Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

I spent part of my day enjoying the smoothie creations made wonderful and tasty and healthy by the great bounty I picked up over the weekend.  And there’s the hour of the school day that we spent out on the football field because of a gas leak across the street that was sharing the odorous joy with our building and brought some headaches and nausea before the evacuation.  Fresh air and fresh produce…not too bad if we forget about the headache that was brewing earlier.

Did I mention that there is a lot of new produce in my kitchen?  Between three productive stops (Pete’s Fruit Market, Trader Joe’s in Brookfield – my first visit to the newer store in the area, and Woodman’s) we picked up quite the haul of produce for this week’s smoothie-palooza creations.  I’ve already included a few new greens in the mix and am finding that I really like collard greens in a smoothie.  The dandelion greens are good too, with enough sweet fruit. 

I also cooked up a fresh batch of chickpeas and threw those into the food processor with toasted sesame seeds, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and a pile of roasted red peppers.  Yep, there’s homemade hummus in the house!!!  For now!

At Woodman’s, I got my hands on a few different varieties of DoctorKrackers Crispbreads.  I’m excited to give them a taste with the hummus.  Trader Joe’s had a really yummy Vegetable and Flax Seed tortilla chip – good with the hummus! – and seeded bread twists. 

I’ve been improvising with the smoothies the past few days, going with what’s catching my fancy or some of Dave’s ideas.  After Saturday night’s shopping and fruit and veggie cleaning, I started experimenting with the new greens and the mangoes.  Everything’s been really good so far!

Today, a student asked if I’d bring him one.  I had an extra in my office.  I don’t think he was very fond of it, but his friends offered him a few bucks to chug it.  Ha!!!  He then told me he needed more fruit and less greens.  Hmm…business deal???

A colleague asked me to bring in a sample, I’m hoping to remember that when I’m in smoothie mode tonight.  OR, I could wait until tomorrow when I will be making Wednesday’s smoothies in my new VITAMIX!!!!  Yes, I bit the bullet.  Or kicked the Ninja, I suppose.  Amazon made me an offer I couldn’t say no to and I jumped at it.

Alrighty, time to grab my bottles from the dish rack in the office, pack my bags and head out for a few errands.  I’m hoping the sunshine stays for the night, as I’d like to take in some more fresh air and get a walk in tonight.

Have a fabulous Monday!

Sunshine Friday

Day #11 and thinking about next week’s smoothie menu…oh, the possibilities!

I’m starting the day with the Green Benevolence Smoothie from Victoria Boutenko’s Green for Life is today’s Spa Skin Cleanse.  It's a tasty blend of romaine, red grapes, banana, orange, and I did 1/2 coconut water and 1/2 Door County Cherry Tea for the liquid.

The Spa Skin Cleanse from Simple Green Smoothies is my lunch, though I hear Dave is doing it in the reverse order.  Really, I just liked the combination of flavors.  If it makes me glow a little more than I already am, I’ll take it – we could use some sunshine around here.  I had a taste last night after filling our bottles and it is delicious!!!  This one may be a regular for us – especially since I know how much we both love pineapple and avocado.

Dinner is going to be leftovers from Wednesday’s Lentil Soup and Indian appetizers dinner.  There’s a good amount of soup and naan left.  I think we’ll get cozy on the couch and pop in a dvd!

As I looked into the fridge and freezer and eyed up the fruit bowl, I’m thinking that there will be some what’s-left-in-the-fridge smoothie making this weekend before we stock up for the next week.

Looking back on this week, I'm really noticing that I'm sleeping very well.  For a while, I couldn't say this.  Now, I fall asleep easily, stay asleep, and find myself waking before my alarm.  I also feel energized throughout the day, am not craving junk food and am seeking out more cleaner foods for my smoothies, daily snack and dinner.  It helps that there's some sun shining right now - and that my pants are looser - thank goodness.

Foggy Outside, Clarity Inside

Welcome Day #10…and more rain!

