Beetastic

Day 11!

I read that beets are really good for you. I never liked beets, but as I've grown older, my tastes have changed for certain foods. On my most recent run to the grocery store, I decided to be adventurous and purchase beets to add to my green smoothie.

Front of beet package

Back of beet package

Today's green elixir

2 c organic baby spinach leaves
1/2 organic fuji apple
1/2 organic beet
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
1/2 c frozen organic blueberries
1 c carrot juice

This smoothie wasn't the best I've ever tasted, but it wasn't bad. I actually would make it again. I better...I have 2 1/2 more beets left from this package and I'm not into wasting food. 

EAT A BEET
1. DETOX
Who knew? Beets help to rid the body of toxins so your body can focus on digesting food and absorbing nutrients. When your body has too many toxins, it has to spend so much time trying to get rid of the toxins, that it can't process the food the way it's supposed to. 

2. FIBER
Beets have tons of fiber to help fill you up and keep your digestive system moving.

3. NATURAL APHRODISIAC
I don't really need to elaborate here, but beets can increase blood flow due to it's nitrates. 

4. SUPER ANTIOXIDANT
Not just a regular old antioxidant, but a SUPER one. Beets are a very good source of commonly known antioxidants like vitamin C and manganese, but it is their lesser-known antioxidants, like betalains, which give them their true value.

5. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY BENEFITS
This is probably my favorite benefit. Most of us are dealing with chronic stress in our lives which can lead to inflammation in the body. Inflammation in the body is never a good thing and chronic inflammation has been linked to a number of symptoms and diseases including:

• Wrinkles
• Cancer
• Susceptibility to infections
• Arthritis
• Bronchitis
• Chronic pain
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Osteoporosis
• Heart disease

The blood-red betalains in beets have been shown to reduce chronic inflammation. Stress reduction is always a concern of mine so for this reason, I will continue to eat a beet every now and then.

Cheers!

Smoothies aren't just for breakfast

Day 10! 20 more days to go...

I woke up this morning and guess what? I wasn't hungry. Not in the least. One of the best weight loss tips I learned was to eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. It can be pretty difficult to stop eating a plate of yummy, delicious food, but I can always tell when I'm hungry. Today, that initial rumble in my tummy didn't happen until 11:30 AM - 5 1/2 hours after I woke up.

When I was ready to eat, I said to myself, "Self, what do you have a taste for?"
My self responded, "Not a green smoothie! How about a KIND bar."
Easy.
I had a bunch stashed in a kitchen drawer. I ate my current favorite, Apple Cinnamon and Pecan. 

Two hours after I ate my KIND bar, I decided to have lunch. Again, I was not craving a green smoothie, so I made myself a lovely chopped chicken salad.

By 6:30 PM, I still had not consumed my green smoothie! Knowing this was just the 10th day of the challenge, I made a green smoothie for dinner. It was quick and easy to prepare and pretty tasty if I do say so myself. 

2 dinosaur kale leaves
2 tbsp Spectrum Essentials Chia and Flax Seed Decadent blend with Coconut and Cocoa
1/2 frozen banana
1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
1 tbsp chopped raw walnuts
1 heaping teaspoon Cacao powder
1/2 tsp raw honey
1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Dinner = green smoothie

Cheers!

Never throw away a banana again

Day 9 of 30

Ah...Monday morning. 
Unfortunately, yesterday's energy burst didn't carry over when my alarm clock went off at 5 AM this morning. I dragged myself out of bed and for a full 45 minutes contemplated if I was going to the gym or not. 
Should I go? 
I can skip today. 
I'll feel better if I go. 
But I don't feel like it.
If I don't go, will I workout later?
Probably not.

I made the final decision to put on my gym gear, get in the car and roll out. Unite Fitness has a $10 late cancellation fee so when you cancel the day of, you get a $10 fine. That's motivation to get going, right?

Once I got going on the treadmill, I was good to go. If you're not familiar with Unite Fitness Studios, each 75 minute class - yes, 75 minutes - is the utopia of cross training. In one class you'll do 30 minutes of cardio, followed by 30 minutes of strength training and 15 minutes of yoga and stretching. These workouts kick my arse, but I love them! If you're in the Philly/South Jersey area, check out www.unitefitnessstudios.com.

After a sweatabulous workout, I was ready to pass out! I didn't drink or eat anything before I went so I wonder if that played a part in my super fatigued feeling. When I got home, I didn't really feel like drinking a green smoothie, but I thought about the energy boosting benefits of maca powder and chica seeds so I pulled out the Vitamix and got to mixing. 

This is what I concocted today.

2 c organic baby spinach leaves
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 organic fuji apple
1 tsp Maca powder 
1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp raw honey
1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

I probably should have doubled the chia seeds and maca powder to give myself a natural boost to get through the day!

WHY YOU SHOULD FREEZE YOUR BANANAS
Bananas are one of the cheapest fruits you can buy. Even the organic bananas are less than $1 per pound. When I go to the store, I like to buy a bunch of bananas. If they aren't ripe, I let them sit out until the skin is the perfect shade of yellow. 

Once they have achieved this state of perfection, I peel them, cut them in half and put the halves in a freezer bag. Walah! When I'm ready to add a frozen banana to my drink, I grab a half from the freezer and drop it in the blender. I prefer to add frozen fruit rather than ice to make my drink cold. 

Cheers!

Smoothie on the Go!

Day 8 of 30! 

I was away from home this weekend but I didn't let that derail my challenge. I packed up my smoothie ingredients and tossed them in a bag. There was a blender and almond milk so it was super easy to make my green elixir. 

2 cups Power Greens (baby kale, chard, spinach)

1/2 organic fuji apple

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass

1 tsp Maca powder

1 c almond milk

A Personal Benefit of Green Smoothies

This afternoon - Sunday afternoon - which is usually a lazy, hang out at home, kind of day, I discovered a burst of energy. A pretty big burst.

A burst so big, I decided to go out running.

I know! 

Running! On a supposedly lazy, Sunday afternoon!

I ran 3.14 miles. Just cuz I had a burst of energy. 

Could this be a positive benefit of the green smoothies? 

Quite possibly!

I'm interested to see what other benefits I may experience this month.

Cheers!

A Weekend Quickie

Day 7 of 30

Got my wheat grass! It was on sale at Whole Foods for $16.99. Woot! Woot!

For the 30 day green smoothie challenge, weekends are not a time to take a break! Even though I was craving a lazy, Saturday morning brunch with my beau, I stuck with the plan. 

I pulled out the Vitamix and the remains of my produce drawer. I whipped up today's smoothie and drank it on my way to Whole Foods to restock the coffers aka go food shopping. 

1 1/2 cups Power Greens (emptied the container)

1/2 c raspberries

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1 serving Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass

1 tsp Maca powder

1 tsp raw organic honey

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 c carrot juice 

Blend. Drink. Yum. 

Soon, the thoughts of bacon, cheesy grits and eggs was a distant memory. 

Cheers.