Week One: 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge

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Greetings everyone! I hope all is well and that the new year is treating you right! Like I mentioned a few posts ago, I embarked on a 30 day green smoothie challenge. I started off excited, nervous and mostly nervous. I was afraid. I thought, how in the world can I survive replacing one of my meals with a smoothie? I was convinced I was going to starve.

I must admit the first few days were NO fun. I started my challenge with a smoothie for breakfast. Now, if you don’t know already the time between dinner and breakfast is the longest time you really go without food (hence breaking the fast). Having a smoothie for breakfast made me feel a bit weak at first. I felt hungry again within a few hours. I also realized that I was obsessed with this idea of having a big breakfast. Breakfast is actually one of my favorite meals of the day. I love the infinite possibilities for breakfast food. I think I just made myself hungry.

I have switched up the times of day when I have a smoothie. Some mornings I can tolerate a smoothie for breakfast, as long as I keep my lunch satisfying and nibble on a palm full of almonds or cashews to sustain me. I have had smoothies for lunch and even have had it for dinner. I’m only a week into the challenge and I just CRAVE a smoothie whenever I’m hungry. I have stocked up on frozen organic berries, mangoes, bananas, kale and spinach. I plan on making use of the recipes SimpleGreenSmoothies.com provides each week.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes (tweak them however you like!):

Super Green Berry Machine

What you need:
2 cups raw baby spinach (or kale)
3/4 cup organic orange juice
1 cup frozen organic strawberries/blueberries/mixed berries (whatever you like)
1 banana
1 tablespoon Udo’s oil (a vegan friendly Omega 3/6/9 Oil blend)
1 level scoop of Gary Null’s Green Stuff
1 teaspoon of Organic Bee Pollen/Chia Seeds/Hemp Hearts (whatever you like!)

How you make it:
1. Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to add a little extra liquid to the smoothie to get a better consistency. Keep your OJ on hand! Organic only please!


Power Protein Smoothie (compliments of Simple Green Smoothies)

What you need:
1 banana
2 cups spinach
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
10 whole almonds
2 cups water (or unsweetened almond milk)
4 tablespoons vanilla flavored protein powder (try: Spirutein)

How you make it:
1. Blend well and enjoy! This smoothie is especially great for breakfast.

I will be posting more smoothie recipes as the challenge continues!

Minus my 2 day encounter with the flu, I have really felt wonderful. The effects of having at least ONE green smoothie a day is incomparable. I have great energy, focus and feel phenomenally slim. I have been off of caffeine for a few weeks and I don’t miss it as much. The smoothies have really curbed the caffeine craving!

Keep on the look out for my updates on the challenge!

Peace, love, and green smoothies (and no beef duh!).

-Guramrit

Finding Solid Ground

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Finding a balance seems to be the challenge at the start of any new year. It seems that the New Year comes with new ideas, goals and sometimes a swarm of things to do. I’m finding myself caught at the fork in the road, where finding a balance meets complete insanity. I have these moments where I feel completely overwhelmed and forget to find my feet and ground myself. My mom always says to me, “Feel your feet. Find your rooting and get solid.” At times I just look at her and think, “do you know how hard that is?”

Finding a strong foundation and maintaining it is such a challenge.  When we are constantly moving about, running from one task to the next, rooting and centering yourself seems to come last on the to-do list. We are only in the second week of the new year and I feel like a chicken without a head. I am adamant about planning, organizing and scheduling, so that I make time for everything that is important. But sometimes my to-do lists and scheduling has me feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed is not a good feeling for me. I start to feel emotionally unstable and all over the place. That’s when I hear my mom say to find my ground, my center and root myself deep to the earth.

Allowing yourself to continuously float without grounding only seems to lead to illness, sickness or unhealthy habits. Before my potential mental breakdown, I am making a conscious effort to care for myself. Yes, the to-do lists must be checked off and the schedule is hard to steer away from. But, finding time for yourself to establish balance is non-negotiable. Say it with me now: self-care is NON-NEGOTIABLE. I am NOT an OPTION. I MUST take care of ME.  You should never be too busy to stop and reassess and get yourself grounded.  Now of course this is MUCH easier said than done. I am making a promise to myself that I will not get to a point of insanity (though, tears and a few nibbles of dark chocolate for comfort are OKAY).

This year, I will find my rooting and become solid.