I did it. I managed to drink a green smoothie in place of a meal every day for the past week. Yeah, a week isn't that long, so what? It wasn't easy! I struggled with the texture of my ground flax seed and have found that it's better if I just leave them out completely. I struggled with washing my one blender every.single.day. - it gets monotonous! I struggled with the motivation to wake up, wash some spinach, measure yogurt, and go to town making my smoothie. Do I have to say it again? I struggled this week.
I learned that, like exercise, I do much better when I just get it out of the way in the morning. I knew previously that I like to work out after breakfast but I can now say that I also like to replace my cereal with a smoothie. Morning is key for me to succeed! It sets the right tone for the rest of the day and since it's over and done with before I've fully woken up, I don't spend all day dreading it. In fact, instead, I feel proud that I did it!
Because green smoothies for breakfast works best for me, I found myself missing breakfast food this week. One night I couldn't take it any longer and made some low-fat waffles topped with peanut butter for dinner while I left Trevor to fend for himself. For this fact, and this fact alone, I know that I could not mentally survive any long period of time only drinking breakfast drinks. I need a little Shredded Mini Wheat lovin' in there to mix it up!
But you know what!? I also felt fan-freaking-tastic during this week! I felt skinny, I felt fit, I felt energized, I felt healthy, I felt like I was on top of the green-smoothie-drinking world! The way I felt this week FAR outweighs any of the struggles I dealt with. I'm being real with you here, so listen up: we all can stand to eat more greens, right? Try green smoothies for yourself. Do it. Your body will feel great because you're feeding it what it needs {Wait, you mean those french fries aren't what my body needs?! Coulda fooled me!} and you'll be hooked on 'em too.
Don't know where to start? Well, first, check out a few of the links I included at the beginning of this post. I break down green smoothies to a point where they're easy to understand. And after that, check out some of the links I'm including below, because they'll take you to some great {and easy!} green smoothie recipes.
I really want to introduce you to Lynley. She's a friend of mine {we met while planning our weddings - she got married a week before I did} who is on a mission to get healthy. Like a lot of us, she has dreams of being healthy and fit but has hurdle after hurdle in front of her that makes weight loss so much harder than just going to the gym or doing cardio 4 times a week. She has health conditions that have limited her ability to work out so she makes up for it in the kitchen. She recently started blogging about her health, recipes, cooking, and her own green smoothies. You're really going to want to check out her blog, She's Losing It, because she's not only my friend, she's a terrific writer and highly entertaining! {Leave her comments! Whether it's tips on blogging, love for her blog, your own fitness struggles, whatever - just leave her some love and welcome her to the blogging community!}
Some of my favorite smoothie resources:
I'd love to hear how Green Smoothies are working in your diet - both the good and the bad! If you haven't tried them, do you think you will?
check out one of my favorite blogs!
My kids and I drink smoothies everyday. We put everything in them from avocado, tomatoes bananas, oranges, apples, berries, spinach....and the list goes on. Often, I also add drops of Vitamin D oil and flaxseed oil. I'm so glad that my kids ask for these daily because it's such an easy way to bump up our servings of produce. Your recipes look good! We'll try some of them!
ReplyDeleteI always workout best in the morning, just doesn't seem as appealing in the middle of the day haha.
ReplyDeleteGreat recap! I also participated in the Smoothie Challenge and I enjoyed it. Depending on what I put in my smoothies, I can drink them any time of day. I do prefer mine mid-day or in the afternoon when I need a boost. Love your blog! Following you now :)
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea :) Do you have any suggestions on what to put into smoothies to make them good for lunch? Like I mentioned, I miss breakfast foods so much that I end up eating them for lunch instead of a salad or a sandwich. Thanks for stopping by! Glad to have you :)
DeleteAwesome, girl! Way to go :) Here's the participant collage :0
ReplyDeletehttp://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/2013/01/day-7-of-7-green-smoothie-challenge.html
I will definitely have to check out those smoothie recipes! Congrats on finishing your challenge!! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, please do! I'd love to hear how you like them. Lynley {the link to her blog is in the post above} has been posting smoothie recipes almost every day. Check them out and you're bound to find one you love - I promise :)
DeleteCongratulations on finishing the challenge! We're starting to incorporate raw food into our diets, but next on the list is green smoothies. It'll be a big step for me as I've had one or two in the past and hated them so I'm hoping I can find some that I can stomach when we do.
ReplyDeleteRaw food diets are very interesting to me so I'd love to hear how it goes for you two. If you have issues with the green smoothies, I suggest using lots of sweet fruits {strawberries are great!} and start off small. You can do it, I know you can!
DeleteThanks for the blog on the green smoothy! I too have tried to have smoothies in the mornings, but struggle with the green part. Which is kind of funny. I think I will also try a week of it and just see how my body feels. I am notorious for not feeding my body what it needs.
ReplyDeleteNew follower- found you through The Book of Megan's blog!
Jyndia
First, thank you for stopping by and deciding to stick around! I'm glad to have you :)
DeleteI highly recommend green smoothies, if you couldn't tell ;) They made me feel fantastic and it wasn't hard to drink something yummy once a day, that's for sure! I think the hardest part was washing my blender over and over. I may have to invest in a single serve blender next time around - just for convenience sake. If you try it out, I'd love to hear how it goes for you!
hey, great post!
ReplyDeletei had no idea you were doing this challenge. Actually i decided to start drinking green drinks a few days back (like 4 i think) and so far so good!I'm loving them!! i take mine either before lunch while i'm cooking my lunch or in the middle of the afternoon as "snack" type of thing. I'm a bit lazy in the mornings and I like breakfast food =) also, i don't think i could substitute a green drink for a whole meal! well maybe for dinner since my dinners are light, but for sure not for breakfast or lunch. 15 min or 20 after the green drink I feel hungry!It actually opens my apetite =)
I'm from spain and one of the best and healthiest diets there is out there is the mediterranean diet. we eat everything from vegetables to fish to meat. In our culture we do actually 5 meals per day. eating more times but less each time actually activates more your metabolism and its better for your body than heavy meals. the idea is to do good sizes breakfast and lunch and a lighter dinner (or almost nothing) with snacks in the middle of the morning and the afternoon.
I'll wait for updates in raw food and green drinks from you =)
Bea =)
dailylivingingeneva.blogspot.com
I'm so glad other people are drinking green smoothies, too! They're such an easy way to pack veggies into your diet without eating a salad for every meal. Bea, what do you like to put in your drinks? You can always add flax seed or another type of fiber to bulk it up so you won't be so hungry so soon after drinking it. If that doesn't work, try eating a hard boiled egg around the same time you drink your smoothie - I find that really helps to keep me full for an entire morning or afternoon.
DeleteThanks for sticking around and anxiously awaiting updates on my health food love. There'll be more coming, don't worry!