Green Smoothie- Yes, I fell for the hype.

No Starbucks for me! Not even Evolution Fresh!

Those who know me well, know that I don't like salads. It takes a lot out of me to actually eat salads...I sometimes put it as a side dish on some of my pictures.. and that's about all I can handle.. unless the dressing is totally delicious or it's served with something deep fried. But no, at home, salad is an afterthought. I don't get full off of them... and I need calories to keep me going throughout the day. For a few years now, I've been a fan of those Superfood green drinks from Odwalla. I see so many people judging the drink without actually trying it because it's a yucky green color. I won't disagree. The color doesn't correlate well with the taste. It tastes amazing. I do make smoothies a lot, and I had a bag of spinach that was on its way out... one day, and thought ... why not... let's throw it in and be "healthy" for once... the smoothie.. tasted... just about the same... a little thicker.. had to be careful about spinach in between my teeth... but it was oh so delicious.

I did my research. I read that raw spinach had possible side effects... if consumed in large quantities. The amount that I put in my smoothie was probably around the amount in a salad... so... I didn't think it'd be a threat to my health if I used that amount. It was fine, however I ran out of spinach.. so I moved on to something better.... KALE. I had no idea what kale was until a few months ago. One of my classmates was raving about her kale smoothies... and I was thinking.. ew? It wasn't ew. Only ew.. without a banana... (too kale tasting for me!) .... and also.. look at the color of the smoothie.. I think it's quite a beautiful shade of green! These kale smoothies have given me this weird burst of energy without the jitters and crash of caffeine. I feel happier, more awake, and more engaged in what I do... placebo effect? Maybe? Probably? Who cares. This works for me.. right now :) I don't do kale smoothies as a meal replacement tho. I just use it as a supplement to my usual diet. I have used it as a meal replacement once.. but that didn't last long.. I got hungry.. an hour later...

I was following this juicing trend for the past year due after watching the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and also to the new Fresh Evolution (Starbucks owned) juice bar that opened a block from school. (Dang you for taking over my beloved Coffee Bean :( ) I've never gone because it is really expensive (5-8 bucks for juice?!.. that I'll probably finish in 15 minutes?!) ... I'd rather eat a meal than drink a drink with very little calories (same price!) I wasn't even convinced that they were fresh too. I can do this myself.. I thought... so I asked my mom for the juicer that's been tucked away for awhile now. She then explained to me (knowing that I'm cheap when it comes to buying foods) the cost that goes into juicing and that I wouldn't be saving much money if I went down the street to buy one of those pre made bottled drinks. That was fine, the juicer never made it to my apt, so I used other ways to get in my fruits.. mainly, just eating it when I have it.

I never got good at eating my fruits. My mom can attest to that. She knows how horrible my habits are and that I will be too lazy to peel stuff.. so I'll never eat it. Things just sat there in my fridge.. rotting. So... smoothies. I used fruits and veggies that don't need to be peeled.. ( unless it's a banana.. but hey that's simple) and... just throw it into a blender... blend away.. and voila.... even better than fruit juice because it has fiber! (I know that it takes more fruits and veggies to produce the same volume of smoothie.... so yea I guess there is more nutrients in the juice.) I'm trying this thing to drink one smoothie a day.. just to see if it changes anything. So far.. so good. My energy level has been amazing ( maybe it's due to my post boards high and that I sleep without an alarm) my blood pressure is finally at a normal person's range (I've had multiple periods of hypotension that hasn't been explained by my Drs. ) and I feel like my face is a lot smoother.. ( I did recently change my foundation)... so yes, you can believe it or not... take it or leave it... it might all be a coincidence! I won't stand on my soap box and preach that this is the most amazing thing in the world (I have read that some bloggers swear by it!)... but yes. it's good. I like it. Thumbs up from me!

Things I put into my smoothie ~ No real proportions... I'd say around 60% greens.. anything more gets a tad bitter for me... 

Kale (Curly or Lacinto, buy organic if you can)
Greek Yogurt- non fat, unsweetened (Yay Protein!)
Banana ( a MUST to mask that kale taste)
A splash of OJ ( if I have it )
Frozen blueberries
Frozen raspberries
Frozen pineapples (my mom gave me a few bags full of fresh cut pineapples, so I froze them!)
Ice ( if I want it colder)
Water (to get the smoothie going)
Ground Flaxseed ( if I anticipate a non-nutritious day)

Tips for cleaning your blender - Gently rinse it with water to get the majority of the leftover smoothie out, and fill it up a third to a half with water and a few drops of dish soap, place it on the lowest setting, and let it run for 30 seconds or stop it if the bubbles are near the rim of the jar. It gets all the gunk out of the bottom of the blender jar without having you get anywhere close to the super sharp blades !!! ( speaking from my clumsy experiences....)