I don't really have a specific reason for going green this week. I just felt the need to switch it up, had read some blogs about green smoothies, and felt it would be a refreshing change. Plus I knew it would be a great cleansing way to get extra nutrients into my diet. So I committed to 5 days of green smoothies. Now, there are some conflicting reports on whether or not raw greens are good for you or if they should be cooked instead. I did take this into consideration. If I were planning on having these long term everyday, then I think I would probably have to take a stance on it one way or another. But for this week I just decided to go with it all raw. I resisted the urge all week to toss in some milk kefir and egg yolks. Not that I thought they shouldn't be there. I just wanted to do it differently this week. I believe it's important to switch things up on your body every once in awhile. So I kept it raw and dairy free.
Here's what went into Monday's drink - organic spinach, chia seed gel, organic celery, organic carrot, frozen blueberries, fresh pineapple, raw organic coconut oil, organic blue ginger.
Not pictured: cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and about a teaspoon of raw honey.
I slowly blended all this together and tasted it. That's when I added the honey.
The blueberries gave it an 'army green' color. I could definately taste the pepper. It was a slightly sweet and spicy drink. Yum!
Tuesday - cinnamon, cayeanne, spinach, carrot, coconut oil, fresh ginger, chia seed gel, banana, pineapple, celery, and avocado. The banana and avocado gave it a nice sweet flavor, so no honey needed. And, it had a nice green color! Used a tad less pepper too. Much better.
Wednesday - cayenne, cinnamon, beet greens, spinach, watermelon, coconut oil, avocado, banana, ginger, carrots, chia gel, and water kefir. I think this was my favorite so far. I had been adding plain water to start the blending, but this water kefir gave it a nice flavor (plus a probiotic boost!) The beet greens and watermelon gave it a muddy color - no biggie.
Thursday - still changing it based on what I have and for some different flavor. Trying to go a little less fruit. Cran/Pom 100% juice (about a third cup), cayenne, cinnamon, spinach, beet greens, chia seed gel, celery, carrots, fresh ginger, avocado, coconut oil, and frozen strawberries. This one was super yummy too! I didn't miss the banana at all.
For my fifth day I decided to go a little more 'hardcore'. I left out the fruit. Instead I added some water kefir (or was that kombucha? I can't tell because I reuse the bottles!) - about half the bottle, and also raw cashews. To this I put in the usual players - pepper, cinnamon, avocado, beet greens, spinach, carrots, chia gel, celery and ginger.
It's sideways, but you get the idea. ;) It actually wasn't as strong as I thought it would be! Maybe by this point I had gotten used to the green flavor, so it wasn't bad. I tried to share with my oldest son, but he wasn't hardcore enough to handle it. :)
So, what did I find after 5 mornings of green smoothies? For one, they are super filling. Kept me going all morning till lunch. They help with elimination. That's always good, right? They make me feel good knowing that I am getting nearly a full days worth of fruits and veggies before 10 am. And it was really fun to mix these up!
I took the weekend off of green smoothies, but I found myself wanting another today. So I used some of the sprouts from our garden (thinning out the seedlings), kombucha, and half an avocado. It was super green! Might be a refreshing drink this summer while the greens are abundant.
I am adding this post to Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.
