Friday, July 19, 2013

Green Smooties...Day 3

Today is Day 3 of my Green Smoothie adventure!  My wonderful hubby is totally on board with the Green Smoothies and he even bought us the high tech Blendtec Blender.  This is the same one that Robyn used during her demonstration at the workshop I attended.  I have to say that there is no contest between this wonder machine and the blender we used before.  Today I used 3 kale leaves, 2 red chard leaves, 2 collard leaves, a cup of spinach, an apple, carrot, 1/4 c each of raspberries and strawberries, 1 1/2 banana, 2 tbsp flax and 2 tbsp of organic flax, and the result was amazing! We each had 30 ounces and my daughter had about 8 ounces, they were so delicious and easy to drink.  It was so smooth and creamy with no "chunks" of the greens or the fruit.  I am 100% in love with this machine, which for me is rare, I'm not big into these kinds of things.  My goal is to make Green Smoothies a daily habit for us. The benefits are endless, getting in 10-15 servings of fruits and vegetables with each smoothie, getting better digestion (which I can attest to, even in the 3 days), more satiety and fullness for longer, more energy during the day and less cravings for sweets and white carbs. I want to spend a minute talking about the more satiety topic.  This is important if one of your goals is weight loss.  When you fill up on these nutrient dense raw whole foods you are less likely to eat other foods that are not as good for you or your waistline.  I had my smoothie at 8:00 am this morning and 2 hours later, I am still full and don't find myself reaching for a morning snack, which usually I do.  Another benefit to Green Smoothies is that when you have your Green Smoothie first thing in the morning you are starting your day with a good habit that you are likely to carry into the rest of your day.  If you pack a lunch for work, make a little extra smoothie to take with you and sip it throughout the day to curb cravings or eat it with your lunch, or if you like most Americans hit that 3:00 energy slump.  Robyn's challenge was to drink 36 ounces of Green Smoothie everyday.  I am almost there, and this is a habit that I intent to keep.  My challenge to you, add a Green Smoothie into your daily habit.  There are tons of recipes that you can use as a starting off point to be creative and make your own Green concoctions.  If you find one that you love please share in the comments section and I will re-post it. 
I hope that you will continue on this Green Smoothie adventure with me!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Green Smoothie Girl in the making!

Photo: My green smoothie after my morning workout!

 Last night, by a seemingly wonderful coincidence, I went to the Green Smoothie Girl Workshop in Troy, MI.  My aunt had been to one of her workshops in the fall and lent me the book, I read it in a day and started making green smoothies.  However, as with most things, I stopped doing this great practice regularly. So when my aunt offered me two tickets, I called up my friend Laura, and we made plans to go. 
After to listening to Robin tell her heartfelt and personal stories, I was inspired to join in the mission of whole food living.  I am starting with her first step, drinking 32 ounces of green smoothie a day, and my daughter and husband are drinking these too!  Her top 3 benefits of drinking green smoothies 1) Weight loss, 2) more energy 3)Better digestion.  I don't know about you, but those all sound great to me!  Not to mention that with each smoothie I am getting 10-15 servings of organic fruits and veggies, my daughter is also getting these valuable nutrients for her growing body and brain. The average American gets 1-2 and the average child gets 1! That is staggering and sad that this is where we are as a country and we wonder why people are sick and get cancer.  It is time to start looking at what we are feeding our selves, our children and our families.  I am excited to learn more about Green Smoothies and how I can help spread this message.  Robin said that the information would be life changing.  I know what she is talking about.  If I can make this a habit and work on her 12 step program I know that mine and my families lives will be changed, better health, less illnesses and prevention of cancer and other diseases that come with eating processed garbage food.  I believe so wholeheartedly that I have applied to become an Apprentice Health Coach for Green Smoothie Girl!  Fingers crossed!  Stay tuned for more information and more recipes of yummy and healthy green smoothies!  
Here is the recipe for my Green Smoothie pictured above:
2 large Kale leaves
1 large collard leaf
1 chard leaf
1 cup spinach
1 banana
1 apple (cored and cut)
1/4 cup raspberries
2 tbsp organic coconut oil
1 tbsp organic golden flax
1 1/2 cups water and ice
*All my fruits and veggies were organic.
I blended my greens and water first, I added the other items one at a time until everything was well blended!
Serve and ENJOY!
You can find more information at www.greensmoothiegirl.com and sign up for her newsletter!
I hope you will join me in this Green Smoothie journey!

Monday, July 1, 2013

No bake peanut butter energy balls...healthy and satisfying!

When I am looking for a quick snack that is healthy and not full of junk it is really hard to find.  So I created my own healthy quick grab energy bites.  Now these are not "protein" balls, but you could add some of your favorite protein powder to kick up the protein in these little snacks.  They are great to curb your "sweet tooth" without blowing your whole day in calories and sugar.  My 17 month old loves them and they are better for her than a processed cookie.  Here is the recipe, let me know what you think and if you added anything that made yours unique.

No Bake Peanut Butter Energy Balls
 
 
 
1 cup old fashion oatmeal
1/2 cup honey roasted peanut butter (I used a homemade one I purchased from my local market)
1/3 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup organic ground flax seeds
1/2 cup organic semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp. raw organic honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more to taste)
 
Combine dry ingredients and mix well, add in the wet ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes, then form into aprox. 15 1 inch balls.  Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.  Enjoy!
 
Nutrition information (from www.myfitnesspal.com) per ball: 170 calories, 15g fat, 11.4g carbs, 2.7g fiber, 6.5g sugar, 4.6g protein