Burn Out

It's the beginning of August and I've been in this challenge for 220 days. To be completely honest I had been feeling a little burnt out on green smoothies. I have missed a few days here and there, but I am absolutely as committed to my health as I've ever been in my life.

At the beginning of the year I had some serious delusions that by simply adding green smoothies to my day would somehow make me the picture of health. I didn't talk about it much but I really thought these smoothies would be the magic pill diet that I had completely sworn off in the past.

It's only been in the last few weeks that I've decided that a smoothie isn't a magic pill. I've also realized that I didn't need a magic pill, I needed an attitude adjustment. I don't know what sparked it, I don't know why it happened NOW ~ but I have to say that suddenly feeling like crap (I was feeling better with the smoothies, but still not GREAT) was no longer acceptable.

I had been mentioning around here (and on Facebook) other little changes I'd been making in my diet, but everything I wanted to say about my health, my diet, my weight & my exercise just didn't seem to fit here. This is a smoothie blog.

So, I went off and started another blog (is it possible to be addicted to blogging? LOL!) I will still be around and still blog here (although my FB is much more active than this blog), but I felt I needed somewhere else to get into all of the nitty gritty about totally and completely reclaiming my health. I hadn't mentioned it at first because I really wasn't sure I wanted to go 'public' with it just yet. I'm still not sure I want to, accountability? Nah, I'm accountable to myself and my family. Cheerleaders? Sure, they're nice but I'm doing this for me. So why am I going public now? I'm not sure. I just felt it was time.

Come visit and say hi at Healthy for 100.

PANIC!!

I opened the fridge yesterday to make a smoothie and what did I disocver? I was OUT OF SPINACH!!!!!! Aaahhhh. I went into a complete panic. Then I remembered I had some parsley & romaine in the crisper drawer. Phew!! Too bad less than five seconds later I completely forgot about the parsley. OOPS! Anyay, here is what I threw together:

• 3 bananas
• 2 c water
• 2 spears of fresh pineapple + a little of the juice that collected in the container
• handful of frozen strawberries
• 4-5 leaves of romaine

Crisp, refreshing and delicious!! Enjoy!!

And the Winner Is......

Yvonne! She said:


I'm Yvonne. Hello! I found your blog through the Green Smoothie Queen site.

My favorite smoothie, right now anyway:

1 honey dew or cantaloupe
1 handful of frozen red grapes
1 handful of spinach or lacitino kale
2 bananas
Chunk of fresh ginger
Water
Ice

Yummy!!!

Congrats Yvonne! Contact me (I'll leave my email address on your blog) and give your snail mail address and the straws are yours!!

Giveaway Time!

My Facebook Page now has 322 fans!! WooHoo!! I promised that once we reached 300 I'd do another giveaway! Here we go! I've had my eye on these little numbers for quite some time! I finally picked some up and have been using them for about a week now. I'm in love! My smoothie just doesn't

taste as good if it's not through a straw! Now I don't have to worry about plastics exposure or any enviornmental impact.

So....you know the drill. In order to be considered for this giveaway of four stainless steel drinking straws, leave a message on this post that includes your name, how you found my blog & your favorite smoothie recipe. If your email address isn't attached to your blogger profile, make sure you leave your email address as well so I have a way to get ahold of you if you win! Good Luck!

Getting my ass in gear

I joined a gym. It's scary and intimidating and exhilarating all at the same time. It's kicking my ass. I love it.

Nothin' but Fresh

I love summer and the bounty of fresh produce that comes along with it! The only frozen ingredients in today's smoothie was ICE! And I only added ice to make the smoothie cold.

• 1/2 of a fresh pineapple
• 2 big handfuls of fresh, ripe strawberries (green tops included)
• 2 bananas
• juice & pulp from one navel orange
• ICE

It's summer in a glass. YUM!

Eat to Workout or Workout to Eat?

The other day at the park I over heard a friend say, “Oh, these cookies are so good, it’s a good thing I’m working out later so I can work them off.” We all had a little chuckle and then went back to our conversations. As I was buckling my kids into the van and contemplating the fact that I, personally, hadn’t been to the pool to workout in over a week, I started thinking. Weight loss and nutrition do not always go hand in hand. Sure, weight loss, in its simplest form, is nothing more than calories in must be smaller than calories out. But let’s think about this for a moment, shall we? Does my friend work out simply so she can eat a few extra cookies? Do we workout so we can eat (anything we want)? Or do we eat so that we can workout?

Calories in/calories out is great. But you have to consider what is in those calories. I love my workouts. I get cranky when I don’t get to go to the pool as often as I’d like, but do you know what really pisses me off? When I finally do make it to the pool and I have a crappy workout because of the food I’ve eaten. Our bodies simply cannot turn junk food into quality fuel for our bodies. Junk food = junk fuel. Quality food = quality fuel. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

I always have a protein shake before my workout and I always have a green smoothie afterwards. About an hour later I’m usually starving so I’ll have a deviled egg (or some other high quality protein) with a big salad. When I workout I crave nutritious, usually high raw, quality foods. I get a high from working out and the quickest way to kill my buzz is to eat some “passes as food” processed crap that makes me feel ill.

What are some of your favorite pre & post workout foods?

Fresh from the Farmer's Market

Today's smoothie was amazing! The best part? Its main ingredient was still in the ground soaking up nutrients less than 12 hours before I threw it in my blender!! WooHoo!

• 1 whole beet (greens, beet & root) fresh from the farm
• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• handful of frozen red grapes
• handful of frozen strawberries

It was delish! YUM!!

My very first bloggy award

Although this blog is only several months old, I've been at this blog thing for over two years now. My other blog is dedicated mostly to quilting and the randomness that is my life. I'll admit I haven't been a very active blogger over there. Oh, there are so many reasons why. Not the least of which is the mess my life has become. In other words, that blog doesn't have many readers, but that's ok. I'm not very interesting! I've never received a bloggy award before...until now!

WooHoo! My friend Maura awarded me this Bloggy this morning and I'm honored that she thought of me. I've known Maura for almost 17 years (OMG, really?!? That makes me feel so old!). We'd lost touch over the years, but through the miracle of Facebook, we've found each other again. She is also the mother of two small boys and oh the stories she tells! There is never a dull moment in that woman's life and now you can all follow along on her adventures as well, because she had a new blog going, 36x37. She wants to do 36 new to her things by her 37th birthday. See? That's just how this woman's brain works. She is the definition of cool. I heart her. I really do.

Alright, I'm done making out with Maura now, let's move on to this cool award. Pretty hip, eh?

The rules:

~ Acknowledge and link to the blogger who presented you with the award.
~ Give the award to at least 3 of your favorite mom bloggers

Drumroll, please!

Kris ~ Kris is an amazing woman blogging over at Eclipsed. Escaping the Shadow of Obesity. She is a fellow homeschooling mom and she's a Twilight Fanatic. I know, we could be twins, right? Kris has not only lost almost 55 pounds since Thanksgiving, but she's done so with so much grace and style. I find so much inspiration in her words.

Green Smoothie Queen ~ The Queen has been one of my biggest cheerleaders since day one. She's a huge source of inspiration to so many out in blogworld. I offer this award as a small token of thanks for all of the support and encouragement you've given me through this crazy adventure!

Ann ~ I've saved the best for last. Ann & I met on the internet a few years ago on a site that has absolutely nothing to do with food, smoothies, health or weightloss. We met on a board about living a frugal life. Off the board, and through our blogs, we've discovered that pinching pennies is not the only thing we have in common and I consider her to be a dear dear friend. We've never actually met in person, but we do hope to change that someday SOON (don't we, Ann?). I am so proud of everything that she has accomplished over the last few years, both in her physical health and her spiritual health. I'm honored to call her a friend. I love you girl, from the bottom of my heart!

Protein Power!

~*~*This post is linked up at "Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday" click on over to see what other Food Renegades are up to!~*~*

Whenever people find out that I’m “into health food” I inevitably get asked if I include protein powder in my smoothies. In short, the answer is no, although I do drink a protein shake daily. Protein is very important to a healthy, whole foods diet. As Sally Fallon points out, in my favorite book:

“Proteins are the building blocks of the animal kingdom. The human body assembles and utilizes about 50,000 different proteins to form organs, nerves, muscles and flesh. Enzymes- the managers and catalysts of all our biochemical processes- are specialized proteins. So are antibodies.
All proteins are combination of just 22 amino acids, eight of which are “essential” nutrients for humans, meaning that the human body cannot make them. When essential amino acids are present in the diet, the body can usually build the other “nonessential” amino acids; but if just one essential amino acid is low or missing, the body is unable to synthesize the other proteins it needs, even when overall protein intake is high. Of particular importance to the health of the brain and nervous system are the sulphur- containing amino acids- methionine, cysteine and cystine- found most plentifully in eggs and meat.

