Post-Thanksgiving Back-on-Track Smoothie

Holidays can be cruel! Especially to those of us who try so hard to watch our weight!! I’ve been on this weight management journey for over two years now, and I have to give myself credit…I’ve done pretty well! BUT….things like Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings are out there just waiting to bushwhack us! It’s those potluck dinners full of delicious dishes made with things like cream, whole milk, whole eggs, lots of sugar, lard, butter, fat renderings….well….you get the picture!

Try as I might, I cannot seem to get through one of those dinners without trying even a tiny amount of just about everything on the table!! Can you relate?? Some of the foods are even healthy! And although I’m exercising individual portion control, I end up with a LOT of food, because of the sheer numbers of options!

So, on this Monday after Thanksgiving, I’ve become a bit more grounded again, and I’m working on both ridding myself of all that food-gasming by, what else?...SMOOTHIES!

Last night, I pulled out fruits and vegetables from the freezer and the fridge, and I began putting together a nice smoothie to help bring my appetite back to ‘reality’. It was going to be both breakfast and lunch for me today. At the moment, I’m having the second round, the lunchtime bottle I saved for myself, and it’s so delicious, and so filling, I felt the need to add it to the blog and share it with all of you!

So, here it is, my latest “back on track” smoothie:

2 cups coconut water

2 apples (golden delicious)

1 ½ inches or so of fresh pineapple, peeled (core and all! I freeze mine)

1 cup frozen blueberries

½ lemon, seeds carefully removed (peel and all!)

1 large carrot (I used a handful of small ones from my garden)

Good handful of fresh spinach

1 banana (Frozen. I freeze overripe bananas to keep for just this purpose. Cut them up and bag them for the freezer)

1 cup fresh orange juice

Agave syrup or honey to taste (I probably used half a cup of agave)

¾ cup mixed flax, hemp, and chia seed (I keep these mixed and ready to add to my mixtures anytime)

(I have a super blender, a HealthMaster, but I’m sure you can use any brand of high-functioning blender.)

I put the coconut water in the blender first to help make breaking down the fruit easier. Begin adding the fruit and vegetables, making sure it doesn’t jam up by using the big “rammer” as I call it! You can add the orange juice for more liquid during processing, or just add it once all the other ingredients are in. Add the sweetener. Add the seeds mixture last and continue blending until smooth, and the seeds are ground pretty well.

Serve cold.
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EASTER PREPARATION SMOOTHIE

SMOOTHIE DAY!

With the Easter holiday fast approaching, I realized this morning that there are three big feasts/gatherings this weekend on my calendar that I need to prepare for. My high school classmates are getting together to begin planning our 40^th reunion, and our gatherings always include a pot-luck! My youngest son and his wife have invited us to their apartment for dinner on Saturday evening. That is always a treat! And then the extended family is gathering at my sister’s house on Sunday afternoon for a more traditional family Easter dinner.

Not only am I faced with trying to put together some healthy dishes that everyone will like and eat, but I need to begin compensating now for the extra helping of mashed potatoes that I probably won’t be able to resist, or that dessert that will continually scream at me from across the room, or for my niece’s delicious homemade rolls. Oh, Lord…I’m in trouble already!

OK, so I swung into action as soon as I got out of the shower.  First, I got out the super blender and set it up, along with my big cutting board and a big chef’s knife. Then, I began scouring the fridge and freezer for compatible fruits and vegetables. WOW, I had so much more in there than I realized! This was going to be good!

And, to cut to the happy ending, it was delicious! Below is the recipe (well, let’s face it, it’s what I threw into the blender!) for this morning’s Easter Preparation Smoothie!

1 Fuji apple, cored
1 Bartlett pear, cored
1 banana, (I freeze chunks of overripe bananas and have them ready all the time.)
1 naval orange, peeled
1 lemon, with just the ends trimmed off
1 inch slice of fresh pineapple (peeled but not cored)
1 cup mixed frozen organic berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)
1 carrot
Large handful of fresh organic spinach
2 tbsp. coconut oil
Tablespoon each of flax meal, hemp seed and chia seed
Coconut water (approximately 2.5 cups)
Agave syrup (sweetener) to taste (I estimate I used about 3 tbsp.)

Put all ingredients into the super blender and blend on high until they are mixed well and frothy! Add more ice to make it colder, add more coconut water to thin, and more sweetener as needed. ENJOY!

TIME FOR A JUMP START

(This morning, Saturday, February 8, 2014, for some reason, Blogger won't let me insert a photo here! I'll just have to hope I can edit later!)

I was in great need of both a little nutritional boost and a reunion with my healthier eating habits this morning. The holidays, the upheaval of our family by my mom's health issues, many enemies of my healthier lifestyle have been attacking these past few months. I am proud, in a way, that I didn't backslide in any sort of  major way, however, I have gained and lost the same five or so pounds over the last 2 months at least 6 or 8 times!

A trip to the fridge this  morning was really all the inspiration I needed! Luckily it was full of a great variety of fresh, mostly organic, vegetables and fruits, and they were just sitting there waiting for me to do something wonderful with them! So, I DID! At least, I think I did...and of course, my wife agreed! So, here's what I combined this morning to make my awesome smoothie:

3/4 quart of my own frozen peaches
1 frozen large banana (we always chunk and freeze our too-brown bananas for smoothies and ice cream)
1/2 cup blueberries
2 golden delicious apples, cored
1 whole lemon, peel and all
1 large carrot
2 handfuls fresh raw spinach
2 inches (give or take) fresh pineapple (I use CORE AND ALL! It's delicious!)
2 tblsp. ground flax seeds
2 tblsp. hemp seed
vanilla coconut milk to reach desired consistency (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
Agave nectar to taste, if necessary

I usually start with the most liquid of the fruits, and work my way to the drier ones. I put them all, handfuls at a time, into my super blender and blend until they become a smooth, dreamy, thick beverage.  The main thing is to be sure to grind everything completely, and to reach a nice consistency that makes it easy to drink. I sometimes add a touch of agave to help sweeten the mixture.

I hope you have a chance to try some of these combinations! I have yet to make anything I didn't absolutely love!