Green Smoothie

Even though I've had a hard week (sugar cravings, coke zero and really low energy) I have stayed true to my daily green smoothies! They really help me to feel so much healthier!

If you are interested, here is my recipe: (use all organic, if possible)

Ingredients:
2 cups unfiltered apple juice
1 1/2 cups pure pineapple juice
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
spirulina (I use 9 of the tablets from trader joes)
3 Tbl organic flax oil
juice from 1 lemon
3 stalks celery
1 med cucumber
1 granny smith apple
handfuls of kale and spinach. Blend. Add more kale and spinach. 

*I highly recommend a VitaMix blender. Before I used a food processor to get the kale and celery fine enough that it wasn't crunchy in my smoothie. With a VitaMix everything is smooth as can be. I think green smoothies are nasty unless they are completely smooth. My VitaMix was an investment, but totally worth it! 

Pour into ice cube trays. Freeze. Place in ziplock freezer bag.

1/2 - 1 cup coconut water (depending on your taste preference)
4 green smoothie ice cubes

Blend, pour and enjoy the benefits of green smoothies! :)

I caved

Sad sad sad but yet so happy. Oh how coke zero make me torn about my decision to give up caffeine and fake sugar.

Energy, Exercise and Essential Oils

Here are my 3 E's for the day: Energy, Exercise and Essential Oils

ENERGY: oh how I wish I had more of it! It's Wednesday, middle of the week and man am I exhausted! Today would have been a morning where I reached for a zipfizz to kick my day off. Good thing I didn't have any in the cupboard. (And yes I did go looking even though I knew there wasn't any, anywhere. Addictive behaviors much? I think so). Maybe I'm not quite over the withdrawals, or maybe I'm actually not as committed as I think I am. All I know is that mornings like today when my body aches and I'm exhausted and have a full day ahead of me ... I need something! Maybe I'll buckle under these cravings and go get a diet coke. Oh no, I said it! A DIET COKE... Oh how I really do love you! Can I make it through the day without any caffeine? The thing that is so hard is that I want to get a good work out in today and when I'm exhausted and in pain like this I can only seem to work out if I've had some caffeine.

EXERCISE: Speaking of exercise, I got my first workout in yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks!! It was a hard one! Jillian kicked my butt! However, it felt so great! This morning I already feel stronger and more confident. I was so consistent for so many weeks and then I just got so busy that I let it slide. I'm back and hope that this week is the start of consistency again. Plus, I miss BodyPump!

ESSENTIAL OILS: I've heard about essential oils but I have never really gotten into them before. My sister-in-law went to a class on DoTerra essential oils and since then I have been learning so much from her. I ordered just a couple at first and then last week ordered a few more. My collection is growing as is my testimony! I was of course skeptical at first (Mr. Doctor in the house feeds my skepticism), but at the same time I really do believe in alternative medicine. My two main concerns I wanted to address at first was 1. sleep/stress and 2. hypoglycemia. I ordered Serenity for stress/sleep and Eucalyptus for my hypoglycemia. We are about 4 weeks into our essential oils journey and I love learning all the different applications and benefits from all the different ones. Serenity has now become a nightly ritual! I even have my husband, the skeptical soon to be doctor, using it every night. It really does help him calm down and deal with the pressures and stress with school. I have a strong belief in the eucalyptus one. I usually get the shakes mid morning, no matter what I eat. It's just what I deal with. Since using eucalyptus I have not had these shakes. Then, two weeks ago it was about 10:15 am and I got the shakes for the first time in a while. It was a crazy busy morning but I found a moment to think, "why the heck am I feeling this way again? What did I eat today? What did I do different?" and then it dawned on me ... I forgot to use my oils! At that moment I was hooked and I haven't missed a day since and have yet to have the shakes! It is amazing!

If you are interested, check out this website: http://everythingessential.me/index.html
This is where my sister-in-law gets a lot of her information. And if you want more resources let me know and I can send you in the right direction.

PS - I'm failing miserably on no sugar this week. I don't know what my deal is! My sweet tooth is out of control! Help. I need an intervention. BUT, I have been consistent with my green smoothies. That is one thing I have going for me today! :) 

one day at a time

Last week marks one of the hardest weeks of my life... it's too personal to get into details, but it lends for a moment where starting over this week brings a renewed sense of hope for the future. With opposition and challenges in life we have the opportunity for growth. We also have the opportunity to start over and try again. That is my motto this week! Starting over and trying again translates to all areas of my life. As I promised before and committed to myself, I will report on my progress to find peace within my physical trials. Last week I fell off the wagon with my new diet goals. I was feeling so sick to my stomach the only thing I could eat for 4 days straight was crackers and applesauce. My crackers of choice were Cheese-its... full of refined wheat and food coloring, both of which are totally against my new diet but were deliciously accepted by my nauseous stomach, so c'est la vie. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to get through the moment.


Now, on a positive note ... I have stayed true to the no caffeine, no zip fizz and no sugar chemicals!! So I'm two weeks without those and now it's my week to work on sugar and refined flour. So, for starting over this week I had a wonderful green smoothie this morning! Full of kale, spinach, cucumber and so many more delicious vegetables that are great for my body! I feel better already. I even had a huge production on Saturday where I made two batches in my trusted VitaMix, put them in ice cubes in the freezer and now have almost 2 weeks worth of smoothies!! I've learned that this is is the only way I can consistently drink green smoothies, otherwise it is too much of a production in my morning when I'm running to get out the door by 7:15. I just pop a few green smoothie ice cubes into my blender with some coconut water, blend for 2 minutes, pour in my glass and I'm out the door with a healthy start! Here's to the power of green smoothies every morning!


A bit of Monday Morning motivation to leave us with today:


 "Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords: but, like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excesses of hope must be expiated by pain; and expectations improperly indulged must end in disappointment." - SAMUEL JOHNSON, Letter, Jun. 8, 1762 - enjoy your week being in hope, being happy, and being well!!