Smoothie Goodness!

I have found that one of the things that I am really enjoying through out this raw adventure are the Smoothies. There are so many great varieties and the food combinations are endless. Today’s smoothie consisted of water, bananas and green globe grapes (complete with seeds) and some ice chips. It was very light and refreshing.

I am always amazed at how full and satisfied I get from my smoothie. I can have one for breakfast, and my appetite does not come back until lunch time. I could easily enjoy another smoothie for lunch, or have fruit or a salad. I can’t wait until summer and I can enjoy a nice chilled smoothie in the hot sun.

They are becoming a breakfast tradition at my house these past few weeks. The odd morning that I have not prepared a smoothie for breakfast, my children put on sad faces and wonder why. For the most part, I just put water in my blender, place whatever fruit I have available, together with a few frozen bananas, and voila, a breakfast for champions.

There is the "green-smoothie" variety. In this case, it would be a combination of fruit and a leafy veggie such as chard, kale or spinach. The addition of the "greens" makes this drink full of vitamins. It does, however, have an odd look to it; and although my kids have attempted them in the past, it is something that I am introducing them to slowly.

For anyone who thought that a person on a raw food diet wasn’t getting enough calories daily, I happened to stumble along the caloric intake of a smoothie one day. It was almost enough to make me give up this tasty treat. Then I had to remember, the nice thing about the raw food diet is that I don’t have to count calories, carbs, points, grams, fats, fingers, toes, or anything else which is a good thing because I’m not very mathematically inclined.

I eat when I am hungry, stop when I feel full (try to stick to a mono-meal so I can learn to tell the difference), try to balance the greens with the fruits and the nuts and seeds (post detox) and hydrate with water often. It is that simple. Something else that I have benefitted from (courtesy of The Raw Divas), is once I feel hungry, I will grab a glass of water, hydrate myself and wait for an hour before I eat. This helps me to decide if I am really hungry or not.

I am still on my detox week with The Raw Divas, I am thankful that I am not detoxing as much as I was last week. I have felt the odd headache, but on the good side I am still losing weight! I have gotten really exhausted and had to go to bed early, but on the good side I got a wonderful nights sleep! I have emotionally missed eating cooked foods, but on the good side I can see the benefits of a raw food diet already!

Life is really good when you are full of fruits and veggies, and after this detox I will be nuts too! (I know a few people out there who already think I am!)