Hello my friends! We had a very busy week last week. We had a lot of family come into town for my uncle’s funeral, so my mom had a fun shindig at her house the night before with a bunch of my aunts, uncles and cousins. It was so nice to see relatives that I hadn’t seen in a long time and get reacquainted with cousins that I barely even knew. It was wonderful!
Since all of my siblings were in town (one lives in California, one in Connecticut and one in Georgia), we decided to take a quick pic. Aaaaand, I’m lookin’ super scroungy since I went to the party right after my workout at the gym. Awesome.
I have to share this one as well…
My aunt walked in as we were taking this picture and said, “Just wait until you guys start dropping off!!” LOL! Then my brother said, “Yes, and it will start with Jimmer (my dog!)”
They tease me ALL THE TIME about my sweet doggie because I just love him so much. He is my 7th baby.
So, that is why we are all laughing.
I love my family. <3 I think it’s good to have a sense of humor throughout life, even during times of tragedy. I’ve definitely learned to cherish every day and to love my peeps!!
************************
Well, my uncle’s funeral was beautiful. It was so uplifting and inspiring. You may watch it here if you desire.
It was so nice to be with family and spend the day reflecting on his incredible life and the amazing man he was.
I am such a sentimental person so it was absolutely wonderful to spend the day surrounded by some of the most important people in my life and to reminisce and hear memories and experiences shared from days gone by. I loved and cherished every moment. <3
I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I will share a few pictures from that day…
I’m really sad my 3 year old isn’t in this picture. 🙁 I left him with a friend of mine for the day.
I also stopped and took some pictures with some of my siblings at another aunt and uncle’s grave that was nearby.
Oh how I love this aunt and uncle of mine! They died about 11-12 years ago and I miss them so much. They lived in California while I was growing up, so I didn’t get to see them as often as I would have liked, but they were like a grandma and grandpa to me.
Again, I’m so grateful for family. <3
**********************
Well guys, I’m still plugging along with the health and fitness goals that I identified at the start of the New Year. I got off track a little bit last week with all the family stuff we had going on, but I’m back ON now.
Again, because I listed so many goals, I’m not expecting myself to stick with ALL of them ALL of the time! I’m so happy I identified them though because it’s nice to look them over to see how I’m doing and see what I can improve on.
One of my very favorite goals that I’m trying to stick to right now is having a green smoothie and a protein shake every day. It’s just such an easy way to get a lot of healthy things into the body and it certainly makes for easy meal prep!
I would say that I consume both a green smoothie and a protein shake about 3-4 days a week. On the other days, I usually just drink one or the other. But, I’m just fine with that. I’m just happy that I’m making an effort to get them in regularly!
I can’t say they are my favorite thing to eat/drink, but they just work really well for my lifestyle right now.
- I love that I can throw one together in a few minutes and take it with me on the go.
- I love that I don’t have to think about what to eat sometimes…I can just mix up a smoothie/shake!
- I love that I can get a lot of veggies, fruit in my body so easily.
- I love that I can use up veggies/fruit in the fridge that are starting to die.
- I love freezing leftover fruit or fruit that is about to go bad so that I can use it in shakes/smoothies in the future!
- I love that they are so voluminous and filling, yet lower in calories!
They are just perfect for me. They aren’t glamorous or extraordinarily yummy and satisfying, but they are just so simple and full of so much goodness.
Anyway, I thought I would share the makings of my basic green smoothie. I’ve had several people tell me they’re intimidated by making their own smoothies and shakes and they don’t know what to put in them. I’m here to say that they are super simple! There really is no right or wrong way to make them as long as they are full of good things and taste decent enough.
Oh and by the way, I hardly ever measure anything. I just eyeball everything and chuck it in there!
My Basic Go-To Green Smoothie
I first start with the liquid.
For my green smoothies, I almost always use just water or part water and part either homemade kefir or unsweetened cashew milk.
One of these days I will write a post all about how to make homemade kefir. It is very simple. For now, if any of you are interested, I would just recommend Googling it. I think this site is good because it sells kefir grains and shows you how to make it.