…Inadequate protein intake leads to loss of myocardial muscle and may therefore contribute to coronary heart disease. However, protein cannot be adequately utilized without dietary fats. That is why protein and fats occur together in eggs, milk, fish and meats. A high protein, lowfat diet can cause many problems including too rapid growth and depletion of vitamin A and vitamin D reserves.”


That is a very condensed, simplistic version of why quality proteins are important in our diets (that excerpt comes from a seven page chapter on the importance of proteins, alone. Get the book. Really, you should.). Did you notice I mentioned quality proteins? Aha! I do not consider synthetic protein shakes or soy based protein powder to be of a high quality. They aren’t whole foods & they are heavily processed. No thank you!! (more on soy later)

I make my own raw, whole foods version of a protein shake and its amazing! I love it and the kids love it. It's my go to drink before each and every workout. These shakes keep me satisfied and sustained during a two hour workout in the pool and they leave me feeling healthy and strong for hours afterwards.

• 2 raw egg yolks (from pastured chickens, ONLY)
• 1 big pinch of pink Himalayan Salt
• 2 T agave nectar (or equivalent of your favorite non processed sweetener)**
• 2 cups raw, whole milk
• Either a handful of frozen strawberries, 2 tsp of vanilla extract or 2 tsp of organic cacao powder

**Agave nectar is not technically a nonprocessed sweetener. I only use it in making milkshakes. I plan to experiment more with stevia, maple syrup and local, raw honey. Stay tuned.**

~*~ BREAKING NEWS ~*~

I broke a nail!!!

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Get it? "Breaking News" - a broken nail? Ba dum pum.

***

Why is this news? Because in all of my life my nails have never been long enough or strong enough to break. They've never even grown long enough to think about breaking. Since starting on a more whole foods diet and specifically, since introducing raw milk into my diet my nails have been growing like gang busters!

***

It's the small things that make me happy.

Can ADHD be cured with a smoothie?

Many years ago I used to coach a Jr. select volleyball team. I remember one girl being a very talented player, when she wanted to be. She would show up to practice some days with her “game face” on and yet other days it would be all I could do simply to get her to pay attention long enough for me to explain the next drill. One day while sitting and eating between games during an all day tournament her mother mentioned to me that this little girl couldn’t tolerate red food dye. Having suffered from food allergies myself I assumed she meant she had a physical reaction to an allergen. No. To quote her mother “Kristen goes all ADD on me if she even has the tiniest bit of red food dye.” I’m quite certain my confusion was plastered on my face.

At this point in my young life (I was in my early twenties) I had not heard anything about food dyes effecting behavior. I was still a firm believer in the Standard American Diet and was fad dieting with the best of ‘em. I took this mother’s word for it and began to watch Kristen a little more closely. Having been diagnosed with ADD in college and gone on Ritalin (and subsequently asked, frequently, “are you medicated today?”), I was careful not to point out to Kristen when she was not her usual focused self, but I did take note.

I haven’t thought about Kristen in a long time. In my nutrition research lately, I’ve stumbled upon several articles detailing the belief that food additives, preservatives and the lack of omega 3 fats can significantly alter the behavior of our children. I found it interesting but still, never gave it much thought.

Fast forward to this weekend. My littlest guy took a tumble Saturday afternoon & ended up breaking his arm. He’s fine, but it was quite a stressful weekend for Mommy. Even as it was happening, I recognized my regression immediately. I reached for the junk food. I knew what was happening and I was still powerless over my old habits. On the way home from the ER we stopped at a major box store so my little guy could pick out a few new videos. Pulling into our driveway, we had not only new videos but a box of ice cream treats and a bag of Doritoes as well. We’d called to order pizza on the way home and the kids and I basically buried ourselves in the S.A.D for the weekend. I kept up with my smoothies, but it didn’t really help my tummy (or my cloudy brain) feel any better. I kept telling myself I was too stressed out to cook. The kitchen was a mess and I didn’t want to take any snuggle time away from the boys in order to tidy it up enough to fix a proper meal. I had all kinds of excuses, but the truth was I didn’t really need them. I didn’t even believe them. I knew what was happening. While the habits are still strong, I can happily report that they aren’t nearly as strong as they once were. I may have bought all of that junk food, but we didn’t even put a dent in most of it, at least not to the extent that we would have last year at this time. It’s the little successes that add up, ya know?

By Sunday afternoon I began to notice that my oldest son was extra fidgety, his focus was off and he was an emotional wreck. Some of this can be attributed to his sensitive nature and he was truly, from the bottom of his heart, worried about his little brother. But I know. I know it’s the S.A.D diet he ate this weekend (S.A.D is such an appropriate acronym, isn’t it?). I could see it in his eyes. I saw the look of frustration when I had to correct his behavior for the umpteenth time. I could feel the desperation in his heart when he was trying, oh so very hard, to control his emotions when he didn’t get to play the Wii game of his choice. I could see the hurt on his face when I lost my patience with him (also attributed to the SAD diet).

I remembered Kristen and how she struggled some days and how everything seemed to flow so effortlessly on others. It made me wonder, with the state of school lunches these days, how many children are walking around with inaccurate labels, misdiagnosis, & needless medications? If we offered our children whole foods instead of the processed edible (?) “food like” substances we’re trying to pass off as food, would a lot of these behavioral problems disappear?

How many children out there came out of the womb, were placed on (processed) formula, graduated to (processed) jarred baby food and then eagerly started on (processed) canned veggies & boxed pasta meals? These kids don't stand a chance. We're setting them up for failure even before they take their first bite. I'm raising one. This diet describes my oldest son. Up until several months ago he ate nearly all processed foods. I can see the difference in him. I'll fight my battles. I'll fix my child. I never want to see that look again. That look that says "I know I'm being bad Mommy, but I don't know why and I can't stop."

**tap tap** Is this thing on?!?

Oh where oh where do I begin? I did not mean to disappear on you guys. I truly didn’t. I needed a hiatus. I’ve hit rock bottom. I always thought, when reading about others hitting rock bottom, that it’s a single moment, a single event. As it turns out, rock bottom is a bit of an accumulation of things.

I’ve posted before about my history with food. The funny thing about history is that it never stops. Today’s present is tomorrow’s history. My history with food didn’t end when I discovered green smoothies. It didn’t end with the revelations brought on by my first attempt at a green smoothie cleanse. It keeps evolving. It’s adding new chapters daily.

About a month ago I looked around myself and realized that even though I had been consuming my green smoothies my body and my health were still a bit of a mess. I looked deep within and saw that my thoughts were a mess. I looked beyond myself and realized my house was a mess. It wasn’t a big leap before I finally admitted to myself that my life was a mess. I was a mess. It wasn’t a “moment”. It was a feeling that crept up on me, a little bit at a time. I finally realized I had to make some changes.

Don’t get me wrong. I have an amazing life. I’m married to my best friend and we have two wonderful, healthy children. There is food on the table every night and a roof over our heads each morning as the sun awakens us. I didn’t appreciate the blessings in my life. I was taking for granted the wonderful life in front of me. I’ve been selfish.

It’s time to change this pattern. I got off my bum and started cleaning and purging. Oh it feels good to purge! My house is (ever so slowly) looking less like a hazardous waste dump and more like a home. Carrying tangible items out of my house and blessing others with them (or, in some instances, just letting it go and carrying it off to the dump) has such a cleansing effect on the soul. However, it’s not enough. Purging the physical is one thing, but purging the emotional and psychological is a whole ‘nother ball game. I’m a work in progress.

There is one other place that I need to purge, something that scares me. It terrifies me to the core of my soul, but it’s time. I’m in a different place now and I know I’m strong enough. I need to purge some pounds. I’ve sworn off diets for life and I’m not going back on that, but it’s time. I’m ready.

I will not count calories, or fat grams, or points or anything else. I will eat when I’m hungry and what I eat will nourish my body and satisfy my soul. Nothing is off limits, but before every bite, before every food decision I will ask myself a few simple questions “How will I feel (physically) after eating this?” “Does this food provide nutritional value to my body?” There will be no right or wrong answers. If I want to eat something that will make me feel like crap and not add a single nutrient to my body, that is ok. I will not feel guilt. Asking these questions, however, will help me recognize my motivations. Am I eating this because I’m hungry and my body needs fuel? Am I eating this because I’m bored or upset? Am I eating this simply because its in front of me?

For anyone questioning exactly how I plan to eat, I will tell you this: in about six month's time I've switched from a fairly typical Standard American Diet (S.A.D) to a more Weston A. Price type of diet. I've made some big changes, but I still have a lot of work to do. I'll be talking about this more over time.

