Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Yummies: St. Paddy's Smoothie


Happy St. Patrick's Day....umm....yeah there's nothing Irish about me but just as some of my white friends claim to "celebrate" (more like acknowledge) Black History Month, I'll rock a green shirt today too. You know that I'm now juicing so instead of stalking pubs and bars for pints of Green Miller Light I thought I'd make a green smoothie instead. Contrary to popular belief green smoothies are delish... at least the one's I make! They're sweet  and nutritious. So in celebration of old Saint Patrick here's my recipe for my 
St. Paddy's smoothie!



What You Need:

1 1/2- 2 cups of Kale or Spinach ( I prefer spinach but I used Kale this time around)
2 kiwis
1 cup of pineapple chucks
1 cup of pineapple juice
1 diced pear
2 Tblsps of lemon juice
a kniife
a blender
a glass


I coarsely chopped all of my fruit as well as the kale into smaller pieces. I added each of those ingredients into the blender and then poured the pineapple and lemon juice on top. (*note: to make liquefying smoother, add liquids last so they can move down the fruits and veggies, soak them and make it easier to blend.)


Then blend it up!  Pour it in the glass garnish with a piece of pineapple and tahdah! Green Smoothie!


For more recipes on green smoothies and a whole bunch of vegan recipes checkout this awesome blog HERE.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Juice: Drink of Champions!

It's been a minute. Like an unacceptable amount of time. Just know that with work/life/lack-of-life/family/mental breakdowns, it's been a loooong month. But i'm not even going to bore you with the deets. Just know that it's March and new things are on the horizon. I'll give thanks to it being lent season so my priorities and mind is currently in a very cool. calm and collective state (for the most part). I've given some things up. Let some things go. And picked up some things that I pray will last longer than the remaining 30 days. But even so, I'm back and with a vengeance. I've finally feel cushioned into this new job so balancing life and work is much better.

OH and let me tell ya. I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and start juicing. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's literally drinking juice for all of my meals. Of course the juices are vegetable and fruit based which means I've literally turned my diet on it's head. Instead of the processed food/ animal meat and bi-products that usually take up the majority of my plate I've switched my largest portion to veggies and fruits. Actually my entire portion! Now by juicing the nutrients that those foods provide, all the good stuff is quickly forced into my stystem and the "digestion/processing" time is literally cut in half if not more. Yes it's healthy and yes I'm getting the recommended amount of fiber,protein and all those other things people feel like you lack when you choose to become a vegetarian/vegan. My fast is going to last 14 days. But if I get to day 14 and all is well and I feel like I can continue I plan to do it for the entire month of March. I'm currently on day three and it's been very interesting. I won't lie to you. It's been difficult. I didn't realize how much I snack and how much I eat past my body telling me "Hey Girl, You're FULL!" until I began this juice fast. But it only gets bad when I'm home and there's still so much other food that I could eat. I don't even turn on the TV anymore because even the food Andrew Zimmer eats makes me drool. And I had to cut down my time on Tumblr for this reason right here...



Dang...even looking at 2 dimensional food is making my cravings ridic! But it is getting easier. Supposedly the first 3 days are the hardest part because your body is detoxing so constant bathroom breaks, slight light-headiness and an indescribably crash followed by a 13 hour burst of energy is what you have to look forward to if you decide to take the plunge. (Well that's what happened to me) But honestly it's such a great experience. I can feel my relationship with food changing for the positive, already. And  will you believe that I've lost 8 pounds already!?!? IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 DAYS! After the fast you can bet i'm saying adios to fried/processed/uber-fattening foods. And if I do eat those things it will be in complete moderation.I want a vegetable and fruit heavy diet with the very occasional addition of a meat or non-whole grain product (like pasta, rice and white potatoes). We have to do better. Our health starts on the inside out. So I'm choosing this way to reboot my body and kick start my healthy lifestyle.

So if you're interested in trying it....and I suggest that everyone gives it a shot. NOT for 14 or even 31 days like me. Try making one of your meals freshly squeezed juice and I know you'll see a difference. And if that becomes doable try maybe a 3 day fast or a week. Your body will THANK you, I promise. For more info and if you're into documentaries I really suggest Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It's great and inspirational. You can view it for free here: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.