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***