I’m not even sure if anyone still reads this blog, but I will post my progress, my thoughts, my recipes & maybe even some pictures (oiy!) here. I know this isn’t exactly green smoothie related, but what started as a simple challenge to myself has taken me down an emotional path to a healthier lifestyle. This blog will be my journal. I’m humbled if you chose to follow along with me. I’m elated if you should want to cheer me on and I’m honored if you’d like to join me.

Also, don’t’ forget to become a fan on Facebook, as I plan to start posting quite a bit more frequently there and not everything will make it onto the blog.

A new smoothie and a new fan

KIDS!! How do you get your kids to eat their veggies? Me? I have them drink them! Since the weather has been starting to turn, we've been making it out to more park days with our local Moms group. I've gotten into the habit of taking pitchers of green smoothies with me. All of my friends are curious about them, but a little hesitant to try them at home. Who can blame them? I'm sure they are thinking, "am I going to even like this?" "will my kids even look at it, much less drink it?" "will I be out all of the money for the ingredients and just end up pouring it down the drain?"
By taking smoothies with me I can show the Moms that drinking them isn't so bad and I can also introduce them to the other kids. Afterall, kids don't always trust their moms when it comes to "something you'll like, just try it" but when they see my kids eagerly drinking it, they want to find out what this amazing treat is!
So this weekend, when I was participating in a multi family yard sale with some friends I decided to take some smoothie with us. Our hostess politely asked if I could make it not so "brownish green" in color (the last one she tried I had used lots of spinach and strawberries which does, unfortunately, produce a less than appealing color!). I set out to make a beautiful pink smoothie. I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand for my Neon Pink Smoothie and I wanted to include some spinach as her middle child, like my oldest, has not voluntarily eaten a vegetable in years. I grabbed what I had on hand and off I went to the yard sale.

• 1.5 cups Viovi Blood Orange Juice
• 1/4 of a beet, frozen
• handful of spinach
• 2 bananas
• handful of frozen peaches
• handful of frozen strawberries

Can I just tell you the reaction from this little boy? He's my new best friend!! At least 15 times he showed up under my elbow and said "Miss Jessica can I have more smoothie?" All. Day. He was so cute about it and I was so excited for him. I left the remainder of the smoothie at his house and the next morning his mother told me that he finished it off for breakfast! I had asked him if I brought a "funky green ~ green like your grass ~ smoothie" would he try it for me? He got a huge smile and YES!! So the next day (it was a two day sale) I made my kids' favorite standby. I pulled into his driveway at 8am and he rode his little firetruck right over to my van and said "did you bring more smoothie?!" I did and this little boy drank nearly all of this one, too! I have a new fan. He's a four year old little boy and those are the best ones!

Sea Vegetables

I bought these Dulse Flakes a few months ago. They've been sitting on my shelf ever since. I knew they were healthy. I knew they were a superfood. I also knew they were way out of my comfort zone. When I decided to shake things up around here and switch the direction of this blog from simply listing my smoothies to talking about them and about the ingredients and why, I knew it was time to break out the sea vegetables. I was hesitant. I was scared. I didn't want my smoothie to taste like the ocean. I didn't want it to taste like mussels. I hate mussels. I set about to make my current favorite smoothie (spinach, peaches & strawberries) and I went ahead and opened up this jar and threw in a pinch or two. Its not much, but from my understanding, a little bit of sea vegetables go a long way. And ya know what? I couldn't even taste them. I might go nuts next time and add a whole "dash". I'm outta control, kids.

So, why do we need sea vegetables in the first place? Well, click on those links up there to read all about them. But in a nutshell, sea vegetables have been a main staple in Asian cultures for many many generations, but they are just catching on here, and with good reason. Studies have shown sea vegetables can reduce your risk for certain cancers, they can help guard against heart disease, ease menopausal symptoms, act as an anti-inflamatory & they are jam packed with loads of trace vitamins & nutrients that most current S.A.D. (Standard American Diets) are lacking. They are sun dried on the banks and rocks of the sea (and sometimes fresh water lakes) and therefore contain live, active enzymes and they are rich with amino acids and other minerals. They are an excellent source of Folate, Vitamin K, Magnesium & Iodine. (just to name a few benefits....)

How does one use dried sea vegetables? Sprinkle them on salads, season your soups or stews with them or toss them in a green smoothis. Go grab some. You'll be glad you did.

Um, Hello??

Blogger is f*&^ing with me. It really is. Its trying to move everything to the center when I want it justified to the left and its trying to justify everything when I want it centered. I give up. So, I'll just type and see what happens.

A while back, my husband and I decided to do an impromptu 24 hour green smoothie cleanse. And then you never heard from me again. No, the cleanse did not kill me. It did, however, open my eyes and help me deal with some of my lingering food issues. You can read about my history with food here. Since starting this journey I've learned to really listen to what my body needs. I've become resentful of how junk food makes me feel. I enjoy feeling good and I've finally made the psychological connection that the way I feel is relative to the food I consume. I've always known it intellectually, but I had to get past my emotional addiction. I'm finally making breakthroughs.

So, back to this cleanse. Neither of us lasted the full day. We both worked out that day, didn't eat enough protein the day before to sustain us and by about 3pm we were both experiencing what I can only describe as "the munchies". Not wanting to set myself up for an all out binge the next day, I decided to snack on some apple slices & raw cheese. We had a typical dinner (at this point I can't remember what we had), but overall it was still a very healthy day. It completely opened my eyes to how often I'm still mindlessly snacking throughout the day. It doesn't matter if its carrot sticks or raw almonds, if I'm not really hungry they are still needless calories. I found myself wandering through the kitchen just opening the cabinets & refrigerator at random. I've been much more aware of my snacking and noshing ever since, so even though I didn't last the full 24 hours, I'm still calling it a success. I'll schedule another group cleanse again later. It was a fabulous experience.

Now, about the blog. I've been thinking about this for quite a while now. My blog is was boring. Showing up and listing a few ingredients each day was getting rather tedious for me, and I can only imagine how mind numbingly boring it was for you guys! I began to feel like it was getting in the way. It was taking valuable time I could have used to research & share other fabulous nutrition based information with you guys. And my smoothies recipes were getting redundant, don'tcha think?

So, I've made some decisions. I'm not going to show up and just list my smoothies each day. I want to share other things with you guys. I want to share more about how I'm feeling, what I'm eating (in addition to smoothies), new things I'm learning, thoughts I'm developing, and on and on. The good stuff. I want to share the good stuff. I'm still committed to drinking a quart of green smoothie everyday and I will continue to share some recipes. The really, really good ones (and the really really bad ones). I want to talk about smoothies, not just list them. So, I'm not going to promise that I'll be here everday, but I do promise that I'm still drinking my smoothies behind the scenes.

That being said, I have a small confession to make. I didn't drink a single drop of smoothie yesterday. The reason? I forgot. I KNOW! I'm still not sure how it happened. We were extremely busy yesterday, never taking the time to actually sit down and sit still. I knew from the get go that my smoothie drinking would happening in the evening and I was ok with that. The problem was, when evening showed up and I got the kids in bed (more like night than evening!) I was so exhausted I just crawled into bed and went to sleep. Totally forgot!! I did dream about green smoothies (and Reese Witherspoon, oddly) but I'm aware that that doesn't cut it. I woke up this morning and immediately drank yesterday's quart and I'll drink another quart later today. I know its not the same and I feel sick because of it. I can't believe I've missed a day. I felt like I had to come clean to you guys. I'm human and I make mistakes. I also realize that whole nutrition is not an all or nothing thing. So I missed a day. Its not going to make my blood pressure spike, I wont' become diabetic tomorrow and I know my health still light years ahead of where it was on Dec 31, 2009. But I'm still pissed at myself. So there you have it. Now, what do YOU want me to write about?

Thank You for Your Patience......

Making some changes around here. I thank you for your patience!

Impromptu 24 Hour Cleanse

Hello fellow green smoothie-ers! Today my husband and I were trying to plan out a menu for the week and out of nowhere my husband says "so tell me about a green smoothie cleanse. I might want to do one." I explained that basically, you, um, drink green smoothies all day. I mean, really, there isn't much more to it than that, is there? He asked if he could drink as many as he wanted ~ yes, of course. He asked what it would do to him ~ cleanse, you sweetie. ; )

So anyway, he wasn't too sure about a full three days, so we decided to do a 24 hour cleanse together. I went to make this morning's smoothie and realized we were super low on spinach and had no bananas. Headin' to the store just as soon as he gets back from his run!

Day One Hundred & Two

I didn't get this post up yesterday because I didn't actually make the smoothie until nearly 11pm. My husband got home last night from a four day trip and well, I had more important things to do than write a blog post. *ahem*

Anyway, I went with an old standby, so its not like you missed much : )

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• frozen mixed fruit (pineapple, strawberries, peaches & grapes)

Delish!

