Thirsty Thursday: Drink Up for Strong Bones!

by Ashley on January 8, 2014

Hi friends! I hope your day is off to a great start!

As I mentioned yesterday, this has been a super busy week at work for me, but certainly a great week none the less. I am officially out of training (as of the 2nd) and am now seeing my own clients. It’s awesome to love what I do everyday and get to educate so many people on the impact that nutrition has on our health. In order to keep up with my new work hours, I shifted my workouts back into the morning and am finally settling into a routine that I like. The days seem mighty long but when I am done with work at 6pm it feels good to be able to go straight home and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Anyway, a few months ago, I started a “drink this smoothie for…” series and featured smoothie recipes that include particular foods that are good for particular parts of the body. For example, I shared this Double Layered Heart Healthy Smoothie that included things like omega-3 rich flax meal and fibrous fruits.

I also shared this tasty recipe for a smoothie for glowing, healthy skin that included coconut water, blueberries and protein rich Greek yogurt.

Today, I want to share a delicious smoothie recipe to drink for strong bones lifelong.

Most of the body’s skeletal system forms between the ages of 9-20, therefore, it we don’t develop strong bones during those years, we never will. That doesn’t mean that we can’t keep what we do have strong and healthy though. It is possible that we can start losing bone as early as 35, leading to osteoporosis if we don’t do something to keep them strong!

There are a few key nutrients when it comes to building and maintaining strong bones and those include:

  • calcium
  • vitamin D
  • protein
  • vitamin K
  • Another non-food related way to keep your bones strong is to participate in weight-bearing exercise. Things like walking, running, weight lifting, plyometric, etc. are all great ways to strengthen your bones.

But back to that smoothie! This bone strengthening smoothie has almond milk, almond butter and greens for a high dose of calcium; it has again fortified almond milk for vitamin D; hemp seeds for some protein; and lastly the greens for vitamin K.

Green Smoothie for Strong Bones

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups fortified unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 cups organic baby kale
  • ½ cup frozen pineapple
  • ½ frozen banana
  • 1 small orange, peeled
  • 1 carrot stalk chopped
  • squeeze of 1/4th a lemon
  • 1 tsp almond butter
  • 2 tbsp hemp seeds

Directions

  1. Place the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Serve and enjoy!

Even during these cold months, I am loving a smoothie a day! There is just something about a green smoothie that makes me feel good for the rest of the day! Do you still drink smoothies during the winter?

Have a great day my friends! Almost Friday!

Good health!

Name

Jill @ Fitness, Health and Happiness January 11, 2014 at 6:09 am

I’m adding the ingredients for the Drink for glowing healthy skin to my shopping list. The winter is harsh!
Jill @ Fitness, Health and Happiness recently posted…Healthy Gluten Free RecipesMy Profile

Ashley January 13, 2014 at 9:17 am

Yay! Happy to hear that! It is… so harsh!

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