Glowing review: Green Smoothies

Glowing reviews are a new section in which I rave about a product that is helping make my journey to getting healthy a whole lot easier. First up is the recently discussed green smoothies.

A few days ago, I talked about how I had stumbled on a green smoothie movement known as the Green Monster Movement which encouraged people to make smoothies with spinach or kale blended in. My first attempt at one of these smoothies did not turn out very well, but I was determined to find a combination that I liked. Well, I am happy to report that yesterday morning’s smoothie was a success. Here are the ingredients I used:

Kelly’s Green Monster

-1 1/2 cups spinach

-1cup orange juice

-1/4 cup 1% milk

– 1 banana

-1/2 cup strawberries

– 1/2 cup pineapple

– ice

(note: my smoothie ended up being about 286 calories and was quite large, about 20 ounces. To save calories, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half, cutting the amount of orange juice in half, or simply replacing the orange juice and milk with water)

I decided to make this smoothie right before I headed to the zoo, a place where I would be doing a lot of walking, since they are supposed to give you a lot of energy. I paired the smoothie with a breakfast of eggs and half a bagel. Upon tasting the smoothie, I noticed that it had a lot more flavor than my last attempt, orange being the dominant flavor. I am also happy to report that I couldn’t really taste the spinach at all, which was a big concern for me. The texture ended up being pretty smooth. Every once in a while, I would come across a small piece of spinach, but for the most part, it was quite enjoyable and drank like a regular smoothie. Even though I woke up early on my day off to hit up the zoo and it was raining and dreary the whole time we were there, I felt quite energized when walking around, which I believe the smoothie really helped with. Another reason I really wanted to try this smoothie before going to the zoo is I wanted to make sure that I was satisfied for a long time since I wasn’t really keen on snacking or buying a meal at the zoo. Thanks to the healthy breakfast and the green monster, I was able to stave off hunger for quite a while and did not feel tempted to have an unhealthy snack at the zoo. The benefit of green monster smoothies that I enjoy the most is the fact that they help me to get a lot of servings of fruits and vegetables at one time which is something that, as a traditionally bad eater, that I struggle with on a daily basis. Since I have only had two of these smoothies, I have not had a chance to test out some of the long term benefits (the woman who started the website says that after she started drinking these smoothies, she had clearer skin and nails started to grow faster), but I feel like I would like to start drinking green monsters on a regular basis, if for no other reason, than to help me to get more vegetables in my body. But, I encourage all of you to give green monsters a try. You don’t have to try my recipe either. Experiment. Make it your own! Green smoothies are a quick and easy way to get just a little healthier.

 

On green smoothies

I have a lot of trouble getting the proper amount of fruits and vegetables that I need everyday. That sounds terrible to me, but it is true. But, then again, this is one of the reasons I am trying to get healthy in the first place. Randomly while I was reading blogs one day, I came across the green monster movement. At first view, this sounds like a terrible idea. Spinach or kale in a fruit smoothie? Yuck! But the more I read, the more I was drawn to the idea. Drinking one of these smoothies would be a great way for me to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet: 2 – 4 servings, easy. For this reason, I really, really wanted to like them. So, I decided to give it a try. Even though I was totally grossing out those around me, I would not be deterred! So, last night, I went to the grocery store, gathered the ingredients, and blended myself a monster. Although the website has several recipes, I decided to strike out on my own a little bit. Starting out, I blended up a banana, milk, ice, peanut butter, and spinach together. But, when I took my first drink, it was really…bland. So, to try to salvage my green beverage, I opened up a can of pineapples and threw some in. While it tasted a little more flavorful, it wasn’t quite right. Then, it hit me: the milk was what was making it bland. In order to make it more exciting, I decided adding orange juice, a regular staple in my other smoothies, would do the trick. Tomorrow morning, I am going to try again. This time, I am planning on using orange juice, a banana, strawberries, pineapple, and spinach. Since I couldn’t really taste the spinach in the last one, I am hoping that it will be totally delicious.

In other news, tomorrow, I am taking a rest day. Instead of hitting up the gym, I am going to take my first trip to the Columbus Zoo. The best part is that I got free tickets and parking from the store I work at. Yes, every once in a while, even working at a crappy grocery store has its perks. I’m hoping I can start having more days like this in the future where I can be active without having to go to the gym or get out my copy of EA Sports Active. That is my goal in the upcoming weeks at least!