Tuesday 13 November 2012

Turns out it IS easy bein' green ...

If you listen closely you can hear a few flakes falling on the hills ... snow ... my heart is all a flutter.

What this means, dear reader, is that ski season FAST APPROACHES!  All my good intentions of increased cardio and strength training for the upcoming ski season have fallen by the wayside.  Instead, it's been home renos, long commutes and early mornings in an attempt to bring good marketing and advertising to the world.  Yes, 'real life' has taken over.  Sound the alarm. 


On my most recent 'commute' up to Gods country I was amazed at the amount of snow that had blanketed the hills.  Farmers fields were covered.  Mounds of hay now resembled abominable snowmen.  Cows and horses looked confused, as though they too had woken up and realized that winter was upon them.  The sheep seemed smug in their prefab woollen sweaters ... but that's a separate issue altogether ...

A sense of panic overcame me.  With each passing year I am less able to BOUND from my bed and hit the ski hill without a care in the world.  While still far from 'old age', each year sadly does produce a number of new aches and pains.  And with an intense distaste for structured aerobic fun (exception being yoga of course), I turn to food to bring me increased energy, a reduced waistline and the power to THROW MYSELF OFF MOUNTAIN TOPS!!!! 

Ladies and gentlemen - the months of green smoothies are upon us.  Long gone are the weekly farmers markets brimming with fresh, local produce.  It's time to grab your blenders, magic bullets, vita-whats-its and let's get this annual show on the road ...




Every year, a few months before ski season, I re-read my copy of The Green Smoothie Revolution.  This book is packed full of great information on the art of green smoothie production, the benefits and some pretty inspirational stories of how greens really can change lives. This is not a paid sponsorship ... this is just a really good book ... is that enough GUSHING about how great the book is?

The most important thing I learned from this book is to rotate your greens.  Don't just whiz-up some spinach everyday and be done with it.  Too many weeks of spinach can accumulate oxalic acid which I hear can make you dizzy ... if you want all the details, here they are:
http://greensmoothiesblog.com/green-smoothie-rotate/

I'm lucky enough to live REALLY CLOSE to an organic food market - and on my most recent journey I discovered that they now carry Victory Organic greens (in the distance angels sing).  Local and organic - I have died and gone to heaven.  They've got a GREAT little pamphlet about the various types of greens they carry ... they extol the virtues of kale, the vitamin C hero ... swiss chard, the vitamin K packed powerhouse ... and the antioxidant-dense mustard greens ... I digress ....

I think the other reason I really love green smoothies so much is that they are kind of like a good "everything but the kitchen sink" soup (my all time fav way to make soup) ... throw whatever greens you have in a blender.  Add some fruits, a splash of water and TADA, instant happiness and liquid-energy.

Last week I've been playing around with various combinations of greens and fruit ... here's what we've come up with so far:

Sunday: "Daylight Smoothie Time" - inspired by ... well, the clocks changing a week or so ago ... fall back / spring forward, whatever direction you're headed this will help get your day started.

1 cup red dandelion greens (or non-red, whatever you can get your hands on!)
1x banana
1x clementine or other small seedless orange
1/2 cup mango (fresh or frozen, I prefer frozen for the frothy'ness it adds to the smoothie)
1 cup water
Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.

Warning - if you're not used to dandelion it's pretty bitter ... kind of like my long-lost aunt ... I digress ... if you're new to green smoothies, start with baby spinach ... not to sound all bossy or anything ...




Fur child coming to help pick me up off the floor ...
WOWSERS I'd forgotten how bitter blended dandelion can be!
It tastes like a power-packed-punch-of-healthy ...
In a good way ... you can feel the nutrition WHIZZING thru your body ...
I had more energy today than I knew what to do with!
Monday:  "Slip Slidin' Away" - inspired by the upcoming ski season - fruity with a ginger kick in the pants to help jet-propel you down the hill!

1 piece of ginger (about an inch or so), grated
1 cup mixed frozen berries (we used an organic blend of blackberries, blueberries, cherries and strawberries) but I blueberries and some lemon zest would also be lovely!
1 mini cuke - diced
1 cup baby organic spinach
1/2 cup acai juice
Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.

On the morning of making this smoothie Mr. Raccoon who has taken up residence in my neighbours attic was wandering around in my backyard ... perhaps he's a skier too, looking for some extra energy before hitting the slopes ...

Tuesday:  "Cheery Cherry" - inspired by a mid-week night of binge drinking with my BFF.  I needed a little extra spring in my step to help get me thru the workday :)

1x banana
1 cup baby organic spinach
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup organic black cherry juice
Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.

