Green Smoothies are Not All Green in Color

I have found it harder to find things for breakfast that feel satisfying, healthy and are delicious until now. I noticed some of my Instagram friends were doing a 30 day green smoothie challenge by Simple Green Smoothies. In the past I have been frustrated that so many smoothies contain bananas and  afraid of the fruits in them spiking my blood sugar. So I spoke with a couple of nutritionists, and decided to test it out safely by testing my blood sugar before and after various types of smoothies (not all in the same day obviously)

In order to try it out and be safe, I decided to have one green smoothy every day for a week. I looked up various recipes, and tweaked them so that I did not have any allergens or too much sugar in them by my estimation, then set to it. I took my blood sugar before and 2 hours after each smoothie. Sometimes I also took my blood sugar 1/2 an hour after to see if there was any immediate spike and drop effect going on, because I was surprised at having 94's at the 2 hour mark, but I never did catch my blood sugar any higher in the middle then it was at the end. This is a good thing! Over all, my blood sugar has dropped since I started green smoothies. And my body seems to be able to tolerate sugar better, so that occasionally I can have a sweet dessert that someone serves. In part that is because I make sure to eat protein before I go out where they may be serving sweet desserts, and in part that is because of the increased greens in my diet, I'm sure. I do not recommend you do this without consulting a registered dietician and nutritionist if you have any health problems, because every one's body is different. But I am very happy with my results, and it has inspired me to get more creative! Most Americans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables in a day, so one added green smoothie a day would help most people regardless. But you do have to count the calories and carbs and make sure you get protein like you would with anything else. Again, consult a registered dietician. (I found some who were willing to barter or trade, which worked out great)

My previous blender is toast. It did not last. It was a nice gift, but the darn thing broke. So a neighbor gave me her old blender when she got a blend tec (some day...over the rainbow) and anyway, I have pushed this little old blender to it's limits, but it is still cranking along! But my next blender will be a Blend Tec because not only do I want to continue eating my green smoothies every day, but I also want to make my own flour, nut butter, and the like.

Tip:
- You can bag and freeze your ingredients before hand. I do this when my fruits and veggies are on their last les and if I don't freeze them they'll go bad. That way they do not go bad, but I do have quick and easy smoothy ingredients on hand.
- Blend your greens in your liquid until it is juice like and there are no more chunks (about 30 seconds to a minute depending if you've pre frozen your greens
- If using the rind or skin of something like sweet potato, add it after the lettuce and before frozen fruit, till mixture shows no lumps.
- Sweet potato needs to be cooked and cooled before adding to smoothies

Here are some of my favorite green smoothies, and no, not all of them will be green:

Simple Green Smoothie (vibrant green, not shown)
1 Cup Baby Arugula
1 Cup Dark Leafy Romaine
1 cup water (or almond milk)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (in the smoothie)
1/2 apple
1/2 cup honeydew (frozen)
1 cup of ice

Green Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (shown at left of page)
1 cup dark leafy romaine
.5 cup steamed and cooled spinach
2 cup coconut milk (or flax milk, or whatever dairy substitute you desire)
1 cup of pumpkin puree (this is why it's great to cook up those jack o lanterns before they go bad and can them for later)
1 cup frozen honeydew (for sweetness)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
cinnamon on top

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothies:
This can be any nut or seed butter of course and any type of "jelly" fruits. So this is a great one to explore with and get creative!
1.5 cup red leaf kale (remove stems and clean well)
2 cup unsweetened almond milk (substitute as necessary for allergies)
2 Tablespoons nut butter
1 cup frozen berries (actually I only used 1/2 a cup of berries and it was fine but most people use more)
imagination for the next time so you can create your own PB & J Smoothie sensation
(makes 2 servings)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (if you're using blackberries you don't even notice chia seeds because they have a similar consistancy when blended)

Some fun protein sources to put on top: chopped nuts, hemp hearts, and the like. Get creative and let me know what you come up with!

Super Smoothie Yumness

Blackberries, Walnuts and Flax, oh my! This smoothie is meant to be a breakfast of champions. I found the recipe in my DTOUR book and altered it just slightly. It's DELICIOUS! I don't know if DTOUR dietitians would approve or not, but I do! It gets 3 thumbs up for yumness!

