JJ Virgin (author and nutrition coach) demonstrates how to make a berry-and-greens breakfast shake that sneaks servings of leafy greens into a daily routine. She explains ingredient choices (unsweetened coconut/plant milks, 20–30 g protein from low-allergen powders, added fiber from flax/chia, berries for low sugar impact, spinach/kale) and offers practical tips (pre-portioning in mason jars, de-stemming/massaging kale, ice/fluid adjustments) aimed at increasing vegetable intake and improving satiety (4–6 hours).
Questions this video answers
Five to ten servings per day.
One cup raw or a half cup cooked.
About 20 to 30 grams of protein.
About four to six hours before needing to eat again.
Very low; she uses shakes with one gram of sugar (she notes that gram comes from plant compounds).
Chapters
Hey, it's JJ Virgin, New York Times bestselling author of the Virgin Diet, the Virgin Diet Cookbook and the Sugar Impact Diet. And in all of my programs, I teach you to start the day with a shake. Now I'm going to take it a step further. I'm going to show you how to sneak some greens in there too, because I like people eat five to ten servings of greens and non starchy vegetables a day. Five to ten. So a cup of raw is a serving or a half cup of cooked. So you can get a serving or two into your shake every day. And you know what? You won't even taste it. And if you're a mom or a dad, this is a great way to get some veggies in to your kids because I don't know about you, but I've always been looking for how to get them to eat more vegetables. Okay, so here's what we're going to do. We're going to start with some coconut milk. Now you can start with coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk or water. But I find that the milk's tastes so much better. Just not skim cow's milk, right? Start with some of this. What's great about these milks is that they don't have any. We're doing unsweetened, no sugar, but also they have some healthy fats. When we're doing our shakes, we want to make sure that we're getting great sources of protein. You're going to get that from your shake mix, healthy fats and fiber because it's that trifecta that keeps you fuller, longer really, when you do this. When you start the day with the shake, you should be able to go four to six hours before you need to eat again. If you're hungry right away, you probably didn't make a big enough shake, you probably didn't get enough fiber, healthy fats and protein in it. So it's really important to make sure that you use the right protein shake mix. Now I use either a plant based or a defatted beef based shake. So whether you're paleo or vegan, there's plenty to choose from here. And this one here is plant based. I'm going to do two scoops of vanilla. Now the most important thing when you're doing a shake mix is you want to look for one. Depending on how much protein you're getting in 20 to 30 grams of protein. If, if it's got some extra fiber, awesome. If it's got some plant compounds, vitamins, nutrients, Antioxidants, minerals, enzymes, probiotics. Bonus. But what's critical here is that it doesn't have artificial sweeteners, it doesn't have artificial flavorings or colorings, and it's very low in sugar. I use shakes that have one gram of sweetener and that took me a long time to put together. And actually the 1 gram of sugar comes from plant compounds. It doesn't even come from a sugar. But you really want to look at that because this is something that you're doing every day. So you want to make sure you're not eating protein source that you could become intolerant to, like whey or egg or soy. That's something that you could do every single day with a very low allergenicity profile, which is why I use defatted beef or pea. And it's something that you like because if you don't like it, you're not going to do it. And this is something that really is a major important habit. In fact, people who start the day with the shake lose more weight and more importantly keep it off easier. And it's just a great healthy habit to be in. And again, if you're a parent, this is a great one for you to start the day with your kids with too. So, so I put in some protein powder. I've got my coconut milk. Next thing I'm going to do is add in some fiber. Now right here I've got some freshly ground flaxseed meal. I've got some chia seeds. I'm going to use some of my extra fiber. I've got some fiber in my shake mix as well. And I'm always trying to kick up the fiber. It's detoxifying. It helps you feel fuller, longer. It gives you poops you can be proud of. I said it. Always trying to sneak that in. But it's important. Starts today nicely, right? I'm going to put some freshly ground flaxseed in there too. And I'm putting in some berries. Now my favorite fruit to use in shakes is always going to be berries. They're low sugar impact, loaded with fiber, lots of nutrients. Not so much of a fan of bananas. I kind of think of them as candy or pineapple or mango because they're such higher sugar fruits. If you are doing those, just do little bit. But remember, this is something that you're doing every single day. So whenever possible choose things that are going to support, you know, low sugar impact lifestyle and don't have food intolerance issues with them. Like Whey or egg or soy. All right, so I've got my berries, I've got my coconut milk. I've got my fiber, I've got my shake mix. Now we're going to throw in the greens. Now, there's a couple ways you can do this. If you're on the road, you can travel with green balance. So it's a green drink that that's going to give you loads of healthy greens without the added sugar. And this one actually has fiber, too, because a lot of these green drinks, if you just drink them on their own without fiber, they can kick up your blood sugar. But if you're home, even better to use some fresh. So I'm going to throw in some spinach, and I'm throwing in some kale. I'm going to give you a heads up on this kale. This kale has been de stemmed because the stems are where you get all the bitter. Okay. So it's been de stemmed, and it's been massaged to help break it down. And I'm throwing in some ice. Now, of course, the greens, one of the cool things they do is they actually make your shake thinner. So if you like your shake a little thinner, greens help there. I'm going to make this shake a little thinner than usual. I usually make pretty thick shakes. All right, So what's cool about throwing greens in your shake is you actually can't even taste it. It'll just make it look a little swampy, of course, but you really can't taste it. And again, I always make my shakes a little thicker. That's why I like them. But easy enough to thin it out with less ice and more fluid, thicken it up with more ice, less fluid, easy. Mmm. But what's delicious here is, literally, you cannot taste the greens in here. Now, let me show you kind of a way if you want to save time in the morning. People say, well, I don't have time in the morning. I'm like, well, that, like, what, took two to three minutes? But I'm going to share a little tactic I got from my pal Joy Houston, who helps us with all of our challenges. And what she showed me to do is, you take some Mason jars, got them on Amazon prime, and you're going to put in some of your stuff. Okay. So I'm putting in my berries in here, and I'm putting in some of my flax in here. Okay. And I'm putting in my spinach and my kale. So check this out. How cool is this? This is all the stuff that you're going to add to your shake. So all you do now is pour in your milk, put in your shake, mix. If you want to throw in a little extra fiber, you can. And open this up, dump it in, hit play, you're done. You've got this awesome, delicious shake all done for you. And that was probably, what, a minute? So this is one of those things. This is the easiest way to start the day. If you say you don't have time, make time, find time for this. And it's great because now you already got in one or two servings of vegetables right away. And again, remember, when you put clean, lean protein, healthy fat and fiber, it's going to help keep you full for hours. Sa.