Day One hundred and one

Well, that's a mouthful. I posted about my new liquid crack yesterday and how I was devestated that I couldn't find it around here. Never fear my lovelies, I found it at my favorite grocery store. The website just wasn't updated to show I could buy it in my area. Phew!! That was close! Having found it, I wasn't afraid to use the rest of it in today's smoothie:

• 2 c VioVi
• 1 banana
• 3 handfuls of spinach
• frozen peaches

Everything is better with peaches. My life is right with the world now.

He's learning.....

This is Ben. He's my oldest child and he just turned 7 a few weeks ago. He's a very focused, very determined little monkey. He's not one to let his emotions show very freely, but when he does love someone, he loves them fiercely. He likes his routines, he likes to know what to expect and while some surprises really light up his eyes, he doesn't like anyone screwing with his food. That includes mom. Changing our family from the Standard American Diet over to a more raw, wholefoods diet hasn't been the smoothest of changes for anyone, but I was really expecting a fight from Ben. Maybe its because he's older and understands more, or maybe its because I've explained to him every step of the way what changes we are making, and why. He's been such a trooper. He's tried most things with an open mind and I do still allow his favorite processed foods, just not as much of them. We're going slow.
So, yesterday when we went to VegFest, I was so proud of him. He tried an olive. He tried vegetarian curry. And he tried wheat grass juice. Those are three things even I wasn't willing to try. He didn't like any of them, but he tried them. I was so proud of him.



These Quaker Chewy Bars are one of his favorite snacks. While they are now made without High Fructose Corn Syrup, they are still a mess of overly processed, high sugar crap. I never bought them often, but now even allowing one box in the house really sends my Mommy guilt button into overdrive. But as I stated above, I haven't taken everything away from him yet. We're doing baby steps.

So, yesterday, while at VegFest we saw a table from Cascadian Farm and they had their Chewy Chocolate Chip bar available as free samples. I grabbed two and threw them in my bag. This morning as I was emptying out my bag and sorting through the mountain of samples, coupons & brochures that followed us home. Ben asked if he could try this bar. I told him of course. He opened it up and took a few bites. He told me it was "OK". Then he said something that made me freeze in my tracks and made my heart swell. He said, "Mommy, I think I like the Walmart ones (Quaker) better because I'm just so used to processed foods. I think once I'm not used to those anymore I'll think these organic bars are awesome." I admit, I had a moment. I nearly cried.

Its been over four months since I started this smoothie challenge and about six months since I've really been making serious changes for my family. Its finally sinking in. He's getting it. He understands. And he wants to be healthy. I love my boy. I love him enough to buy the more expensive organic bars, I love him enough to make him a nutritious, love filled smoothie everyday and I love him enough to make these same changes in myself so I can watch my boy grow into a healthy, fun loving adult.

By the way, after he finished that first bar, he was still hungry and asked if he could have the second one "because it was so yummy" even though it was technically for his brother. I told him sure. I know these bars are still processed and they aren't exactly "health food" but for a quick and portable snack, I'll take it!

Day One Hundred

WooHoo!!! We made it 100 days! It feels like just yesterday I got this hair brained idea in my head to start a blog! Thank you all for following and playing along. It really inspires me and keeps me going. Trust me, there have been a few days when I would have rather have said 'screw it' and just gone to bed. But I haven't. Because you guys are here cheering me on. I'll post a special giveaway tomorrow so be sure to check back!

I mentioned on Facebook that I was going to Seattle's VegFest today. It was amazing! More details on that tomorrow, though. For now I have to tell you what I found. A new very favorite juice. It's so delicious. Allow me to introduce to you Viovi. YUM......O! WOW!

It is pasturized, so its not completely raw. But its "gently pasturized." See, it says so right there on the label.

The color is beautiful. It looks (and tastes) a little like grapefruit juice. But I don't make that funky swishy face after drinking it like I do with grapefruit juice.

So obviously, today's smoothie features this new gem.

• 1.5 c Viovi juice
• 1 banana
• bunch o' spinach
• handful of frozen strawberries

I didn't want anything to over power the flavor of this juice. Oh, its heaven on earth, I tell ya.

Day Ninety Nine

I'm a few hours late. We had lunch at a certain chain that's logo has a certain bright yellow "M" in the shape of two arches to help celebrate a little friend's birthday. My brain didn't work right the rest of the night. Bleck! So, here was yesterday's smoothie. I drank a ton and made a whole pitcher to deliver to a friend that just had a baby!

• water
• 2 bananas
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 2 handfuls of frozen mixed fruit (peaches, strawberries, pineapple & grapes)

Its become my favorite standby.

Day Ninety Eight

Still tired and recovering from my swim yesterday. So why am I still up at nearly 11pm? Good question.

• 3 huge handfuls of spinach
• 2 bananas
• handful of frozen peaches
• 2 handfuls of frozen cherries

Ok, I have to be honest. As much as I love cherries, I am not a fan of the cherry/peach combo. I think I'll stick to blueberries or strawberries with my peaches :)

Day Ninety Seven

Well that was embarassing! I can't believe I forgot yesterday's smoothie. Call me out on Facebook the next time that happens, will ya? I feel like I'm walking around in my underwear! I don't really know why. I'm delirously tired, can you tell? My alarm went off at 5 am this morning and I was in the swimming pool by 5:30. I swam with the adult master's program for an hour and then I went to the aquasize class that I normall attend for another hour. I came home, went over some math problems with my son, took a shower and hopped on the ferry to Seattle where I met up with my college roommate that I haven't seen in about 15 years or so. Spent a leisurly 4 hour lunch with her and then came home, fixed dinner and THEN I got to sit down. I'm exhausted. And my brain isnt' working right. I apologize for the misspellings and typos. But my smoothie is yummy : ) Wanna know what's in it?

• 2 bananas
• water
• a big ole bunch o' spinach
• handful of frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, peaches, pineapple & grapes)
• an additionaly handful of frozen strawberries

It tastes like a strawberry banana smoothies. Perfect!

Day Ninety Six

I totally spaced on posting a smoothie yesterday. I have no idea how that happened. I don't even remember yesterday. I'm trying with all of my might and I'm drawing a blank. Not just for the smoothie, but for the whole day. Was I here? Were you here? What is my name? Have I met you?

Oh wait....now I remember. I even took pictures. Hhmm, those will be posted another day.

• 1 large Fuji apple
• 1 banana
• bunch o' spinach
• some kind of frozen fruit (strawberries maybe?) LOL

I do remember that I didn't care for it much. But Mr. Smoothie and lil smoothiekins loved it. I'm losing my mind.....

Day Ninety Five

Weeelll, another Monday has come and gone with no Musings. I'm not sure what made me think Mondays were good days for my musings posts. I didn't even get a chance to glance at the computer until after 2pm today. And was only at it for less than 5 minutes at a time until 9pm. So, I think I'm going to switch it to "Midweek Musings". Everyone ok with that? Good. Now that we've got that settled:

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• 2 c frozen mixed fruit (pineapple, strawberry, peach, grapes)
• 3 c spinach

Blend til smooth. Enjoy. Yum. Goodnight. :)

Day Ninety Four

I hope everyone had a fabulous day. Whether today is special to you or just another Sunday, I hope it was filled with love, laughter and SUNSHINE!! I'm lovin' my recent doses of Vitamin D!! I cleaned out the freezer yesterday so I'm using up some ingredients that I found buried down in the bottom! LOL

• 2 c water
• 2 c watermelon
• 3 c spinach
• 2 bananas
• handful of sliced frozen granny smith apples
• big handful of frozen sweet cherries.

Oh my green smoothie. This one was Fantastic! It was sweet, but not sickenly so like some other ones I've made. I am loving the addition of watermelon. I can't wait for this summer!!!

Day Ninety Three

I have had a horrible headache all day from OD'ing on sugar & white flour. I don't even think all of the smoothies in the world could make me feel better right now. GAH. Thankfully I had a full pitcher of green smoothie in the fridge from yesterday because turning the blender on today may have made my head explode!

Happy Easter everyone. Regardless of what this day, if anything, means to you and your family I hope you are surrounded by those you love!

Day Ninety Two

I'm having a hard time staying away from the junk food this week. I thought it was because of the crap I ate over the weekend, but then I looked at the calendar and it all made sense. I love hormones. No really, I do : )

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• bunch o' spinach
• ~2 c fresh blueberries (whatever was left in the fridge)
• ~2 c frozen peaches (whatever was left in the freezer)

Our farmer's market starts one week from tomorow and I. CAN'T. WAIT!!! I'll be cleaning out my fridge/freezer over the next week to make room for all of the fresh goodies I'll be bringing home. I'm sure I'll go a little overboard that first week!

