Healthy Eating

I am not the healthiest person, as far as eating healthy goes.  I love to exercise and do great with that, but I have such a hard time eating healthy.  I LOVE my sweets and I do love fruit, but try to get me to eat a vegetable and you'll likely get the same face your toddler makes when he/she sees vegetables on their plate.  I've gotten better in the last few months since I've been home full time and have time to cook.  I've realized I need to do better because I'm setting an example for my son as well as my future  children, not to mention the fact that I'd like to stay fit and trim and live well into my nineties!  

One way I try to sneak some veggies into my diet is green smoothies.  I LOVE smoothies!  Recently while grocery shopping I found these Jamba Juice smoothies mixes.  They are delicious!!!  A little spendy compared to buying frozen fruit and making your own, but these taste so much better and are definitely cheaper than the real Jamba Juice.  I'll have to try the other cheaper brands and see how they compare.  I try to keep Spinach on hand so that I can add it to my meals.  Spinach is such a healthy food packed with nutrients and vitamins, not to mention the fact that it has hardly any calories, fat, or carbs!  I LOVE to add spinach to my smoothies as well as other dinner meals, such as spaghetti.  I chop it up and add it to my spaghetti sauce.  You can't taste it and it's an easy way to get some vegetables in my son's diet (and mine).

Here is a delicious smoothie I made for breakfast this morning, which my son just came in and helped me finish drinking.  Mmmm, it's so good!  You should try it!

I've tried all the different Jamba Juice smoothie mixes that Walmart sells, and the Caribbean Passion is my favorite.  I love these mixes because all you add is 8-10 oz of apple juice, then of course some raw spinach.

I don't measure how much spinach I put in, I just cram as much in as possible.  Each time I make a smoothie I try to add more and more spinach to see if it ever gets to a point where I can taste it.  So far, so good!  I think this is the most I've ever put in a smoothie and I still couldn't really taste it until the very bottom of my smoothie, but even then it really wasn't that bad.

Here is the finished product.  Yes, it is very green and may not look that great, but believe me it's delicious!!  This would also go great as part of a St. Patricks day breakfast.  Technically this makes 2 servings of smoothie, but when I'm eating it as a meal I like to drink the whole thing.

Lastly I want to share a healthy shake recipe that my sister told me about.  I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure she just made it up.

Ingredients:

Chocolate soy milk (I use the light version, which has fewer calories)

1 frozen banana

about 1 Tbsp peanut butter

Raw spinach

I don't have exact measurements on the amount of milk or spinach, but I'd say just add enough milk to get the thickness you prefer in your shakes, and pack as much spinach in as possible.

I make mine in my magic bullet, so I just pack everything in until it's full.  I start by adding the frozen banana.  Make sure the banana is frozen or it will NOT be the same!  Next I add the peanut butter, then I pack in as much spinach as my magic bullet will hold.  Last I pour in the chocolate soy milk until the cup is completely full, then mix!  It turns out to be such a delicious chocolate shake that makes a great snack or dessert when you are needing a little sweetness.

Do you have any green smoothies or other healthy drinks you like to make?

Have a great Friday and remember, even though it's the weekend you can still eat healthy and stick to your goals.  Don't let Monday be the day of regret, stay consistent.