Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are my new favorite thing.  I’m trying to give up dairy but was having a hard time coming up with a breakfast alternative after making the same yogurt smoothie for two years.  Well ask and ye shall receive.  My brother got me a Magic Bullet for Christmas (which is not as good at blending as my Bella btw) and in it were dairy-free smoothie recipes.  #solutions.  So I’ve been playing around with ingredients and trying to find the perfect mix of something easy, cheap, healthy and that my son would drink (I want it all).  Again, ask…receive.  I was scrolling through my Instagram feed recently and saw this adorable little girl drinking a green smoothie.  #solutions.  So here are my two favorites right now:

1) Winter Greens Smoothie:  This yummy concoction was my boyfriend’s idea and it turned out to be really great and I like the tips at the top of the webpage as well.  Click on the picture and it will take you there.  Yes, you too can have broccoli for breakfast!

    

2. Lean Green Machine:  I stole this one from an old friend that I connected with on Instagram.  The picture of her kid drinking it made me want to start making them in the hopes that mine would get on board…not so much.  I’m still working on him though.  Fear not, I’ll break him.

I know they look gross but they can be so good!  Here are some things that I have learned:

1.  Peel your banana before you freeze it.

2.  Blend in stages.  My Magic Bullet has a hard time pureeing everything all at once so if I blend the apple, ice and water first, for example, and then add the banana and blend and then everything else, the greens puree much better.  No one wants to chew kale through a straw in the morning.

3.  Put the heavy stuff on top (or in my case the bottom because you flip the magic bullet cup over before you blend).  You want the liquids closer to the blade and the heavy stuff like ice and apple pieces to weigh down the greens and other things.

I like these smoothies much better than juicing which I tried years ago but the machine was such a hassle with its 72 parts.  I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!  Do you have any smoothie recipes that you love and want to share?

P.S. Cheese is hard to quit.

P.P.S. I can get my kiddo to drink a dairy-free fruit smoothie.  I just throw in whatever frozen fruit I have on hand and/or banana and splash in OJ and Almond milk (it helps cut the sweetness and adds calcium). He loves it!

Life Lesson for Mommy and Child

One of the hardest things for any mother to do is put herself first. That’s one of the reasons my weight got out of control, but I have learned how to teach my son (an only child) about boundaries and give and take.  He usually wakes up around 6:45 on Saturday mornings but he lets me sleep in until 7a (a whopping 15 minutes more – I’ll take it!).  This morning was not unlike all the others.  I made the wee one breakfast and we had a little chat.

“Mommy is going to the gym for a 9:45 class and then we can go to the Home Depot kids workshop.”

Cue the whining. Time for a life lesson.

“This is how life works babe.  We do what everyone wants/needs.  One for me and then it’s your turn.”

The reality is that he loves the kids’ area at this gym.  He makes new friends everytime and it’s only an hour and it’s really fun but most importantly I need it. I’m the adult.  I know this so I have to make this decision for both of us no matter what push back I get from a 7 year old.

So I nipped the whining in the bud, made a smoothie (see recipe below) for me and we went to the gym for a great one hour toning class by Elena at LA Fitness and, shocker, he had a blast in the kids’ area. I love this class when it’s over because I’m always sore for at least 2 days.  During…on the other hand…not so much.

Home Depot was great afterwards and he got to see his mother take care of herself, a life lesson that I hope he takes into his future relationships (something I hope I don’t have to worry about for MANY years).

Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt (the Kroger brand is my favorite because it has the most protein)
Splash of OJ (maybe 3 tbsp if I measured)
Dash of Raspberry-Lemonade Crystallite sweetener

Blend for 30-45 seconds.

You can mix up the fruit depending on what you have on hand and what’s in season. I’ve used peaches, mangos and bananas at different times to add some variety.  I also don’t measure any of this so you can adjust depending on your taste.  I have this every morning and a boiled egg and four almonds for snack a few hours later for more protein to rebuild my muscles.