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I wanted to share something we've been trying before I move on to more Palm Springs week! (I spent most of yesterday catching up on work and also working on that dollhouse DIY that I keep mentioning... I think I have it figured out, so I just need to photograph everything.. will post soon!)
Ethan is kind of like me, he finds out about something interesting and decides to obsess on it for weeks at a time.
Enter: Green Smoothies
Not sure where he first read about them, but it's all he's talked about for probably over a month now. We've both been talking a lot about being more thoughtful about what we put into our bodies (we are already fairly strict about what the boys can eat, why not extend that to ourselves?) and have for the most part been eating mostly organic. We have an amazing farmer's market here in Atlanta of which we feel very thankful for. It is HUGE. We realize this isn't something that is available to everyone in every city, so we feel very lucky!
Between the farmer's market and Trader Joe's, we've almost eliminated going to the regular grocery store. Both places are a bit of a drive for us, but it's worth it. And of course with Trader Joe's, their products in general make me feel more at ease about what ingredients are in their food. Even with the natural/organic section at Kroger, it's not the biggest selection and their prices aren't the best.
I've also been trying to taper down on my caffeine intake (which I don't always succeed with!) and also aspertame, and I found a really tasty diet soda alternative (to Diet Coke) called Hansen's. I'm sure most of you have heard of it. I tried a diet soda sweetened with Stevia from Whole Foods and just didn't love the taste, so I'm settling for something sweetened with Splenda. Also, Hansen's doesn't have caffeine which is a major plus. And really, cokes never keep me awake, so the extra caffeine was kind of a waste.
So back to those Green Smoothies...
Ethan and I have both been wanting to lose weight (um, when have we NOT been "wanting" to lose weight.. the key is when do we actually act on it?! ha). We both always have the best intentions, but we are definitely stress-eaters. Things have been kind of a giant roller-coaster over the past 6 months dealing with lots of personal things (change of job for Ethan, school system issues, will we put our house on the market, etc, etc) and the idea of dieting has felt quite frankly impossible to us. Especially with summer vacations and travel, it's hard to be disciplined with what we eat. (although, again, we are pretty strict about what the boys eat! isn't that what parents tend to do? we care so much about our kids, that we don't take time to care for ourselves.)
So Ethan's been reading and reading about these Green Smoothies and he just felt really inspired by the stories he was reading not only of people losing massive amounts of weight, but the fact that these drinks are really good for you!
It's pretty fascinating what these green-hued drinks have done for people: weightloss, cured diseases, better skin, restored 20/20 vision (!!) to name a few.
They are filled with all of those things that we personally don't eat a lot of: greens. We don't eat a lot of veggies in our house either. And it's near impossible to get the boys to eat them. This has been a concern of our's for a long time. They eat tons of fruit, but not a lot of veggies.
Ethan felt so inspired by these Green Smoothies and felt it could be one of those "life changer" kind of things and would be beneficial to the whole family. So we invested in a Vitamix blender (which apparently is the Rolls Royce of blenders, and has a price to match) and started using it this week! I'm happy to report that the smoothies are SO GOOD. Ethan was like a kid in a candy store in the greens section at the farmer's market and brought back all kinds of greens. You can add fruit to sweeten them. They are incredibly fresh tasting.
This week we've tried: spinach + papaya + apples
spinach + watermelon + apples
Last night Ethan mixed rainbow chard plus fruit and other greens. Have yet to try it!
The great thing about these is how convenient they are. So fast and easy to make. And when you invest in a blender that is that pricey, you tend to follow through with it. ; ) (unlike that gym membership? ;)
There are tons of recipes out there and some specifically for kids that we can't wait to try. Ethan has given Cooper one the past two mornings (haven't had a chance to give one to Cam yet) and EUREKA, he drank the whole thing yesterday... as far as we know. Haha. We didn't see any green liquid in the trash or the sink.
BUT this morning we saw some smoothie poored out in the sink. We still aren't sure if he dumped the whole thing out, but he SAID he thought there were bugs in it at the bottom (aka probably fruit seeds because the blender blends it SO smoothly there are no chunks). We've been dealing with some "white lying" with Cooper lately, so we're choosing to believe him on that. :P
He said he liked it... so we're hoping that's a good sign for the future!
Here are some books that Ethan poured over on his Kindle, if you'd like to check any of them out:
Website: Green Smoothie Challenge
Green Smoothie App for any phone!
(Ethan highly recommends this app)
I'll keep you posted on our Green Smoothie adventure.
Do you make Green Smoothies? Please share your experiences in the comments section!
(I have to note that, no, no one has paid me to write about green smoothies or Vitamix blenders. ;)
