Featured Green Smoothie Drinker - Heather from Beauty That Moves

Come on over and check out the interview with Heather at Beauty That Moves. A fellow Green Smoothie Drinker! Suzanne

BIG step for me today!

i actually went onto my patio....picked the dandelions growing there - and threw them into my smoothie!  i will admit it took me a little while to take the first sip - not b/c of the fact that i was drinking a "weed" but because it was one i foraged myself - and i'm always the one worried that i will eat the ONE KIND of wild dandelion that is poisonous! LOL

today's smoothie

frozen mango
coconut water
pineapple
1 strawberry (b/c that is all i had)
pea shoots
dandelion greens

Green Smoothie Drinker - Soule Mama!

Hey Friends. I was just over visiting SouleMama as I do every morning and the words GREEN SMOOTHIE was in there! Just thought I would share that awesome little tidbit! I wonder what she puts in hers? Maybe we can get her to join the next challenge??? Anyway, I have an interview with another Green Smoothie Drinker/Blogger tomorrow on Enchanted Chameleon and I will link it here. Definitely check it out! I hope you're having a great day!

Suzanne

the best smoothie ever

I first tried green smoothies last year while I undertook a 30 day raw/vegan challenge (me being the sole challenger and challengee)*. I fell in love with them instantly and vowed to drink them all the time.

Then the holidays happened. And my son spent a lot of time in the hospital. And I got caught up with other things. And green smoothies gradually faded out of my diet.

I am grateful to Suzanne for initiating this challenge. I had forgotten how yummy and nutritious green smoothies are. I am also grateful for all the new recipes and smoothie ideas she and other green smoothie challengers are providing.

See, I had been caught in a green smoothie rut. My smoothies always consisted of banana, spinach and whatever frozen or fresh berries I had on hand. And for the first week of this challenge that is what I drank every day. After learning about the importance of mixing up the greens, I am now determined to try new things.

This goal was helped along by the fact that I ran out of spinach yesterday. The only greens I had in my fridge were a few pea sprouts. And my toddler is in a phase where getting him dressed takes about an hour, so running out to the market was out of the question if I wanted my smoothie in a timely manner.

Then I remembered I had already started work on my patio container garden. Just last week I planted a whole bunch of new herbs and leafy greens. So I grabbed my kitchen shears and a basket and headed out to the patio.

First I snipped off some swiss chard,



then some watercress



and cilantro.



The parsley was the only herb to survive winter, so I added lots of that.



A little bit of arugula and I was almost done.



I discovered a rogue dandelion in my holly bush recently and I figured that I would also add a few dandelion leaves. I have often had the urge to harvest wild dandelions from the parks and gardens around my apartment but have been worried about pesticides and other pollutants that they might possibly contain, being city weeds and all. I figured I would give these ones a good wash and delight in the fact that these beautiful flowers (weeds? pffft!) are so nutritious and readily available.



I took my small harvest back into the kitchen, washed it and dumped it into one of my Magic Bullet cups. After adding water, the remaining pea shoots, a banana and some frozen mango, I whirred it all up. It looked a little more chunky than my usual spinach smoothie, but I didn't hesitate at all on my first sip.

MMMMmmmmmm...

It tasted bright and green, way more fresh and flavourful than my usual smoothies. All the herbs gave it an almost spicy tang. Delicious!

It was the best smoothie ever.

* If you are interested in reading about my raw-vegan month, it is on my blog at http://candicerider.blogspot.com/ under labels: raw-veganism 30-day trial. Be warned: it is not terribly comprehensive or detailed, as I am not a post-a-day blogger.

I Think I'm Hooked!

It has been a full week now of green smoothies. A happy discovery has been that this is much easier than I thought it would be. I am actually craving them! Two weeks ago, I cut gluten out of my diet after finding that I have a wheat/gluten sensitivity. I have to say that these two changes - no to gluten, yes to green smoothies - have had an amazing effect on my eating habits. I no longer crave sugar and carbs - instead, I crave healthy green smoothies. Wowzee! I try to have my smoothie as my one raw meal a day - usually breakfast. I have used romaine, red leaf lettuce and kale as my greens. This week, I would like to try some spinach in the mix. My favorite smoothie so far has been romaine, apple, pear and mint. Oh how I love mint leaves added to a smoothie! I also have discovered after using kale that a banana can sweeten anything up and make it taste good. I must admit that I paid my kids to take a few sips of a smoothie. My youngest really liked it - he drank a full glass of the one I made! Oh happy day!!! Here is a green smoothie recipe from my accupuncturist (I must admit I have not yet tried this one):

Arugula, spinach, parsley, green apple, avacado and sprouts

I think I'm going to adapt it a bit and do arugula, spinach, mint, red apple and avacado

So far, this has been an eye opening experience. I seriously think I will be doing this forever. Thank you Suzanne for the enlightenment!

End of Week 1!

Well I have completed a whole week of Green Smoothies! For me this is a major success. Although for many I am sure this isn't a big deal I am feeling very proud that I have managed to have a green smoothie every day for a week : ) I am certainly feeling the benefits in terms of more sustained energy and a better frame of mind.

This challenge is all about health for me, I recently suffered a bout of Mono and am trying to build up my immune system and regain some energy. This week is the first time in months that I have felt well. This is a change that I will be sticking with. I have gone from reluctantly squeezing down my first green smoothie to actively looking forward to one at breakfast time - in just a few days!

Like a few others have mentioned I need a bit more than a smoothie to keep my going all day, something else that I have added into my diet is Raw Energy Bars which I blogged about here. They are very quick and easy to make and very nutritious. They really help give me a sustained energy burn through the morning or afternoon which I find really important when I am dealing with the children and trying not to lose my cool at the end of a long day.

My goals for this week are:

Switch up ingredients - I've been changing my greens but not been too adventurous with fruits so I am aiming to try a few new things.

Add smoothies in prior to each meal - I'm hoping to reduce my intake of cooked foods this way and boost my feelings of energy and health.

Try a few other raw recipes - I seem to be hooked!

It is great to be doing this challenge with you all, I'm so glad that it is two weeks, one would not be enough!

Weeds in my Smoothies

I'm so excited.  This morning I actually went out into the yard and looked to see what I could find to put in my smoothie.  I've been playing it safe all week, easing into this endeavor gradually.  At first I used lettuce as the greens, and fruit.  MMmm  - refreshing and delicious.  Then spinach - a little stronger, but still enjoyable.  I started out with one 12 oz. glass the first day, about 2 cups the next three days.  Today I drank the whole quart!
And here is what I drank - dandelions, red clover, and mint mixed in with some leaf lettuce.  And then I added papaya and pineapple.  It was really lovely.

I do find that I'm really hungry by midmorning.  I eat an early lunch of what would ordinarily be my breakfast - cereal and yogurt.  And I need an afternoon snack (nothing new, except it's more from hunger than boredom or feeling tired)  - but I'm hoping my body will adjust to this soon.  I have a slight headache at times which I think is because I've dropped my morning coffee.  I'm waiting to see how my grandson will react to the smoothies - he might enjoy it if I make one without as much fibre as there was in today's batch.  Tomorrow I'll play with some other combination.