OMG was this ever juicy and delish ... I doubled the batch so I could bring some to work.  Thankfully my co-workers fear "green slim" and stayed away - silly fools, they don't know what they're missing!

Wednesday:  "Pucker Up Buttercup ... err ... Dandelion-cup"
1 cup dandelion greens
1" knob of ginger - diced
1 cup unfiltered organic apple cider
1 cup frozen mango
Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.
This blend is also be REALLY good with kale instead of dandelion.

Thursday:  "Sour Grapes" - with DH away on bizness this 'til tomorrow night it's been a bit lonely this week ... and while having complete control over the remote was an outstanding feeling ... once the PVR'ed episodes of Coronation Street were done, I did start to miss him terribly ...

zest of one small lemon
1 cup packed spinach
1 cup water
1 small banana
1 cup organic black seedless grapes
 Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.

Friday:  "Reunited and it Feels So Gooooood"
No smoothie recipe today - off to pick up DH from the airport!!!!!

Saturday:  "Berry Glad It's Saturday" - it was a he** of a week

1 cup unfiltered organic apple cider
1/2 cup organic blackberries
1/2 cup organic raspberries
1 1/2 cup organic spinach
3/4 banana ... it could have been one whole banana, but I needed a nibble as I was prepping this smoothie on Friday night and it was either have a 'tiny nibble of banana' or 'entire pint of haagen dazs' to ward off the sweet cravings ...
Blend for a minute or so until you've reached the desired smoothness.

When I woke before DH on Saturday morning I snuck down into the basement to blend my smoothie while the coffee perked-along ... didn't want to wake him from his slumber.  While I was down there I realized what a disaster zone it was ... spent the bulk of the day trying to make sense of the disorganization down there ... I thought of that show Hoarders and felt afraid ... thankfully all was resolved in a few hours ... crisis averted.

At the end of the week, I had lost 2lbs, was sleeping better and 'felt' healthier.

Now if only I could figure out a way to incorporate wine and cheese into my green smoothies I'd be all set ...

Join us next week for "how an infomercial changed my life ... " and a follow-up to the smoothie post :)  Happy blending!




7 comments:

  1. I drank green smoothies all summer to stay on top of what was in my garden and CSA basket every week. I'm cool with taking a winter off but so glad someone out there loves greens as much as I do. They will be eaten in solid form in the months ahead, until the garden beckons me back. My favourite green is whatever one I'm eating at the time but I love kale and mustard greens most of all.

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    1. I'll be on 'winter duty' and you can be in charge of 'summer' :) LOL

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  2. These sound delish! I tend to get in a rut and drink the exact same kind. Maybe I'll make some "Hulk" smoothies this weekend with your suggestions. Thanks!

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    1. That's too funny - I was going to do an "all green smoothie" tomorrow as I picked up some lovely spinach on the way home today ... maybe some green grapes ... a little kiwi ... some cucumber ... and the HULK IS BORN!

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  3. Mr. Schmorge S. Borg15 November 2012 at 09:39

    Damn smug sheep. They always have the upper hand this time of year. Love your green smoothie recipes. Smoothies are really underappreciated. I've resorted to just bulk-buying Bolthouse Farms pre-made smoothies when they are on super-sale - but they're not organic (bad!) and same ingredients which I just learned now that it's not great to consume exactly the same thing over and over! :) Hmm... how about a smoothie regimen sold in packages of 7 (one for each day of the week)? *tingling business idea alert*. Anyhow.. it's really too bad that you've overlooked the one crucial ingredient in ALL your smoothies. It starts with a "V" ;)

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    1. OH NO! I missed a crucial ingredient? That starts with a 'V' ... is it ... Vim? Vigor? Vitality? Oh wait, those aren't food .... is it Vinegar? Hmm, no too sour ... is it Vegetarians? Vegans? I'm not sure we should be blending people .... V8? That might work ... or perhaps, Valencia oranges, mmm, that'd be tasty ... Veal or Venison? Um, no, we shouldn't add meat to these green smoothies ... what about Vegemite? My aussie uncle swears by it! Velveeta cheese oh no wait, that's not a food either *barf* Vermicelli? Oh but I'm off wheat ... Vienna sausage? Still a bit 'meaty' for this dish ...

      Oh wait ... I know ... vodka ... I'll start working on a recipe for the "evening green smoothie" LOL love it!

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    2. Mr. Schmorge S. Borg16 November 2012 at 11:27

      You had it! It was Vegemite! LOL.. gaaaaag..

      (No other word but vodka is worthy of being known as "V")

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