As many of you know, I’m in the middle of a major weight loss challenge. It’s no joke. I have to lose a good 15 pounds (25 would be ideal, but I’m being realistic and leaving room for major muscle gain, which I’ve been experiencing big time) by the end of April for a big “After” photo in the June issue of Today’s Parent Magazine. Can you say “eek”?!

I’ll be posting updates on how I’m doing in a new blog on Todaysparent.com. When I have the link I’ll give it to you asap.

In the meantime, I’m loving the green smoothie my naturopath Jennifer Baer recommended for me. And after stepping on my scale this afternoon, I realized that every time I get into a green smoothie kick, I start to lose weight. Every time. I just started drinking them again this week and my weight is ACTUALLY dropping. And I think it’s the kale.

Yes, kale can taste disgusting in a smoothie, but, I’m telling you it does wonders for weight loss. And when you have the right ingredients, and if you blend it well, a kale smoothie can be quite yummy. I splurged a while back on a Vitamix, and I haven’t looked back since. With a 7-year warranty, the exorbitant price is well worth it. ANYWAY! Here are the ingredients. Just dump them in and BLEND WELL:

1 cup kale
1 cup berries
1 banana
1 cup soy/rice milk
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
cinnamon to taste

Sometimes I add chocolate Vega Shake-and-Go Smoothie powder for extra protein, omega 3s and chocolaty goodness….

Makes 2 servings (refrigerate for a snack or breakfast the next day).

Enjoy!

Photo: daveeza

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As part of my new diet/lifestyle regimen, I am no-matter-what supposed to have a Caroline Dupont green smoothie in the morning. I’ve been doing it for a few mornings now, and it truly is a great, healthy way to start my mornings. INFINITY better than the Starbucks Grande Soy Tazo Chai Lattes I’ve been guzzling daily. So, I want to share it with you here, too.

INGREDIENTS:

Fruit: berries pear, apple, peaches, banana, soaked dried fruit like apricots – any combination;

A big handful (2 – 3 cups) organic baby spinach

Water or fruit juice (about 2 cups);

Green powders like spirulina or barley grass juice powder – you can find this at the – Health Food Store (1 tsp or so);

Natural Traditions sprouted chia and flax;

Possibly Vega Smoothie Infusion (Health Food Store).

I like to add about a half of teaspoon of natural vanilla to my smoothie. It gives it a little ZING and seems to mask some of the “green” taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and puree until REALLY smooth. I sometimes puree for 3 minutes (because I don’t want to be crunching chia as I drink – no thank you!). ENJOY!

WARNING: Caroline calls it a green smoothie because it really is GREEN! Don’t let that scare you….

I’ve never taken spirulina before, and I’m really excited about it. It makes the smoothie SUPER GREEN. Imagine how many servings of vegetables and fruit there are in just that smoothie!?

So, try this out, and let us know how it CHANGES YOUR LIFE!

For more recipes and health info from Caroline, see her truly excellent book Enlightened Eating. Also, please visit her website for more resources, such as her new healthy eating DVD and meditation cds, Carolinedupont.com.

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Hi Gorgeouses! I hope you’re enjoying the holidays!

As New Year’s approaches, I’m really thinking about my resolutions. Of course, most of them have to do with my diet. And, one of the resolutions I’ve made already — early! — is to have a healthy breakfast every day. NO MORE STARBUCKS CHAI TEA LATTES. HOLLAAHH!

So, for about 3 days now, I’ve been having a HEALTHY smoothie every morning. This means that, by morning, I’ve had at least 2 fruits and maybe a, erm, VEGETABLE! That’s a GREAT plan for making my quota of 5-10 fruits and veggies a day! I also like to sneak in some flax oil — maybe a 2-3 teaspoons — to ensure I get my omega 3 fatty acids (the vegan way). Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for everyone. So, if you’re not a fish eater, you might as well sneak some organic flax seed oil into your diet, and a smoothie’s an excellent place for that.

My morning smoothies are usually a mishmash of things. Here’s what I blended up today:

1 cup Fortified Rice Milk (this helps me get the nutrients I need as a non-milk drinker)
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 tbsp Flax Seed Oil
1/2 cup Frozen SPINACH
1 scoop of Hemp Protein Powder

I couldn’t even TASTE the spinach. It was fab.

I actually try to put pureed spinach in anything and everything…like these banana-chocolate-chip muffins I made yesterday:

You can see a TINGE of green. But, I assure you, the kids (and JOSH) tasted no spinach. They had no idea it was in there MWAHAHA! And, they’ve been devouring them! I’ll give you the recipe soon. I’m just obsessed with muffins — because they’re so easy to bake. And, this blog is turning into MUFFINS GALORE! In fact, I’m thinking I should rename it CHEATY MUFFINS. But, there’s something not quite right about that…. By the way, the pumpkin seeds? Purely aesthetic. They help diffuse the green….

So, there you have it. We’re drinking smoothies daily to start the day off right. No more Starbucks mornings. I’m so dunzo with that. We’ll see if I can manage to sit and read there with a mint tea…. Not as exciting, but, you know….

Do you have any dietary resolutions? Please share in the comments!

Love!
xo Haley-O

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