WAKE ME UP WITH A GREEN VEGGIE SMOOTHIE!

So why do we care about fruits and veggies? Well, if it helps me feel better and shed a couple pounds, I’m interested. For starters, many of the famed weight-loss companies prescribe eating more servings of fruits and veggies—roughly 5-6 per day, not only to get all the nutrients DAILY that our bodies need—but because they help naturally clean out our colon (gross, I know, but it is the best, cheapest, and most natural way to do it). Some people believe that our bodies actually need 10-15 serving, but as I am not a medical doctor, I will leave the decision making up to you! Second, they are higher in fiber, so they satisfy our hunger better and we tend to overeat less. Now, I’m not suggesting we all become rabbits because that would drive me to eat donuts, but when we start to regularly eat more veggies, we feel better mentally because we are taking care of ourselves, and we actually FEEL better physically.

My friend Marilisa gave me this recipe for an awesome green veggie smoothie. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but aren’t we all looking for things that are super healthy but taste good at the same time? Oh! I almost forgot to mention this added benefit: eating more fruits and veggies is NOT going to pack on the pounds. Instead, doing so will enable your body to get in balance and thereby lose weight, particularly if you are choosing veggies that are low on the glycemic index scale (less prone to spiking your blood sugar level). For example, pineapple is quite sweet (although it works in this recipe to balance all the veggies), so you can omit or substitute as you like. For example, if you don’t like the tomato, leave it out and give the rest a shot. You may find that you try it without a few things and work up to adding them back in, or maybe you start with one handful of spinach and work up to 4. Get creative and find what works for you and what you like.


GREEN VEGGIE SMOOTHIE

1 cup water
4 handfuls of spinach (spinach is over 40% protein)
1/2 lemon peeled
1 cup frozen berries (blue berries, strawberries, raspberries)
1 banana
1 slice frozen pineapple with core (core has the most nutrients in it -- freeze your pineapple in slices on a cookie sheet when its frozen throw it all together in one Ziploc bag)
1/2 apple with core, or pear with core, or half a peach. (freeze fruit when it goes on sale and throw it in my smoothies)
5 baby Carrots
1 tomato

Directions:
Combine together in a high power blender and enjoy!