It’s still raining and foggy outside.  I am just a few short blocks from Allen Bradley, yet can’t spot the clock or temperature from my office this morning.  In my classroom, my usually amazing view of the lake and Hoan Bridge is intermittently disturbed by the rolling fog.   Word on Weather Bug is that it’s going to get into the 60s today.  I may have to get out and run around the block with my rain coat on, hood cinched tightly just to feel it.

The one thing that is bright today is my morning smoothie.  I wasn’t feeling it when I made it last night – must have been the frozen grapes.  Now that it’s liquid happiness, I’m loving it!  Breakfast today is a Peach Coconut Dream.  It is really tasty.  Maybe I was just bitter about washing a big pile of spinach, or handling all of those frozen grapes.  Whatever the case, I’m enjoying my breakfast.

Lunch is Berry Cherry Jubilee and I snuck a taste last night after filling our smoothie bottles (we’re using 32 oz. Nalgene bottles that we picked up at GanderMountain this weekend for 20% off!).  I had this one during my first few days of smoothie-palooza and it’s sweet and tasty and mmm…mmm…good!

I’d like to report that last night’s soup was a success!  We matched it up with some tasty Indian appetizers from the little Indian place a few blocks from school.  I ordered online and picked it up when we left school.  Great plan that turned out splendidly on a cool, rainy day – go team!!!

It’s been great to share this new adventure with the people around me.  My students are curious about the “mud” in my bottle, colleagues are asking about the smoothies,  facebook friends are sharing their own smoothie journeys, and we’re all learning a little more each day.  I’m more than happy to share resources (check out the links within each blog post!) and talk about how I got to this place with my food preparation and consumption.

Each day I feel clearer, lighter, cleaner, less bloated, better rested, and more energized for the day. 

Cheers!

Rainy Day #9

Happy Smoothie Day #9!

I’m pretty sure that it was just yesterday that I talked about the sun shining in my classroom windows.  Now I’m looking out at grey and rainy. 

It’s a good thing we looked at the weather yesterday and decided to take advantage of the sunshine and grabbed some Subway, went down to the lake and enjoyed the view from a picnic table in the park.  What a great impromptu dinner date.  Our original plan was soup and sandwiches.

This was followed by what was intended to be a quick stop at the grocery for more smoothie supplies and some flax crackers…oh, I’m in love!  I cleared them out of their supply of Mary’s Gone Crackers and will be enjoying these with a tasty little spread later this morning.  There was lots of fruit and greens in the cart, including some rhubarb, more spinach to round out the chard and kale that’s in the fridge and a pack of kiwi.  Yummy!

Today’s smoothies are both creations inspired by what I had on hand when I got down to business.   Breakfast includes spinach, Italian parsley, rhubarb, strawberries, cranberries, dark cherries, and orange with a helping of Navitas Naturals Superfruit Blend.  Lunch will be Swiss chard, romaine, kiwi, strawberries, mango, orange with a dose of Navitas Naturals Superfood Blend.

Dinner will pick up where yesterday’s impromptu date sent us on a fresh air detour.  I’ve already prepared a very fragrant Arabic Lentil Soup that I found in a Pinterest search.  I’m pretty sure my mouth watered as I read through the recipe.  That I was able to go to bed last night without sneaking a taste is amazing.  Now, I’m ready to get home and cuddle up on the couch with my sweetheart and enjoy the soup.

Stay dry and cozy, friends.

What's This About Smoothies?

Oh, green smoothie happiness…

How did I land here in green smoothie land?

Netflix.  I firmly and completely point my finger to the dvd spouting & streaming mavens at Netflix. 

A few weeks ago, “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead” was recommended so I added it to my queue and moved it to #1.  It arrived.  I watched.  I was fascinated.

So, I thought I’d be jumping on the juicing bandwagon.  I read up on it, wish listed a few titles on Amazon.com, sought juicer recommendations.

