Chard from our garden

I’ve mentioned before how blessed I feel that M. is an avid gardener.  She’s planted a patch of chard which acts perennial.  No matter how many leaves I cut off of it, it continues to grow more.  This morning I made an awesome green smoothie with freshly picked red chard.  It had soymilk, strawberries, banana, maca, DHA, Irish moss gel probiotics, bee pollen, and a wee touch of stevia.   It was about time that one of my concoctions tasted fabulous. Lately my smoothie combos have all been “plug & chug” (meaning you hold your nose just to get it down).

Strawberry Beet Green Smoothie

Sometimes green smoothies are not green!

I made this baby today and it was more than fabulous.  The color was so vibrant I almost needed to put on my sunglasses.  I don’t know how the color will render on your computer screen.  It was the color of Pepto-Bismol in real life.  Not that you need Pepto (honey, if your body needs to eliminate, let it eliminate whatever toxin it has to get rid of!).  The color was so intense, that it reminded me of Rage Against the Machine.  Hence the name.  Plus, I like me some puns. Even when they’re bad puns.

Rage Against the Green Smoothie

1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 cup chopped beet green stalks
1 cup strawberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
Supplements (I like MSM, bee pollen, acidophilus, and a source of Omega fatty acids like flaxmeal, chia, or hemp seed)

Blend.  Serve with love.

Today I used ground flax (aka flax meal) as my source of omega fatty acids.  I tend to use it the most because it’s cheap, it’s easy to grind fresh, it doesn’t leave a taste like hemp seed does and it doesn’t make things as thick as chia seed.   I’m going to be getting two types of beets today in my 1st CSA box from South Central Farmers’ Co-op. I can’t wait!!!   Prepare yourselves for a lot of beet and kale recipes in the very near future.

I’m feeling better already.  My skin is starting to do that glow thing.  My mood is much better. Not being weepy at the slightest thing rules! My energy level is up.  I got my exercise in today, walking 3 miles with my buddies (and Keen-O!).  And, I’m eating like a rock star.  Today I loved:

Breakfast

• 2 fl oz shots of E3 Live
• Almond milk with coffee
• Green smoothie
  • 2 cups coconut water (fresh!)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup pineapple
  • 1 1/4 cup chopped collard stems (leftover from making marinated collards)
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed a.k.a flax meal
  • 3 capsules acidophilus (I have Country Life Power-dophilus on hand)
  • 1 tablespoon bee pollen (yeah, I’m not an ethical vegan)
  • 1 teaspoon raw agave powder
  • 3 scoops MSM

Spicy sweet potato chips

Lunch

• Marinated collards served on top of a:
• Monster salad
  • Mixed baby greens
  • Broccoli sprouts
  • Shredded carrots
  • Broccoli slaw
  • Fat free balsamic vinegar dressing
• Spicy sweet potato chips (crumbled on top of the collards & salad…OMG soooo good)
• Apple

Snack

• 3 clementines
• Coconut water (canned, but still good. Gotta heart Amy & Brian’s Coconut Juice)

Dinner

• Romaine lettuce wraps filled with
  • “Stuffing fantasy” patties, warm from the dehydrator
  • Cranberry relish
• Raw agave gelato from Organic Nectars — this time cherry chocolate

I am grateful for the spousal support.  I am grateful for tasty eats.  I am grateful for lovely friends and walking buddies. May it continue to go so smoothly.

Take the green smoothie I made this morning.  I had a bunch of oranges about to go, so I figured I’d juice them.  I used the freshly squeezed juice as a base for a green smoothie.  I added a couple of frozen bananas, some parsley, and a tablespoon of Vitamineral Green.

I blended.

I tasted.

It was way too greeny.

So I added another banana.

I blended.

I tasted.

And it was waaaaaay too sweet.  I couldn’t taste my wonderful OJ at all.  I suffered through drinking a cup or so.  I didn’t want to adjust anything else because I’m being mindful of my caloric intake during my 30 day 100% raw challenge.   After 1 cup, however, I just couldn’t take the sweetness anymore.  My toes were curling.   So I modified.

I added a cup of pomegranate juice to the remaining 3 cups of smoothie I had left.  Ah ha!  That did the trick.  It’s still pretty sweet, but now it’s not cloying.  I get a bit of tart and I get the benefits of all those anti-oxidants in the pomegranate juice.

Voila! I saved the green smoothie! No need to waste food and toss it.  My willingness to be flexible and creative let me keep my smoothie.  The moral of the story is that improvisation is a good thing.

Saved Green Smoothie
Yield: 5 cups  Servings: 2-3

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
3 frozen bananas
1/2 bunch parsley
1 Tbsp Vitamineral Green
1 cup 100% pomegranate juice

Blend.  Serve with love.

I added MSM to the mix to help my chronically sore tendons and joints.   I split my smoothie into two servings and had some with breakfast and with lunch.   Mmm, mmm, good.

Coconapple Collard Kefir Smoothie
2 cups coconut milk kefir (I use one by So Delicious)
2 cups pineapple chunks
2 bananas
all the stems leftover from a bunch of collard greens I used for salad yesterday (about 1/3  – 1/2 cup broken into little pieces)
1 fl oz shot of E3 Live

Blend in high speed mixer.  Serve with love.

My excuse was that I didn’t sleep well last night.  I probably only got about 3 hours worth of shut-eye. It made for a very grumpy morning.  I was so tired, I forgot my vow to be vegan all week and had a few sips of the princess latte that M. brought to me in my bed (yes, I’m very spoiled).  The rest of the day has been the most vegan-y of vegan eating. I’ve made a 5 cups of pro-biotic packed green smoothie.  Enough for breakfast and afternoon snack.  Lunch was a big-ass salad with .25 cup slivered almonds and some fat-free balsamic vinegar dressing.  Dinner is going to be leftover carrot/cauliflower/tarragon soup and some steamed veggies done up in my own stir-fry sauce. I’ll post the recipes for all of those separately.

Jump Start Smoothie
1 cup pure cranberry juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup coconut kefir
1 shot glass (2 fl. oz) E3 Live
3 big collard green leaves
4 frozen bananas

Place all ingredients into high speed blender.  Blend.  Serve with love.

OMG! Nom, nom, nom.  So delicious.  I’ve been sipping on it all morning at work.  I love tart drinks.  And it’s got superfoods and lovely probiotics.  I’m having digestive issues (as usual) and I know that if I’m consistent with the friendly bacteria that it will get better.

I’ve also managed to work on my other commitments – I brought my gym bag with me to work.  Lunchtime workout here I come! This will be the 1st time in exactly 5 weeks that I’ve done more than a gentle walk or bike ride.  I suffered a most unfortunate groin pull back in July and I’ve been resting in order to heal.  I’m very prone to injury (loose tendons and joints I’m told).  I really need to be careful that I heal fully and prevent further injuries.  I know that Iyengar yoga can help me with this, but I’ve yet to put that into practice.

I will be writing my goals and objectives down.  Making commitments is one thing but in order keep my initial motivation, I need to get SMART.  SMART = Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed.  That means formalizing exactly what I’m going to be doing.  That should provide a framework for keeping positive and letting myself know my progress.