Ok, there, I said it. Even though I have been SUPER impressed (seriously) with the 7-day juice fast my blogger buddy I used to be fat(ter) just did, I think I would certainly more “readily” try a green juice over a green smoothie. At this moment in time, there is just something about the words “green” and “smoothie” that don’t seem to go together to me.
Maybe it’s because the smoothies I have been drinking are almond-milk based and look something like this:
- 16-24 oz unsweetened almond milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 scoop protein powder (whey-based), either chocolate or vanilla
- 1/3 to a 1/2 cup of other fresh or frozen fruit (cherries, berries, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
I even purchased a single serving packet of Vibrant Health’s Green Vibrance after reading Awkward Eldon’s morning smoothie recipe. Actually, I was seriously intrigued enough to buy all these ingredients (except the Goji Berries … the package said women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant should avoid them… and hubby and I are trying for kid #2). I also did not buy the Raw Manuka Honey because I had sticker shock when I went to Whole Foods to get it. $30 for honey??? Yeah, yeah, it’s supposed to be magic or something, I get it. I will have to bug my super healthy friend Paula for a book report on the pros and cons of this wonderous nectar! (Hear that Paula???)
It’s funny, because a Facebook post from Paula actually prompted me to write this. She posted this link about green smoothies.
I guess there’s also a zillion ways to make a smoothie… I just did a Google image search on green smoothie and came up with a few OK-looking ones, like this:
I think this looks more appetizing to me because it’s got some fruit in it… but it seems there’s yogurt in this one. I don’t like yogurt in my smoothies…but those without at least a non-dairy milk look like green juice. And almond milk + spinach doesn’t sound so good to me.
Now that I look at the website where I found this recipe, called “Nutrient Packed Green Smoothie”…it appears on the website of Chef Marcus Samuelsson… it seems to be a recipe by someone named Madeleine Ignon. Regardless… I think I have some more homework to do where green smoothies are concerned. I’m sure I can come up with a few that I will at least want to TRY.
In other news… I haven’t been able to go to the gym for the last couple of weeks, either due to my job or my husband’s. We don’t like using the child care in the gym; since my daughter is in daycare all day M-F, I don’t want to leave her in the care of someone else on the weekends, too, even if it’s only for an hour. Since it’s getting warmer I’m looking for other ways to be active with her outside, so it’s not like I’ve been a total slug. And this Thursday I took off from work so I could do some spring cleaning. I am super psyched to be setting aside some major time blocks to do some things around the house. I have a list for what needs to be done in each room in the house, so I’m hoping that between Thursday and Friday (which is Good Friday) I can get 1/2 or at least a 1/3 done of what is on the list.
And because Easter is right around the corner, that means my dabble with vegetarianism is… or can be… coming to a close. I really have no desire to eat meat; I have been eating seafood over Lent, but I don’t think I’ll feel like eating any chicken or beef next week. My problem is the carbs: my dinners have either been veggies with carbs or veg/seafood protein/carbs. When I first started working out with my trainer she’d told me no carbs after 5pm… I stuck to that rule for a while and definitely had results. Since Lent started… yeah, not so much. Gotta get back on track with that too…such is my life!