Day Ninety One

Ahhh, blogger ate my post! Gah, how dare it. I made my smoothie last night and drank it this morning/afternoon and promtply forgot to post. WHOOPS! Sorry about that!

• 2 c OJ
• bunch o' spinach
• frozen strawberries
• frozen peaches
• 2 bananas

Seriously, I can't get enough of the strawberry/peach combo. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, aren't I? Am I dating myself here? Talking about broken records? HA!

BTW, if there are any crafters out there, I'm hosting a giveaway (destashing time!) on my other blog. Just an FYI.

Day Ninety

Ninety? Really? Phew!! It seems like just yesterday that I cooked up this crazy blog idea. Today I went to a friend's house for a playdate and I took my blender with me. Yes, you read that right. "Have blender, will travel."

• 1 apple (Fuji is my fave)
• 1 banana
• bunch o' spinach
• frozen peaches
• frozen strawberries
• water

YUM! I love the strawberry & peach combo!!

Day Eighty Nine

Oh. My. Gawd. I've sent my mom back home, I've sent my husband packing (just temporarily) and the boys and I are all healthy. Phew! Its good to be back! I didn't get to my smoothie today until after dinner. And it shows. Do not, under any circumstances, go to the grocery store while you are hungry and utterly toxic from a weekend od'ing on birthday cake when you HAVEN'T HAD YOUR SMOOTHIE YET! I'm just sayin'. It sounds like it might not go well.

• 2 c OJ
• 3 enormous handfuls of spinach (gotta detox that birthday cake)
• some leftover mixed berries that were sitting in the fridge (about a cup or so)
• frozen mango

This is delish! I poured myself a cup and my youngest drank it all. I poured myself another cup and my oldest drank that one. I had to pry it out of their sticky little fingers just to get a sip. But I let them have it. Goodness knows I'd never actually prevent them from voluntarily drinking a smoothie!!!

Day Eighty Eight.

My out of town guest is heading to the airport. I love having my mom in town, but its also nice to get back to our daily routines. Mr. Smoothie leaves for a trip tomorrow night and then its back to the daily grind around here. So what does my week look like? Its spring break ~ lots of quilting, knitting, play dating & green smoothieing! Today's smoothie was:

• 2 c OJ
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• 2 bananas
• 2 c mixed fresh berries

YUM-O!

Day Eighty Seven

Well hello! All of the birthdays are now behind us. The next one is in Sept, so I think its safe to say we are done with birthday cakes for a while.....oh wait, my friend's daughter is next week. Ok, THEN we're done until Sept. Phew! Even though my boy's birthday was Wed, today was his party and I let him decide the smoothie. He chose his all time favorite smoothie.

• 2 c OJ
• 2 bananas
• 1 lb frozen pineapple
• 3 big handfuls spinach

This one is really really citrusy. Just like the boy likes it : )

Day Eighty Six

We had a birthday party to go to today for my son's friend and tomorrow is my older son's party. Mr. Smoothie and I went to our monthly card party night with some friends, so needless to say my weekend is filled with lots and lots of junk food!! I think I'll be drinking some extra smoothies on Monday! Today's smoothie was quick and easy!

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• 2 handfuls frozen mixed fruit
• 3 handfuls spinach

Its yummy! I'm beginning to notice the smoothies taste sweeter to me. I think I may start cutting back on the fruit.

Day Eighty Five

I drank my second smoothie tonight while watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It was fantastic! I highly recommend it!

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• 1 huge handful frozen pineapple
• 1 average handful frozen mango
• 3 handfuls spinach

YUM!

Day Eighty Four

I drank the remainder of yesterday's smoothie this morning and am enjoying my final smoothie now, before bed. I love having my smoothies in the evening. I get a great burst of energy (usually wasted in front of FB, but often used to get some knitting done) and then I drift off to sleep and I sleep so soundly with some greens in my tummy.

• 2 bananas
• handful of frozen strawberries
• handful of frozen mixed fruit
• boatload of spinach
• water

Day Eighty Three

The "Mom of Smoothie" is in town this week. Yes, she is aware of the rules of the house and happily drank her smoothie today. My blogging my be even more sporadic than normal right now, we've got lots of stuff planned during her visit and my computer time will probably be limited severly. Today's smoothie:

• 2 c water
• 1 banana
• 3 handfuls of spinach
• 2 c fresh strawberries
• 1 handful of frozen peaches

My mom said it made her "pucker". I don't know if that's a good thing?

Day Eighty Two

I'm still playing catch up from having my entire family sick for two months and once again I've run out of spinach. WTH?? How does this keep happening?!?! But never fear my trusty green friends, I had picked up a bag of collard greens the other day! I've never before had a smoothie with just collard greens, but I thought "what the hey"! I was either that or haul my behind to the store. And if you could see how I'm dressed right now you would totally understand the choice I made. So.....

• 2 bananas
• a whole bunch of fresh strawberries
• a whole bunch of collard greens
• a whole bunch of frozen pineapple
• water

Don't you love my precise measurements? I cook the same way. It drives my husband crazy because I can never recreate the same recipe. He thinks I do it just to annoy him. He might be right. Oh, and when I opened the fridge to put the smoothie inside, to what should my wandering eyes should appear? The rest of yesterday's smoothie. Totally forgot I had any left. DOH!

Tuesday's Thoughts

It seems all anyone is talking about today is the healthcare deal that President Obama signed into law this morning. No, I’m not bringing politics into the blog. If you are my Facebook friend, you know where I stand on the issue. But I thought this topic warranted a few musings.

My first thought is that it makes me weep that our country, our society, has come to the point where a health care crisis of this magnitude must even be dealt with. Our health costs are spiraling out of control in large part due to our overwhelming dependence on pharmaceuticals. Its somehow, somewhere become the normal school of thought that we can do what we please to our bodies, fuel them with whatever is handy, sit them sedentary for hours upon hours each day and then expect a miracle when we visit the doctor to have him prescribe us the latest, trendy miracle pill.

What would become of the healthcare debate if our President and First Lady challenged everyone to take charge of their own destiny? What if there was a nationwide call for everyone to put nutrition at the top of the debate instead of big pharma? Why don’t we focus on preventative measures instead of reactive treatments?

What if we chose to line the pockets of local farmers with our hard earned dollars instead of bankrolling the bottom line of the large corporations of big pharma and the insurance industry?

High blood pressure runs in my family, so does heart disease and diabetes. I’m choosing to reject that fate. I will not be a victim to my genes. I will not sit idly by and wait for my body to turn on me. I’m in control and it feels amazing. I’ve learned to trust my body. I know that as long as I give it the nutrition that it needs, it has the power to keep things running smoothly. Why would I settle for man made synthetic chemicals to make me “healthy” when everything designed to keep me running at optimal health is provided right here in nature? As God intended?

So, Mr. President, I offer you this challenge: rather than handing everyone a shiny new insurance card, why not start with handing everyone a blender, some beautiful leafy greens and the directions to their local farmer’s market? Let’s see what these beautiful bodies are really capable of!

***** By the Way, my blood pressure is 104/70 *****

***disclaimer: before I am publicly flogged, I realize that the healthcare debate is much more complicated than my simplistic approach above illustrates. I was simply trying to offer some lighthearted fun commentary on this otherwise toxic and explosive issue. I believe that some people do not need a magic pill, some people just need to change some habits. I also recognize that this is not true of everyone using pharmaceutical therapies***

Day Eighty One

...or alternately titled "The Monday with no Musings". I spent the better part of today at the doctor's office. My family has been sick for two months and I'm just sick of it! I've felt like crap off and on for over two weeks and after the week I had last week, I knew something had to be done. So now I'm on antibiotics. I'm not a big fan of the drug industry, but sometimes pharmaceutical intervention is a necessary evil. This is one of those times. So, I beg your forgiveness for not offering any Monday Musings today, but I will be sure to give you some Tuesday's Thoughts tomorrow.

I'd like to welcome all of the new followers that found their way here via No Time For Flashcards. Feel free to click around a bit, make yourself at home and let me know if you have any questions. I looooove comments and feedback. It makes me feel like I'm not out here in blogland talking to myself.

Today's smoothie was a bit sweet for me, but it had a higher than usual ratio of fruits. It was my day to be snack mom at preschool and I sent in a big bowl of fresh fruit, I took what was left and threw it in the blender with some bananas and spinach.

• 2 bananas
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• mixture of pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew & grapes.
• ICE

Its yummy, but sweet. My boys didn't care for it much.

Day Eighty (again)

Well, '80 was a good year, so let's do it all over again, right? So, I made a more palatable smoothie to take the place of that Gawd awful thing I made earlier. I went simple and stuck to tried and true ingredients. I'm not sure Mr. Smoothie will ever let me experiment again.