Then a friend recommended I read Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko.  Well, there went juicing and I was onto smoothies.  Truly, this made sense immediately.  I wouldn’t need to buy a new appliance (boo!), it fits my food sensibilities, and is something I could start immediately with what is in my refrigerator and fruit and veggie basket.  Good idea!  I spent quite a bit of time reading through Boutenko’s Raw Family site and that led me to Simple Green Smoothies.

Enter the 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge.  I started on Tuesday, April  9^th.  Today is Day #8.

Last Friday while getting ready to head out for date night dinner and concert with Dave, he asked what the delicious concoction in the cup in the fridge.  Oh my…could he possibly have been talking about the leftover smoothie?  YES!  He was.  He declared, “I can do this!”

If he can do this, I can happily blend away and prepare FOUR QUARTS of happy green smoothie each day.  So, Sunday was the big shopping trip for a week’s – okay, maybe 4-5 days – worth of green smoothie makings.  Oh, that cart was overflowing with greens and fruits and herbs and healthy happiness.  And, after just two days of eating…blending…through all of that, I’m seeing that I will need to head to the store again a little sooner than I had planned. 

This morning’s smoothie was the Berry Protein Blast.  Oh, was that good!  This afternoon we enjoyed the Fat Burning Green Smoothie.  Both were great.  The ginger kick of the Fat Burning Green Smoothie is still with me and I’m looking forward to other smoothies with ginger – one of my favorite produce department secrets.

While the 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge is to have one green smoothie a day, I’m having two quarts of green smoothie each day – breakfast and lunch – and a nice healthy dinner.  Depending on how I feel, I may add in a light snack during the day.  Today, I enjoyed flax crackers with a homemade spread of ricotta, tomatoes, basil and black pepper.  That was a treat.  And on top of all of this, I’m continuing to enjoy lots and lots of water.  LOTS of water. 

After just eight days, I feel great – clear-minded, light, energized.  I don’t crave junk food.  I crave healthy, clean food.  Right now, I’m daydreaming of an avocado.

On another happy and healthy note, it’s been TWENTY MONTHS since I last consumed fast food.  WOW!!!

Back From Hibernation

After a long winter’s hibernation, I’ve dusted myself off, shaken away the sticky cobwebs, taking a good hard look at where I am TODAY and am on the road to moving forward.

Spring break was a few weeks ago for this happily busy high school English teacher and the realization that the weather for biking and running is just around the corner – even if it’s just for five minutes of this crazy Wisconsin spring – and I am not ready.  I have let myself and the habits I worked so hard on fall to the wayside as I transitioned into this new teaching position and the romance that quickly followed.

My eyes are wide open, the sun is shining, and I’ve taken back the control that I let slip away when things got hectic.  I took a good hard look at myself, looked at the bikes anxiously waiting in the garage, thought long and hard about how I was feeling (like shit! – physically, that is) and how I WANT to feel and I’ve made a change.

After much reflection on my attempts at health and happiness in the past, I’ve decided that I just can’t live with the space food that I’ve used to get me there before.  I NEED REAL FOOD.  I CRAVE REAL FOOD.  I LOVE REAL FOOD.

I’ve done lots of reading, watching, talking, question asking, and then a lot more reading.  Now, I’m experimenting with my produce section finds (soon to be farmers’ market finds) and my mad kitchen skills.

Today is Day #8 of what is starting as a 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge and I am starting to feel lighter and brighter.  There have now been two hauls of produce from grocery to kitchen counter and it’s an adventure.  As with all culinary adventures I embark on, sometimes I follow the recipe, sometimes I improvise.  Today’s lunch is a Fat Burning Green Smoothie from The 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge from Simple Green Smoothies.  Ooh…this is tasty!

So, that’s just a QUICK catch up on where I am, what I’m doing and what I’m eating.  I’ll surely be back very soon to continue sharing this new adventure with you.