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?

Day Fifty Two - Twofer

Today was another twofer day. They were both delicious! For the green smoothie:

• 2 c water
• 1 banana
• 1 lb bag of frozen "tropical" mixed fruit (pineapple, mango & strawberries)
• 2 big handfuls spinach

Viola! Done. I can. not. wait. for summer produce to start showing up. I'm getting sick of frozen fruit!

Number two smoothie was not green, and it was a bit of an experiment. I loved it. It kept me full and satisified for hours.

• 2 c raw Jersey milk
• 1 egg yolk*
• ICE
• splash of vanilla
• about 2 T agave

*Yes, I said egg yolk. I, personally, wouldn't do this with average store bought eggs. Most of the micronutrients are lost in those. I use organic, cage free, free range. I'm looking for a local source of eggs from pasture fed chickens. This smoothie was AWESOME! It was super creamy and so yummy!!