Smoothie recipes that might just help with…sleep?!
So, I know most people typically think of smoothies as a morning/breakfast kind of food but they can also be a really good pre-bedtime snack (for you and/or your baby/toddler/kid!) aaaaaand these ones just might help promote more restful sleep! Each recipe contains foods that in one way or another promote sleep/melatonin production/relaxation/etc.
Are they guaranteed to give you (or your littles) better sleep? Nope. But, they might and they certainly don’t hurt (and taste super good too!)
They’re all also very healthy and can be a great way to get in some extra nutrients/protein/healthy fats before bed. Toddlers especially might like a pre-bedtime snack if they’ve been used to eating overnight/recently night weaned, or simply if it’s been a couple hours since dinner, they really just might need a little something to eat before bed.
And while anyone can get hungry near bedtime, breast/chest feeding parents and pregnant people might really benefit from some extra calories/nutrients right before bed. Getting enough quality calories in can go a long way to support a breastfeeding or pregnant mom.
I hiiiiiighly recommend a quality, high speed blender for smoothie making! Of course it isn’t a make or break but I find my smoothies are so much smoother since we invested in a better blender. We’ve had this one for 3 years now and it works so well and has been worth every penny (we also use it to puree soups and make sauces and grind beans/seeds/nuts/etc to make flour.)
Here’s the deal with how I write recipes, I give estimates for how much of each ingredient to add but nothing is set in stone! Add more/eye ball it/add a little less of something/adjust as you see fit!
PB “MILKSHAKE”
1-2 frozen banana*
1/2 cup oats*****
1/4 cup peanut butter
1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp chia seeds and/or hemp seeds and/or flaxseeds
CHOCOLATE CHERRY
1 cup dark tart cherries**
1 frozen banana*
handful frozen kale or spinach
2-4 tbsp almond butter***
1-2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 tbsp chia seeds and/or hemp seeds and/or flaxseeds
KEFIR BERRY
1 cup plain kefir (dairy or non dairy just make sure it’s sugar free!)****
1 cup frozen berries
1/2 frozen banana*
2-4 tbsp almond butter***
1/2 tsp vanilla
OTHER FOODS THAT CAN PROMOTE MORE RESTFUL SLEEP:
walnuts
turkey
chamomile tea
kiwi
tart cherry juice (nsa!)
fatty fish
nuts
FOODS TO AVOID BEFORE BED:
alcohol
high sugar
processed foods
heavy/fatty/cheesy foods
caffeine (babies, toddlers and kids shouldn’t consume any caffeine, for adults I’d recommend cutting off your caffeine intake at least 5 hours before you’re supposed to go to bed.) caffeine is also hidden in chocolate, some ice creams, kombucha, tea, soda, etc)
spicy foods
acidic foods
foods that give you gas
SMOOTHIE ESSENTIALS (for us anyways ;)
reusable straws
organic frozen fruit (Costco has the best price!)
Of course SO much more goes into getting a good nights sleep and if you have a baby or toddler around nighttime wakefulness might just be inevitable for you (see my top 8 reasons babies wake at night and ways to get more sleep without sleep training posts!), but hopefully these recipes help a little! ;)
*Bananas are rich in magnesium, potassium, tryptophan, vitamin B6, carbs, and fiber, all of which may improve sleep quality via different mechanisms
**Tart cherries are high in melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles.
***Almonds contain high doses of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleeping and waking cycle. A 1-ounce (oz) serving of whole almonds also contains 77 milligrams (mg) of magnesium and 76 mg of calcium, two minerals that may help promote muscle relaxation and sleep.
****Kefir contains tryptophan, an amino acid which can promote better sleep. Tryptophan helps increase the levels of the hormone melatonin, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
*****Oatmeal can make you sleep well if you eat it before bed. It's rich in magnesium, silicon, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, all of which support sleep.