• handful of frozen pineapple
• handful of frozen mixed fruit (peaches, strawberries, grapes & pineapple)
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 2 bananas
• water ~ lots and lots of water

Aaaahhhh, much better!

Day Eighty

In an attempt to commemorate yesterday's junior high indulgence, I thought making a Bloody Mary. My one and only smoothie with Mustard Greens (inedible) was so peppery that I thought to myself "Hhhmm, that would make one kick @$$ Bloody Mary." Except here's the kicker: I'm not normally a big fan of Bloody Marys so I'm not so sure how, in my mind, this was a good idea. I've had one really really good Bloody Mary in my life. ONE. That was probably about 15 years ago or so. What in the name of Henry made me believe I could recreate it? So today I tried:

• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 mustard greens leaves
• 1 handful of spinach
• 5 large strawberries
• 1 apple
• water
• ICE

It was bad. Like not just "oh, well that's not very good." More like, "Oh Holy mother of Greg, what the hell WAS that?" Just in case it was just me, I took a cup to my husband and said "here try this before I dump it out." He took one sip and made me swear on our marriage that I'd never do that to him again. I guess he didn't like it. In fact, he wouldn't even talk to me until I took the cup out of the room and brought him something to "wash that awful taste" out of his mouth. So, we're drinking the rest of yesterday's smoothie and I'll make up another one later tonight. Live and learn. : )

Its an honor....

The amazingly talented Allie of No Time For Flashcards fame is not only a blogger that I follow religiously, but a real life friend as well. We actually "met" online through our blogs and then through some of her pictures (newspapers, grocery bags, etc..) we realized we live in the same small town and we're now part of the same Moms group. What's funny is I run into her at the grocery store at least once a month, usually more! And its almost always in the produce section. She's been sneaking spinach into her little guy's smoothies since long before I came around, and I'm completely honored to be her Sunday Spotlight this week. Thank you, Allie.

Mr. Smoothie took the boys out today for breakfast and a guy's day. So I have an entire Sunday to the house by myself. I'm planning to use my time wisely and get a jump start on my Spring Cleaning since my grand plans for this week fell victim to a head full of snot. I'll start the day with the remainder of yesterday's smoothie, but I'll be back this afternoon to post a new one. I have an out of this world idea, but I need to head to the grocery store first. Maybe I'll run into Allie. : )

Day Seventy Nine

Tonight I drank my green smoothie and drooled over some teenaged werewolves and vampires. It was a great night. Hi, my name is Jessica and I'm a Twilight Mom. (ok, seriously, until I just googled that looking for a link, I had NO idea there were so many web pages out there dedicated to the phenomenon of 30 - 40 something women swooning over this masterpiece of literature. Its sad. Truly, truly sad.)

• 2 c pineapple
• 2 c watermelon
• 1 banana
• agave
• bunches o' spinach
• ICE

If I had been a little more creative, I would have made a blood red one to drink while indulging in inner giggly teenager. But I'm not creative like that.

Day Seventy Eight

Phew! This week sure was a dosey! I'm still not completely back to the land of the living, but I do feel tremendously better than I did on Monday. Now if only I get air through both nostrils. I'd be in business!!

• water
• 2 bananas
• 2 c watermelon
• 2 c pineapple
• spinach
• ICE

= YUM!!!

Day Seventy Six

What the hell happened to day Seventy Six? It was there, on the blog. I saw it with my own eyes. I went to shut down the computer and then it was gone. I think I'm losing it. Nah, its my computer. Yea, I'll blame it on my computer! Ok....yesterday's smoothie was:

• water
• 2 bananas
• fresh pineapple
• fresh spinach
• fresh strawberries
• Ice

Day Seventy Seven

Aaannd, here's today's post. Do you know what I did? Its so embarrassing. I can't believe it myself. It will just go to show how truly sick I was this week. I let spinach wilt and go bad. *hanging head in shame* Approximately 3 lbs of spinach must be thrown away. I stocked up for my cleanse and then I got so sick. I knew it was going bad and I just didn't care. It wasn't important enough for me to drag my sorry @$$ out of bed and bad it up and put it in the freezer. *snif snif*
Today's smoothie has the spinach that I was able to salvage in it, but it amounted to about one big handful. Maybe 1/3 of what I normally use. Let the public flogging begin.

• water
• banana
• watermelon (about 1 c)
• fresh blueberries (about 2 c)
• frozen peaches
• about 1 handful of spinach

Day Seventy Five

We were without power today for about 9 hours. Its typical, here in the Northwest. Today's outage was fairly minor. We've been out for days before. Oh, and Mr. Green Smoothie has never been in town for an outage lasting longer than a few hours. Typical. Anyway, I'm so glad I made my smoothie early this morning. But I had put it in the fridge and I don't open the fridge during outages because I want to keep the cold air in. Thankfully the power came back on and I was able to drink the rest of my daily quota. I was so afraid I might fail today. So, here we go:

• 1 apple, cored & chopped
• 3 c water
• 4 big handfuls of spinach
• frozen peaches
• frozen strawberries

Its delish! This afternoon I felt really really bad, but I think it was the stress of the power outage. I'm feeling much better right now. Not 100% yet, but still much better. Its probably why I'm wide awake and can't get to sleep.....

So far today....

....I have taken two naps (and am getting ready to go back to bed), had one mug of herbal tea, one bagel, one baked potato and one cup of green smoothie.

The bagel and potato were to help calm my stomach when dealing with my post nasal drip (gross, I know. Sorry). I'm hoping that all of my sleep and rest today will kick this and I can start fresh with the green smoothie cleanse tomorrow.

Monday Musings

*cough cough* Well, there are three people sick in my house again and this time I'm one of them. We have what my son's pediatrician described as a "viral version of bronchitis". I'm glad its viral as we've had so many courses of antibiotics in our home lately. A little too much phramaceutical therapy for my liking.

So, I'm going to stick to the green smoothie cleanse as much as I can, but I also have to respect my body and listen to what its calling for. Right now all my throat wants is herbal tea and chicken broth. I make my own broth, so neither of those options are overly processed and I'm comfortable allowing them in my cleanse. I'm just not sure how much smoothie I'll actually get in today. It simply doesn't sound good on my throat. But I'll at least get my committed quart in.

I'll keep you updated throughout the day. Thanks for playing along! Let me know how you guys are doing! I'll start a discussion on the FB page.

Day Seventy Three

I just couldn't stomach yesterday's smoothie today, so I poured it all out. It was bad. Really really bad. I ate like crap this weekend and have felt like crap this weekend ~ go figure. Once I finally got home this evening, I made (and drank) my smoothie quota and feel ssoooo much better!

• 2 c frozen blueberries
• 10 frozen strawberries
• 5 slices frozen peaches
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• water

Oh, it was ssooo much better! Don't forget, tomorrow is the start of our green smoothie cleanse!

Day Seventy Two

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and now I'm sitting in a hotel in downtown Seattle trying my best not to talk because its so painful. I guess after four cases of strep in my house it was bound to get me sooner or later. My green cleanse can't come soon enough! I made a double batch of smoothie today and brought enough with me to have one for breakfast tomorrow morning.

• 1 whole pineapple (cored & skin removed)
• 1 whole mango (diced)
• 1 whole papaya (seeds & all)
• 4 ginormous handfuls of spinach
• water
• ICE

It made two blenders full and it was......not good. Its spicy. I'm not sure if that's just papaya or if that's the seeds. I drank my quart today, but I'm not sure I'll be able to stomach any more of it tomorrow. Thankfully I'll be home tomorrow evening, so I can make myself a new batch. I will not miss a day simply because the only smoothie I have available is gross. I'll just put my big girl panties on and bottoms up ~ if need be. Thankfully it should not need be!

Day Seventy One

Phew, I'm so looking forward to this cleanse next week! How are you all doing getting all stocked up and ready to go? Who's joining in the fun? Do you have a blog? Let me know and I'll link to everyone's blog that is participating so we can visit one another and cheer each other on!!

• water
• frozen peaches (lots)
• frozen strawberries
• 2 banans
• 3 big handfuls spinach

YUM-O! Finishing off the rest of it as I type!

Day Seventy

Hello there! Today it's official. We've had four diagnosed cases of strep throat in our house in the last four weeks. I was out with a sore throat last week but never went to the dr, so I'm not counting that. My oldest has had it twice (one time it escalated into Scarlet Fever), my youngest once (also escalated) and now my husband has it. Spring can't come soon enough 'round these parts!!

• 2 c water
• 1 whole mango, diced
• 2 large bananas
• 15 frozen strawberries
• handful of frozen granny smith apples (that I found at the bottom of my freezer)
• 4 huge handfuls of spinach (extra greens for this lot of sickos!)

Blend until beautiful!