I don’t measure my liquid. I would say I usually use 2-3 cups. Oh, and you can also use almond milk, coconut milk, pretty much any milk you want to. I would recommend using the unsweetened varieties because they are lower in calories and sugar. I really love the unsweetened cashew milk because it’s so low in calories (only 25!) and is more creamy than almond milk. I really love it.
I then add my seeds.
I usually only use either ground flaxseed or chia seed, but you can also use hemp seeds or things like sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Again, I don’t measure. I would say I usually use about a Tablespoon of flaxseed or a 1/2 Tablespoon of chia seed.
After the liquid and the seeds, I put the remaining ingredients in any order.
I put in my veggies….
I really love putting cucumber in my smoothies. I think it tastes very light and refreshing. I also usually use either romaine or a mix of spinach, chard and kale…about 2-3 cups.
Tip: I love to buy several bags of Power Greens (the bag in the picture) from Costco and put them in my freezer. They freeze wonderfully and then I don’t need to add ice to my smoothie! It’s also nice because I don’t feel pressure to use the greens up before they go bad.
There are other vegetables I’ve experimented with, but these are my favorites. I know a lot of people like to change up their leafy greens or add things like celery and broccoli. Maybe I’ll experiment in the future, but for now I’m stickin’ with these.
I add my fruit…
I usually only pick one source of fruit. My favorites are either a small orange, 1/2 of a banana (I like to use frozen ones), pineapple, kiwi or about 3/4 cup frozen fruit.
Tip: When your bananas get too ripe to eat, just peel them and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer to use for smoothies!
Tip: If you have leftover fruit salad or fruit that is about to go bad, just put it in a freezer bag in the freezer for smoothies!
I also like to add lemon juice. I usually add the juice from 1/2 of a lemon or sometimes I’ll just throw in the entire 1/2 lemon, rind and all. It sometimes makes my shakes taste a little bitter, but usually I don’t even notice it…..and hey….fiber! Ha.
I know a lot of people add more fruit to their smoothies. I try to limit mine to just one fruit so that it makes the smoothie taste good, but it doesn’t overload it with sugar.
I throw in the rest of my odds and ends…
I like to add 1/2 scoop of a greens powder. I bought the one in the picture on Amazon and it’s a decent one. I’ve found that most of the greens powders out there don’t taste too good, that is why I only add 1/2 a scoop! I don’t notice the bad flavor with 1/2 a scoop, but a full scoop makes all my smoothies taste gross.
I like to add some unsweetened Greek yogurt to get some protein and probiotics in! Again, I don’t measure, but I’m guessing I use about 1/2 cup.
I like to use something to sweeten it up a bit. I usually use either a little bit of 100% stevia (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) or some naturally sweetened drink mix. I just buy the little flavored drink packets that are meant to sweeten small bottles of water and I use 1/3 to a 1/2 of the packet.
Then just mix everything up in the blender and drink it up!
My smoothies always end up pretty huge, but I like them that way because they fill me up. You can certainly make them smaller.
Some people like to add some ice cubes in to thicken it up and make it colder. Once in a while I add ice, but most of the time I don’t. Since I usually use some type of frozen fruit or greens, I feel my shake is cold and thick enough. This may sound weird, but when I add ice I think it makes my shake too cold. It in turn makes my whole body cold and I hate that.
Well, that is it. It may sound complicated, but I assure you it is not. Green smoothies are quick, easy and a great way to get healthy stuff in the body. Yay.
Have a good night!! xoxo
- Serving size: 1 shake
- Calories: 220
- Fat: 5
- Carbohydrates: 29
- Sugar: 13
- Sodium: 289
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 18
- 2-3 cups liquid (water, homemade kefir or milk of your choice)
- ½-1 Tablespoon seeds (ground flaxseed, chia seed, hemp seed, etc.)
- ⅓ of a cucumber, washed and cut into smaller pieces
- 2 big handfuls leafy greens
- 1 source of fruit (a small orange, ½ banana, kiwi fruit, pineapple, frozen fruit, etc.)
- Juice of half of a lemon (sometimes I just throw in the lemon with the rind!)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ scoop greens powder
- a little stevia or natural flavored drink powder to sweeten
- Ice (optional)
- Put the liquid into the blender first
- Add the seeds
- Add the rest of the ingredients in any order
- Mix it up and enjoy!
Leave a comment....I would love to hear from you!