Glowing Green Smoothie

Hello green ... smoothie that is. I've been really into making smoothies for breakfast for a long time but my friend Ally suggested I try adding spinach. I don't know why I hadn't done it earlier! The color green is associated with refreshing vital energy and nutrition. Dark leafy greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. One cup of most dark, leafy green vegetables supplies the daily requirement of beta carotene, as well as vitamins C, E and K. Dark leafy greens are also high in fiber, folic acid, and dozens of trace minerals and nutrients.

{Simple Spinach Smoothie Recipe}

A big handful of fresh spinach leaves

A small handful of blackberries or raspberries

1 cup cranberry juice

1 cup water

Palm full of flat seeds

A few ice cubes

In a blender or in my case, a magic bullet, add cranberry juice and flax seeds and blend until smooth. Add berries, fruit, water, ice and of course anything else your little heart desires. Use a fun straw to sip it out of! My light blue straws are from Superstore but I also found the cutest straws at Ikea a few months ago. They're bright purple, red, and green and they tend to make sipping a little more fun ;)

I usually alternate between strawberries, mango, banana, a tiny bit of yogurt, blueberries, pear. Whatever I have on hand for that week really. I stock up on fresh fruit and berries throughout the month and freeze them so I've always got something handy. I am also going to start adding more green to my smoothies this week. I think Kale. I also want to try and incorporate things like coconut shavings and maybe some almond hazelnut butter (thanks to a little tip from my girls at work) just to mix things up. The thing is, I LOVE cooked/roasted veggies but I can't stand them raw, unless of course they're blended. Tadaa ... a smoothie is the perfect fix for me!

on the wagon

I'm officially putting it 'out there' and by 'out there' I mean the blog world and anyone else that stumbles across my words I guess. I hope that rather than setting me up for failure, it will motivate me just that much more to keep my bum moving. I've done it before so I know it's possible but it's easy to fall off the track and I know many others agree. So I started yesterday back at the gym and I'm trying to be extra conscious of what I eat. I'm NOT dieting! I simply want to eat clean as much as possible. I have no problems having a treat every now and then and I love love love sweets and so just like anything, some days are more challenging than others but I know it can be done. So what's for breakfast this morning? Homemade vanilla whey shake with fresh peaches and flax seed. I might add a little strawberry smoothie mix too. They seem to keep me full for hours which is great to get me through early morning class. Lunch? Homemade red lentil Thai soup loaded with garlic, onions, green peppers and carrots. I'm trying to cook a little more and try new things and the soup turned out awesome! 

If you're looking for any healthy new ides or twists on cooking, check out lunchboxbunch! It has a ton of delicious recipes. I usually get stuck looking for an hour or two. She cooks plenty of vegan dishes although you can always modify the dish to your liking. I follow a lot of her smoothie recipes and she has amazing photos to go with every recipe as well. 

The thing is I feel so so much better when I exercise. I can feel the build up of tension and frustration the longer I go without doing some so to get out and do it is really just acknowledging what my body wants. Plus my body responds very quick so it doesn't take me long to start seeing benefits. So friends, wish me perseverance and perhaps a little self love instead of luck ;)