Day Sixty Nine

As much as the giggling highschool girl in me wants to, I'm going to refrain from making a comment about the number of today's smoothie ; )

Today's smoothie is sweet & simple, just like me!

• 2 bananas
• 1 apple
• lots o' spinach
• 2 handfuls of frozen strawberries
• water

And its really really yummy!!

Day Sixty Eight

Whatever germs invaded my home last week seem to be rebounding on my husband. I feel great and so do the kids, but he's back in bed. I'm staying far away from that man : )

• 1 ginormous apple!
• handful of fresh pineapple
• 6 oz bag of spinach (going to Costco today to restock!)
• handful of frozen peaches
• handful of frozen strawberries
• water

I ran out of spinach over the weekend (gasp!) and had to run to the grocery store and buy three little bags of it. I spent TWICE as much on those little bags than I do for 10 days worth at Costco. OUCH!

Day Sixty Seven

I made the smoothie earlier in the afternoon, am just now sitting down to the computer to get this typed up. Our Mondays are always hectic, but today was extra special as my oldest son earned his yellow belt in Aikido. We're so very proud of him. But now I have to watch what I say because he can hurt me ; )

• 2 c water
• 2 bananas
• about 2 cups fresh pineapple
• 6 oz spinach
• frozen peaches
• frozen strawberries

It was DELISH!! I'm loving the frozen peaches I picked up. I can't wait until I find them fresh!

Monday Musings ~ Detox

Ok, I've decided to go ahead with this green smoothie detox. I've gotten a lot of feedback from you guys asking about the rules of the detox, people letting me know they may not be able to last all three days, etc.

One thing I have realized during my journey toward a more healthy life is that the only rule when it comes to nourishing our bodies is that we listen to them. We feed them what they need. We ignore our brains and their constant requests for what they want. This green smoothie detox has no rules. We will each set up our own guidelines. No one is here to judge. Make this what you need it to be. The rest of us will do the same.

Let's plan to start on Monday, March 15. That will give us all time to prepare and to stock up on lots of greens and other fresh, exciting ingredients. Some people have mentioned that they get hungry while only drinking smoothies. I've often found that I'm not exactly hungry, but I do wish for something to chew on. I will allow myself some raw carrot sticks or apple slices if I encounter this. If its something I'd throw into my smoothie, I consider it acceptable to eat for a quick "chew fix" :-)

So, my personal guidelines will be:

• I will continue with my daily milkshake (raw milk, raw egg yolk, raw agave, cacao powder)
• I will have green smoothies the rest of the day
• Each evening, I will do a cup of juice with a daily cleanse & detox powder that I got from this shop. (my husband's aunt & uncle). This particular product does not seem to be available any more. I will call them to see if they still have any if anyone is interested
• I will do this for three days.

Let's have fun with this! I will start some discussions on our facebook page so we can muse about how we're feeling, what our bodies are telling us and what kinds of smoothies we're making.

Day Sixty Six

Good evening internets! I've gotten some good feedback about doing a green smoothie cleanse, so keep an eye out tomorrow. My Monday Musings will include the where, when, hows & who's of the cleanse!
Today's smoothie:

• 2 banans
• 1 10oz bag baby spinach
• handful of fresh pineapple
• handful of frozen strawberries
• water

Have I mentioned that my friend's husband went to Hawaii last week? He brought back a case of pineapples. YUM! Our farmer's market starts next month and I. can't. wait!!!!

Three Day Green Smoothie Cleanse, anyone?

I've been thinking for quite some time that I'd like to do a green smoothie cleanse. I think a 3 day one is all I'm willing to commit to at this point, but it would still be fun. Anyone want to join?

A true cleanse would mean only green smoothies and water for 3 full days. I, however, will be doing a slightly altered version. I will have a morning milkshake (raw milk, egg yolk, cacao powder, raw agave & ice) and then green smoothies the rest of the day.

Anyone, anyone???

Day Sixty Five

I'm finally starting to feel better. The sun is shining, my family is healthy. I have much to be thankful for!
So, I've always been intimidated by fresh mangos. Just wasn't sure how to handle cutting them up. So, like all things in life, when I'm curious about something I turn to YouTube! What? You don't? Don't lie. So, I bit the bullet and bought two fresh mangos this week. And oooooohh, doggie! I'm so glad I did! I used the technique in this video. My mango was a little soft, so my dices weren't quite as pretty as his, but for my first attempt I was very satisfied. I loooooove mango salsa and am so pleased that I can now make my own and not have to rely on processed salsa out of a can!! Today's smoothie:

• 1 mango, diced
• 3 handfuls of spinach
• approx 8-10 large frozen strawberries
• 2 c water
• a few sprays of coconut oil

Let 'er rip! The fresh mango tastes ssooo much better than frozen!!

Day Sixty four

My family seems to be on the mend, but this was my worst day yet. I hope tomorrow will start the upswing. I know that while I'm sick I should be drinking even more green smoothies than normal, but I have zero energy and zero motivation. I took a two and a half hour nap today, I haven't done the dishes in about three days and in order to even make a smoothie today I had to clear a spot on the counter. Things aren't lookin' good in the green house. But never fear, I did make a smoothie today:

• 2 c water
• 1 banana
• coupl'a big handfuls of spinach
• about a cup or so of fresh blueberries
• approx two peaches worth of frozen peach slices
• agave

This might be one of my new favorites. I'll add it to my list of faves on teh left hand side of the blog. Enjoy!

Day Sixty Three

The other day at the mall I bought the kids a fruit smoothie and the inhaled it. It was a peach & strawberry smoothie, so when I spied frozen peaches today while shopping I thought I'd try to recreate a green version at home. It was a hit!

• 2 cups water
• 1 banana
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• frozen peaches (about the equivalent of 2 peaches)
• 8-10 frozen strawberries
• agave

Its delish and a nice change of pace from what we've been having lately.

Day Sixty Two

Well, oldest son has strep AGAIN, youngest son has a cold, husband is home and just feels "crummy" and my throat hurts. Bleck. Oh, and remember what my dog ate yesterday? All of it came (quite literally) squirting out sometime in the middle of the night. So I've spent the better part of today scrubbing floors & walls and the crate....fun times. Fun times. Green smoothie take me away!!!!

• 2 c water
• 1/2 c pineapple juice
• 2 pineapple spears
• 3 bananas
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• ICE

My throat is so sore nothing tastes good to me. I'm just chugging the smoothies down because I know they'll help me get better. But what I really want to do is go back to bed.

Monthly Update

Do you guys remember a while back when I was featured on the Green Smoothie Queen's blog? Well, she's featuring updates on my progress each month. Go check out my latest update. She also does regular challenges to help people develop the green habit. Go check her out. She's cool, like me : )

Day Sixty One

Today was HELL. Well, it started out ok, it was just busy. And that's ok, I can handle busy. It wasn't a planned busy so that threw me off a bit. Then we threw in a dr's appt for my oldest (he hasn't had a smoothie in weeks) at 5:15 pm so that really threw me off. Then the strep test came back positive and we waiting for 90 MINUTES at the pharmacy. That make me cranky. When we got home, we found the dog had some how gotten out of his crate (I might have, maybe, sort of, been in a hurry and didn't latch both latches when we left...) and remember those girl scout cookies I mentioned yesterday? Well, I don't have to worry about them tempting me anymore. The damn dog ate them all. One box was saved, because he knocked it under the table. Damn dog.

Anyway, I had lots of smoothie left from yesterday so that's what I'm drinking now. Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be, right? RIGHT?

Day Sixty

Phew. Monday's are tough around here. I finished off the little bit left of yesterday's smoothie this morning and then didn't even get within five feet of my blender until after 10 pm. I fired up the vitamix and then sat down and watched Jake make the biggest mistake of his life propose to Vienna and let me just tell you, from one pilot's wife to, well, you guys. That girl does not have what it takes to be "sometimes single". She's in for one rude awakening once she moves to Dallas and they enter into what the rest of us know as "the real world." But hey, maybe she'll surprise us all, but I'm not holding my breath ; )

• handful of frozen strawberries
• 1 lb bag of frozen pineapple
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 1 quart water
• 1 banana

It was very good, but it didn't go so well with the Thin Mints I was eating. ; )

Do you experience mid day slumps? Does three o’clock hit you like a brick wall nearly every day? I've always been told, “oh, you have young children, you’re supposed to be tired!” Well, I no longer accept that. I now know my mid day (mid morning, mid evening…) slumps were (and sometimes still are) a direct result of the food I put into my body.

