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!

Day Twenty seven

Phew, better late than never, eh? At 8:45 tonight I still hadn't had one drop of smoothie. And I could tell. It was just a busy day and I wasn't really hungry for most of it, so I just never got around to making one. But my energy levels were in the dumps. Anyway, I made the smoothie and drank the entire quart at one time. I feel like I could float away.....

• couple handfuls of red grapes
• a few frozen pineapple chunks (to get them out of the freezer)
• a bunch of frozen mixed berries
• collard greens
• spinach
• banana
• agave
• water
• a few basil leaves (wow, a little goes a loooooonngg way)

And there you have it. Enough for one pint for my husband and one quart for me.

Day Twenty four

I've been doing a lot of reading and researching lately looking for our ideal nutrition plan. I know the "right" fats are good and I also know I'm not getting enough of those. So today I set out to put some into my smoothie. Coconut oil is a controversial oil to say the least, but I do believe it can be part of a healthy, whole foods diet. So, here we go:

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2 bananas
• 2-4 fresh mango spears
• 2 fresh pineapple spears
• a little pineapple juice
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 handful collard greens
• 3 lime leaves
• 1 T coconut oil melted in 1 cup of warm water*

Let 'er rip. I have to admit, today's smoothie was not my favorite. I could taste and feel the coconut oil. But I drank and feel better knowing I've got some good fats in me today.

*coconut oil is solid at room temp and melts at 76 degrees. In order to not have hunks of solid fat in my smoothie I melted it in warm water first.

***Edited to Add: after this smoothie chilled out in the fridge for a while, it really wasn't as offensive as I first thought.***

Day Twenty Three

Wow. Yesterday I had a total emotional breakdown. I had super weird cravings all day and I just felt 'off'. Its not hormonal, so I turned to look at my nutrition. Yesterday's smoothie was very good, but it was very heavy and not as raw as I normally like (especially since I didn't soak the walnuts). Thursday night for dinner I had made myself some Morning Star Broccoli Cheddar Bites. They were good, but now I'm wondering what kind of preservatives may have been used and if I was having a reaction to some weird ingredient. I haven't had much processed food lately. Either way, I knew this morning I needed a raw, wholesome nutrient packed smoothie. So, into my vita-mix:

• Basic Smoothie Starter with pear
• one over ripe banana
• about two cups of frozen pineapple chuncks
• three handfuls of spinach
• one handful of collard greens
• a splash of OJ (not raw, but I was out of oranges)
• ICE

Its very yummy and I expect will help kick out whatever toxins took hold of my brain yesterday. Now what to do with that pan of brownies I made.............

Day Twenty Two

Green smoothies, when made with nutritious wholesome fresh fruits and vegetables (whole foods, not juices) have an enourmous amount of fiber in them, but still I wanted to up the ante a little today. Blueberry buckle anyone?

• Juice of one lemon (approx 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 1 lb of fresh blueberries
• 1/4 c raw walnuts (I did not soak them, as I just decided to use them this morning)
• 1/4 rolled oats
• handful of collard greens
• couple handfuls of spinach
• ICE

Day Twenty

Today has been a busy day so far. I made the smoothie this morning, but am just sitting down long enough to post what I made. Its days like today that I'm grateful for the extra energy that I get from these smoothies. Into the vita-mix:

• 2 c water
• 1 pear cored & cut up
• 2 big handfuls of green grapes
• 1 handful collard greens
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 banana
• squirt of agave
• ICE

I found a bag of collard greens cut up and ready to blend at the store, so I thought I'd try them out. I couldn't taste a difference in the smoothie at all. YUM!