Green Smoothie Queen

Recently, I have been trying to eat a littler healthier than usual. I want to feel good and look good, so the slow HEALTHY process has begun for myself, as of this year. Usually I am not a breakfast person, and this is very bad! It means when I wake up in the morning and go to class or other things, I always feel like a sloth! As of last week, with the exception of two days, I have been drinking a GREEN SMOOTHIE for breakfast.
I know that sounds really scary, just like brussels sprouts sounds scary to some people. But people believe me! Green Smoothies are fantastic!

What is a GREEN SMOOTHIE might you ask?
Well, a green smoothie is not a diet, it's a way of living.. or drinking.Green Smoothies are very nutrient dense. They have so much nutrition per bite of calorie, basically it gives your cells the food they are crying for. 

All you have to do is just take any fresh greens you like and blend them with fruit. The fruits essentially cancel out any bitter taste the greens have, making it just as good as any other smoothie I have ever had.
There are also hundreds and hundreds of recipes out there, you can make up any combination you want you just have to taste as you go, to make sure you like it.

When making green smoothies, you can use any base you want, but for the best and most nutritional value, filtered water works best. I am still a newbie to green smoothies, so I stick to an orange juice base for the sweetness factor.

My Favorite Green Smoothie (as of right now)...
GREEN MONKEY
1 cup of ice
1 cup of 100 % OJ
three strawberries
1/2 a banana
1/2 cup pineapple
1 cup of kale

I blend the kale with the ice first, then add the OJ and fruit. I blend until smooth and when I see the little whirlwind in the middle.

To make things easier in the morning, Matthew and I bought a bunch of fruit and greens and cut it all up and measured out individual servings. We placed them each in their own ziplock bag, labeled them (we came up with fun names for each smoothie) and threw them in the freezer. NOW, when I wake up I just reach in the freezer for a bag and pop it in the blender.

This is so SIMPLE and it forces me to eat breakfast. I am not only getting essential vitamins and nutriants, but it's giving me more energy and speeding up my metabolism.

I have found some really good sites with a lot of good info on them about green smoothies. I don't think I am going to stop drinking these things, there are ENDLESS recipes, and I love that.
http://www.greensmoothie.com/blend/green.html
http://www.smoothie-handbook.com/green-smoothie.html
http://www.greensmoothiequeen.com/blog/

Here is just a basic list of fruits you can use: (Try any combo, and I freeze all my fruit!)
Strawberry
Kiwi
Banana
Blackberry
Blueberry
Raspberry
Orange
Apple
Pear
Pineapple
Coconut
Mango
Papaya
Grapes
Watermelon
Cantalope
Honeydew
ETC.

GREENS
Kale
Spinach
Romain lettuce
Collard greens
Mustard Greens
Mint
Beet Greens
Celery

Veggies: (here is a list of ones I would use, of course you can use whatever you want.)
Carrots
Garlic
Beets
Radishes
Ginger root
Avocado

On another note, Green smoothies help the healing process of a lot of diseases and sicknesses. They are high in antioxidants and some of the greens are even known to help stop the growth of cancer cells. It can aid in reversing diabetes and so much more. I am telling you, if you want to be healthy these green smoothies are a perfect start!

Until next time...
<3 Laura