Mothers of Green Smoothie Drinkers Unite....

There seems to be a "green smoothie" movement out there. Not entirely sure if it has been there for awhile and I am just catching on to it, or whether it is a new idea among the "raw bloggers". Regardless of what it is, green smoothies seem to be getting attention.

The idea of blending your greens is a good way to release all of the nutrients that they contain. According to "Green for Life" the cellular makeup of the leaves makes it very difficult for our bodies to get to the nutrients unless they are chewed up really well. Every time I hear or read that, it reminds me of my grandmother and my dad (apple doesn't fall far from the tree) tellling me to chew each bite 40 times. Not sure about you, but I can't do that! My jaw actually starts to hurt. So, it makes sense to release all of the nutrients in the greens by blending them.

I remember when the "health stores" started coming out with "greens". Never bought any myself, but it is my understanding that it is some kind of putrid powder, that you mix into a big glass of water and have to choke down. I don't understand that entirely, why would anyone want to do that instead of enjoying a refreshing, easy to make, good for you, etc. etc. smoothie? That I guess is my question of the day.

I do have to say, that feeding children greens via a smoothie is a lot less stressful than telling them that they can't leave the table until all their veggies are gone. If you can get them past the colour of the drink, they enjoy it! Think I have just solved the veggie dilema for mothers everywhere! Now, if I could just contact all of them and sign them up for the "Mothers of Green Smoothie Drinkers". hmm, could be on to something here!

Okay, kidding and thoughts aside, I have to share my dinner last night (well, not literally, of course). I must confess that I am running out of ideas for getting excited over a bowl of salad, or one single fruit. I actually think my body is needing a change in the fruit department because it isn't as appealing as it once was. This recipe made me feel like I was eating "real food" which is what I needed at the time.

My "Real Food" Recipe

½ cucumber, diced into small pieces
3 tomatoes, diced into small pieces
1 green onion, sliced
2 cobs of corn (minus the cob)
Basil

Place all in a bowl, top with fresh basil, and enjoy - This one is a keeper in my books, nothing tastes better than raw corn on a cold winter day!

Let the Green Smoothies Begin!

Tropical Green Smoothie

2 clementine oranges
1 banana
½ pineapple
water and ice chips
ground flax meal
spinach (3 handfuls)

Place all in smoothie maker and enjoy!

This one even all of my kids liked the taste of! This morning, upon making the regular banana/pineapple smoothie, I wanted to add some "greens" to it. Knowing that the kids would scrunch their noses up, I poured their glasses out, and needed to add more ingredients to make enough of the "green goop" to fill my water bottle and take to work. Looking around the kitchen, I came up with the above ingredients, threw them into the blender, and the result was delicious. The girls all tried a sip, and agreed that I could make this smoothie for tomorrow's breakfast!

I am one week from joining The Raw Diva's on the three day green-smoothie challenge (even got my dad interested in joining me!). I have been enjoying "Green for Life", and am very interested to learn all of the health benefits in a green glass of goop! I am trying a few recipes to come up with a yummy green treat, and today I might have found one. I am conciously trying to add the green smoothies into my daily diet. I am trying to have 32 oz per day (that is one glass in the morning, plus my "smoothie" jug full to take to work with me). I am going to introduce green smoothies into the kids diet, every-other day, starting tomorrow.

Even the girls at work tried my green smoothie today! They were all impressed at how good it tastes, regardless of the look! Maybe I will have some more green-smoothie converts soon! So, Tigerlily, next time your friends ask about your swamp-water, see how daring they are - mine made quite the conversation around the water cooler at lunch today!