My First Baby Step: Green Smoothies (January 1st-31st)

As I said in my introduction, for the last four weeks I have had a "green smoothie" for breakfast every morning. "Green smoothies" are smoothies that incorporate both fruits and vegetables. By incorporating both into a smoothie, you start your day off already having consumed your daily recommended dose of fruits and vegetables. From there, every fruit and vegetable you have during the day is icing on the cake.

I have absolutely loved what this new habit has done for me. I have felt an incredible increase in energy, happiness, and weight loss. It is also exciting to know that just having one "green smoothie" a day now will help prevent chronic disease, cancer, heart disease, aging, and memory loss (and that's the short list) in the future. For the long list, click here and type each ingredient individually into the "search" box. For the short list (that is longer than my short list) go to this site which gives a blurb about the benefits of each smoothie. You will be amazed at what a simple ingredient like spinach can do for you.

There are many interesting "green smoothie" recipes. I typically go on this site and then go from there. My favorite recipes so far are:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
2 cups strawberry
1 banana
2 cups spinach
1-2 cups water
1/2 cup ice

Mellow in a Mug
(if you are stressed, these ingredients help to calm you (and your stomach) down)
1 1/2 bananas
1/2 avocado
5-10 mint leaves (great for stomach aches)
1 handful spinach
2 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1-2 cups water
1/2 cup ice

Strawberry Watermelon Smoothie
1 cup strawberries
1 banana
2 cups seedless watermelon
2 cups spinach
1-2 cups water
1/2 cup ice

Blueberry Smoothie
2 cups blueberries
1 banana
2 cups spinach
1-2 cups water
1/2 cup ice

Now, a few (important) tips...

1. You can make "green smoothies" by throwing all the ingredients (except the ice) into a good blender. Add more water if your blender gets stuck. Also add more water if your smoothie is too sorbet-like in order to make it more smoothie-like. Blend all of the ingredients well (since most of you wont enjoy chewing on spinach while you sip your smoothie). Once your smoothie is really blended, add the ice and blend for a few more seconds.
2. The smoothies are pretty big. You may want to take them in a "to go" container so that you can sip them over a longer period of time. You can also do what I do and split the smoothie with someone else (like your significant other, roommate, child, mailman, bus driver). But, that will mean that you still have to get more veggies and fruits later in the day.
3. If you want to sweeten your smoothie, add honey (the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it has).  Honey has many surprising health benefits that you can learn about by clicking here.
4. If you want to make your smoothie even more healthy, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds.  Flax seeds are full of fiber, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids, all of which are very good for you. For a more thorough discussion of the benefits of flax seeds, click here.
5. Use fresh spinach and either fresh or frozen fruit. Using frozen fruit cools down the smoothie, ensures ripeness, and limits the number of trips you make to the grocery store. Plus, frozen fruit is just as good for you as the fresh stuff.
6. You may initially feel less healthy. For example, when I first started drinking these smoothies, I felt an increase in my energy and metabolism but also felt like my sinuses were congested. I read that such side effects are temporary and normal and are probably just your body flushing toxins.
7. The smoothie recipes listed above are just a few examples. There are endless possibilities. Make a list of your health issues. Perhaps you deal with a sensitive stomach (like me), or stress from your job (or lack of job), or high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Perhaps cancer runs in your family or you feel like your memory is going. Once you have your list, look on internet sites like this one for foods that help address those issues and then play around with the ingredients in your smoothies. The general rule is that a green smoothie should be 3 parts fruit, 2 parts vegetable.
8. Just like variety is the spice of life, it’s also the key to health. It is important to rotate the ingredients you use in your smoothies. This is true for both the fruit and vegetable components because different fruits and vegetables effect your health differently. Some suggestions for the vegetable rotation are: spinach, kale (thanks Kristy and Danielle!), cucumber, celery, and broccoli (although, broccoli can taste a little too broccoli-like). I have also tried carrot and tomato but have yet to find a smoothie recipe I like that uses those vegetables.