Speaking of which, I had some serious motivation issues this weekend; both with my smoothies and with life in general. It still takes me by surprise to realize just how much the food we eat affects the rest of our lives. After the pizza incident, I made fajitas for dinner the following night and I did not serve a salad with it. Two dinners in a row with no raw foods and heavy on the white bread and boy was my body pissed! Friday I got up early and took the kids to the pool in a futile attempt to get in some sort of a workout, but the rest of the day I was useless and cranky, exhausted and lethargic. I didn’t even make my smoothie until after the kids went to bed that evening. I snacked on processed junk all day and just felt like crap. Saturday was more of the same. The boys and I were invited to a friend’s house for dinner and I knew the menu would be lasagna and salad. I took marinated cucumbers and filled my plate to near over flowing with salad and cucumbers and then had just a half a piece of lasagna. I drank water most of the evening and finally Sunday morning I was beginning to feel human again. I nourished my body with lots of healthy, raw foods throughout the day yesterday and spent some time outside at the park to soak up some needed vitamin D from the sun’s rays. By the end of the day I was feeling much better and ready to tackle this hectic chaos that my family calls Monday. I woke up a little, um, puffy this morning but otherwise feeling so much better.

When I’m feeling a little sluggish, I no longer reach for the coffee pot. My vitamix is my new “dealer” and green smoothies are my drug of choice! So the next time you find yourself reaching for a cup o’ joe in the middle of the day, why not reach for a green smoothie instead? If you don’t find your energy rebounding, I’ll buy you your next cup of coffee (j/k, sort of.)

Day Fifty nine

Well, I finally got the spinach out of the garage. I'll be so glad when this weekend is over. I sort of lost my mojo for a bit. I'm feeling much better now. I've been home most of the day and could plan and design my own meals and I'm in a much better mood. Today's smoothie:

• about 2 cups of fresh blueberries
• 2-3 handsfuls of spinach
• 1 banana
• handful of frozen pineapple
• water

Its very good. My kids won't even try it. I think they OD'd on carbs this weekend. We'll fix that this week.

Day Fifty eight

I did not make or even sip a smoothie until 10pm tonight. But no fear, I got the whole quart in at one sitting. But now my stomach is sloshing a bit. EEK. I still haven't brought the spinach in from the garage, and I was unwilling to experiment with mustard greens again tonight. So I made another neon pink smoothie instead:

• 2 c coconut water
• 2 c OJ
• 1/4 of a frozen beet
• 1 carrot
• handful of frozen strawberries
• handful of frozen pineapple

I really enjoyed this one. The subtle hint of pineapple was very refreshing!

Day Fifty seven

Holy Chlorophyll Batman! I used up all of the spinach in the house yesterday and out of simple laziness I didn't go out to the garage today to get more. So I decided to use only mustard greens in today's smoothie. Yea, I won't be doing that again anytime soon. Yowzers!

• 2 c water
• 3-4 large leaves of mustard greens
• 4 handfuls red grapes
• 1 spear pineapple
• 1 banana
• squirt of agave
• ICE

Upon the first sip it was actually quite tasty. However, after several large sips the back of my throat was on FIRE! I've never tasted anything so peppery. I couldn't even finish it. I dumped it out. Thankfully I had enough leftover smoothie in my fridge that I was still able to eek out a full quart for today. So yes, every once in a while, I do make a dud of a smoothie!

Day Fifty Six

Have you ever gone out to dinner with your family? And then found yourself at a pizza joint? Have you then proceeded to "create your own pizza" with roasted garlic sauce, grilled chicken, bacon, articoke hearts and whole milk mozzarella? Did you then eat two pieces (in addition to the two breadsticks you've already eaten) and then officially declare yourself uncomfortably full? On the way home, did you notice that pizza (and breadsticks) sitting in your stomach like a rock? Have you ever done that? Yea, me neither.

BUT, if I HAD ever done that, I would have made a smoothie as soon as I got home. And within half an hour of drinking that smoothie I probably would've noticed that rock in my stomach getting lighter. I'd probably realize that by the time I went to bed, my stomach felt almost normal, minus the churning and "bubbles" being produced as the smoothie was trying to digest that pizza for me.

Of course I'm just guessing with this, because as I stated above, its never happened to me. And it certainly, most definitely did NOT happen last night. Nope. Na uh. Didn't happen. But, if it DID, this is the smoothie I would have made (and I would have made extra so I could drink the rest the next day). Yep, this is how it would have played out. I'm certain of it ; )

• 2 c water
• 3 big handfuls spinach
• 2 fresh pineapple spears
• 2 big handfuls frozen strawberries

And if I had made this, I'm sure it would have tasted fabulous. A little greener than normal, but fabulous ; )

Day Fifty Five

My husband is in town and he prefers banana based smoothies, so today I made him:

• 2 c water
• 3 huge handfuls of spinach
• 2 bananas
• 1 apple, cored & chopped

My husband and our youngest loved it. The oldest and I? Hated it. I'm off to make myself something else. I'm making extra so it will also be tomorrow's smoothie.

Using other greens....

I have had several comments lately asking if I use any other greens besides spinach. In the past, I have used kale, collard greens & chard. I usually add the other greens alongside of the spinach. I enjoy green smoothies, but my children still require the mild taste of spinach. : )

Day Fifty Four

Would you guys like it if I uploaded a video of me making a smoothie? It was just a thought I had since I finally have a new camera :) Today's smoothie:

• approx 3 c organic OJ (I really really want to start squeezing my own)
• 1 apple, chopped & cored
• 1 banana
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• 1 lb bag of frozen tropical fruit mix (pineapples, strawberries & mangos)

Its good. Not very creative, but good. I am sssooo ready to start experimenting with fresh produce this summer. Come ON Spring!

Day Fifty Three

Phew! Monday's are tough around here. We homeschool our oldest son, but one day a week he goes into "school" with other homeschooled children. He's there from 10-3 on Mondays. My younger son has preschool on Monday mornings as well, then its off to aikido from 4:30-5:30 and then chess club from 6:30-8:00. It makes for a looooonnng day. My smoothies help carry me through. Today's smoothie was:

• 2 c water
• 1 banana
• 1 whole lime ~ one complete half (rind & all) and the juice of the other half
• 2 10 oz bags of frozen cherries
• approx 2 Tblsp agave nectar
• 3 huge hanfuls of spinach

YUM! It was like a cherry limeade. Delish! I brought enough to share to chess club and my friend's son downed a whole one and then asked for seconds (and thrids) :)

Monday Musings....

I have a question for you. Would you offer your child a cigarette knowing that it’s an unhealthy habit? A habit that, knowing the health risks you chose not to partake in?
I mentioned in my last musings post that I am working on healing my relationship with food and switching my focus from weight loss to healthy eating. Often times our society uses those two ideas interchangeably. However, they have come to mean two very different things to me. My children do not need to lose weight, but they do need to develop healthy habits.
I was reading some weightloss blogs over the weekend and I noticed one recurring theme that really struck me. So many of these peole that were trying to lose weight were slaving over meale for their families, that they weren't willing to eat themselves because of their "diet". They were buying granola bars and other snacks for their children that they “couldn’t eat because of the diet.” I wonder, if these “diets” are supposed to lead us to optimal health and a fit and fun lifestyle why there are so many foods that these people are willing to feed their children that they aren't "allowed" to eat? After all, if the ultimate goal of these "diets" is ultimate health and not just a means to lose weight, shouldn’t the whole family be following them, not just one member?
In my quest for a healthy lifestyle and a healthy family, I can’t think of a single item that I feed my children that I wouldn’t personally eat because “its not healthy enough”. Yes, I feed my kids treats. They get plenty of them. More than I’d like to admit. But I’m not trying to teach them “if you want to be healthy certain foods are off limits, but if you aren’t on a diet, all foods are ok.” That doesn’t make sense to me. There are only a few things that I completely, and absolutely restrict from our diets. Well, one item actually that I can think of. Aspartame. I’ll muse about that another day, but, like the cigarettes above, if I’m not willing to eat it because of health risks, I’m certainly not going to offer it to my children! I’m trying to teach my children balance and moderation. Yes we eat chips, yes we eat boxed sugar cereals, yes we eat candy. But we also drink green smoothies (almost) everyday, we eat fresh fruit, and we drink raw, organic whole milk. We are all learning to listen to our bodies. Since starting this journey, my older child’s snacking has significantly reduced and I now hear him say, “hhmm, I’d love another cookie, but I don’t want a tummy ache so I’ll wait until later.” He’s learning these lessons on his own, by watching my example. So when I see blogs that say “I bought cereal, and pop tarts and granola bars and chips and, and, and,…for the kids, but I can’t eat them because of my diet” I want to scream and say “WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN????” Are we showing them that we value our own health more than theirs? After all, if we can’t eat it because some diet says it’s not “healthy enough” but we’re willing to let our children have it, what does that say? Are we simply setting them up to go through what we’re going through right now? Why can’t we, as a society, break this cycle? Why not focus on healthy eating for our WHOLE family rather than weight loss for one member?