacement shakes for temporary periods, make sure that you are getting at least one whole meal a day.

Begin Making Great Meal Replacement Shakes Today

There are all kinds of ingredients that you can utilize in your meal replacement shakes to create a healthy and varied diet. Keep trying different things and remember your favorite recipes so that you will always have great meal replacement shakes available.