Tips:
If you like a little texture in your smoothies, blend the walnuts in
I prefer them sprinkled on top for added crunch
For my non dairy friends (vegan etc) there are non dairy yogurts you can use or a banana if you eat those
Flax seed must be freshly ground or from your freezer. If you do not keep flax cool after it's ground it can go rancid. I wasted a lot of money on a bag of flax seed meal thinking it would save me from having to grind it, and the darn thing went bad because I kept it in the pantry.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Almond Milk
3/4 Cup fat free plain yogurt of your favorite type
1/2 cup blackberries
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions:
Blend 1 Cup Almond Milk with 3/4 cup of your favorite fat free plain yogurt, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts on top.

I forgot the flax seed meal DTOUR suggested in mine this time, but it should thicken up the mix a bit which would be nice. I miss the texture of bananas in my smoothies, but I don't miss the hives. I will try 2 tablespoons ground flax next time I make a smoothie. Let me know if you try it and how you like it.

Apricot smoothies

A local couple has a backyard farm, Amadio Ranch, that is truly enviable. And this week their Apricots are coming into their own. THEY ARE DELICIOUS! And because they are organic and fresh off the tree ripe, they are quick to bruise. So rather than trying to eat them all plain, I thought it would be fun to try some of the most ripe in a smoothie. It was so good, I played around with the recipe until I came up with this:

6 very ripe apricots (pits removed)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1/2 teaspoon orange marmalade
Ice Cubes

Blend and enjoy! Smoothies are super simple, and this one is high in protein and not TOO high in sugar/carbs despite it's sweet and slightly-tangy goodness. According to sparkpeople.com it has 30 carbs, 2 fat, 13 protein and 5 of that is fiber. I'm thinking of making them into a compote to have on pork or chicken next.

How do you like your Apricots?

I've lost about 50 pounds since this blog started!

Hey all,

I was about 280 when this blog started, and now I'm almost down to about 230! I am so excited! And happy to say, I have been learning all sorts of new things to eat and ways to prepare food that is healthy and delicious! It's been quite a journey and my most recent part was getting my tonsils out and trying to remain healthy on a liquid diet. I gotta tell you, that was not easy. I added a lot of protein powder into my drinks. Tried adding it into other things but it honestly tasted disgusting in anything but smoothies. I did however find some really delicious ways to get a day's calories with all the protein, antioxidants and minerals and vitamins that I possibly could. I'll post one of my favorite post tonsillectomy beverages below.

One of those was was to drink Greens First, which just tasted like tea, but had all sorts of important nutrients packed into each glass. Unfortunately it turns out "Greens First" the fruit and vegetable antioxidant I tried has broccoli in it, and I'm allergic to the stuff. But otherwise it was a great way to get fiber and nutrients into my diet so my allergist said go for it, the broccoli is just a mild allergy. I have to tell you, my inflamation and pain sky rocketed! I felt like my health was deteriorating. All the progress I've made in 2010 was going down the tube and that was depressing. Thankfully I realized what was happening and stopped drinking the stuff. Surprise surprise, the pain and inflammation was gone within 48 hours! I think sometimes even allergists don't realize how much a "small" allergy can be detrimental to someone's health. Especially someone with other immune conditions or other health concerns.

Recently I joined sparkpeople.com (it's FREE) and I have been entering my post tonsillectomy recipes on their recipe page. If you're a spark person, you can see those I've entered so far at http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=281051

Otherwise, give this one a shot :) It does include whey protein which is made from milk, so if you're caesin intolerant or a vegan, replace it with your own favorite protein powder. If you have no sugar concerns and don't have a sore throat, toss a banana in there, it's delicious. But bananas are a high source of sugar so if you're diebetic better avoid them, or you just had throat surgery, they're like acid to your system. Truly horridly painful, I can attest. Hence, no banana in this recipe despite my fondness for the little yellow things.

Coconut Mango Smoothie:

1/2 cup frozen mango 

1/2 cup coconut milk, unsweetened 

1/2 scoop Dream Protein, Vanilla

Directions

toss it all in a blender and away you go! I like to start on a low blender speed and go up to high for a few seconds until it reaches a creamy consistency then go back to low speed and open the lid carefully to whip in a bit of air until the drink is frothy. Serve and enjoy!

Number of Servings: 1