green smoothies

Per some requests, I'm sharing my newest discovery in all things health: the green smoothie. For a long time now, I've been kicking myself for throwing away so many good greens each week because I just can't figure out what to do with them. Also, I really don't like greens. But I know it's good for me. I was inspired to create green smoothies because of two incidents. First, I watched my friend Gigi make the concoction. Though she drank it with a pinched nose, she justified the not-so-great taste by explaining that it's her "morning medicine." My second mode of inspiration came from my chiropractor. He let me borrow a book called Green For Life. I'm now convinced that greens should be its own food group:)

For those of you who have CSA boxes and don't quite know what to do with the produce, making smoothies is your easiest bet - even with the veggies and the tops! I invested in a Vitamix. There is all sorts of good stuff you can do with it like make smoothies, sauces, soups, fondue, etc. In particular, you can juice an entire vegetable (such a carrot with the tops and all) and retain all its nutrients. Again, it's an investment, but I will say that I use this machine at least once a day. On average, I use it twice a day - mostly for green smoothies. Here is the method to my madness:

This is how I prep my smoothies.  Each weekend, I wash and pack two cups of  fresh greens in zip loc bags and store them in the fridge. I make enough packets for 1-2 smoothies a day. I do the same with  one serving of fruit, but I store it in the freezer. I used to use frozen fruit from Costco. However, I recently had a change of heart because I LOVE seasonal fruit! The smoothies also include omega-3 fish oils and protein powder. If you want to cut the "green" taste, I recommend liquid stevia (make sure it's the brown stuff). I don't  use it much, but it's good to have on hand in case friends visit and want to try it out (hint!).

This is what it looks like in the blender. It's a lot of greens - two servings worth! 

Here's the final product. In truth, they don't taste as bad as most people think. But they definitely don't taste like Jamba Juice! I think of the smoothies as my "medicine." It allows me to effortlessly have the fruits/veggies I need. (Note: for the upcoming LBN Challenge, I'm cutting out the fruit and adding an extra serving of veggies and olive oil.)

Today's Small Victories
I'm prepping for the upcoming challenge. Gah!

Today's Workout
One hour of yoga.

Notes (to myself) about this workout: LOVE LOVE LOVE yoga!