A fruity snack

B, I just got back from Mountain View where I picked up some organic greens like kale and Swiss chard for my smoothies and Albertsons where I get organic frozen fruit also for smoothies. But I was really drawn to all the great fruit that Albertsons had and I bought more fresh fruit than ever before. So I sat at the computer with my fruity meal and smiled when I saw your post about fresh fruit.


-- Post From My iPhone

Eating Seasonally

Both for health reasons and for "green" reasons, I would like to try to eat more fruits and vegetables that are in season. I'm not that savvy when it comes to crops and such but I ran across Fresh Tools for Eating Seasonally at The Green Life which gave me some tools to help.

I immediately downloaded the iPhone app and WOW. Very cool. I was able to select my region and get nice pics with descriptions of some great fruits and vegetables in season. My shopping is going to be helped by this.

the bell pepper

I love bell peppers and, lately, I've been eating a lot of them. So, I decided to do a little research. As it turns out, they are quite good for your health! But, first, a little background:

Bell peppers are in same family as chile pepper, potato, tomato, and eggplant - all in the nightshade family. They come in a variety of colors including green, red, orange, yellow, white, blue, purple, brown, and black. Green is the unripened color while the other colors are the ripe versions of different cultivars of the pepper.

While many cultures around the world use peppers in their cuisines, the bell pepper originated in the Americas. Apparently in a stroke of marketing genius, good 'ole C. Columbus decided to call them peppers to capitalize on the then very popular black peppercorn. Regardless of the veracity of that story, the bell pepper became quite popular throughout the world.

The beautiful bell pepper has some great health benefits for us. The red, yellow, and orange versions have more vitamin C than citrus and the red peppers contain Lycopene (thought to aid in fight against cancer). They also, of course, have Vitamin A, beta carotene, and fiber.

I love the taste of the yellow and orange peppers, but also enjoy the red and green. I put all of them on my salads several times a week. The crunchy sweetness of the yellow and orange is especially enticing. Plus, they make my salads look positively festive! My most recent salad was red-leaf lettuce and arugula with purple cabbage, and red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. It was beatiful and tasty.

I can haz green smoothie!

And it's the smoothest smoothie ever now that I have my Vita-Mix!


-- Post From My iPhone

multigrain goodness w/ fruit

On my quest to determine what "healthy" means, I'll be experimenting with quite a few things. Most recently checked out an organic multigrain pasta. Of course, whole grains are supported by Dietary Guidelines and since I don't know much about this, I feel I need to pay attention to what these experts have to say. Anyway, the pasta was YUMMY and had such whole grain goodness in spelt, oats, barley, flaxseed, lentil, and chickpeas. I made a sauce of organic tomatoes and the usual Italian seasonings. The salad and wine (a smooth, not-to-dry shiraz) were nice additions. Afterward, I had an excellent fruit salad with pineapple, blueberries, and bananas. The blueberry/pineapple combo was actually quite tasty.

Darn... after writing down the wine it occurs to me that I need to go research into the health benefits/drawbacks of wine in moderation. :)

Smoothie Report

Today, I had a bit of leftover smoothie from yesterday so started with that. Then I added:

Another banana
a cup of water
a couple of handfuls of frozen strawberries
1 apple (reddish color, jeez, I have no idea what kind...)
a big handful of baby carrots
spinach stuffed to the top of the blender

Just finished it and a little trick I figured out is to add some water and swish to get all the last drops of yummy green goodness.

Yesterday I ordered some coconut water yesterday from Amazon:

Vita Coco Coconut Water Variety Pack, 11.1 Ounce Tetra Packs (Pack of 12)

Many recipes have coconut water and Kimberly Snyder had good things to say about the VitaCoco folks. I like that it's considered a cool replacement for energy drinks.

Healthy Healing Thoughts from Me to You!
:)
~julz

fruits and greens

Golden kiwis, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, apples, oranges, nectarines, bananas... Those are the fruits I've been eating recently (about 4 cups a day). My most exotic combo has been golden kiwi with blueberries and apples (liked it a lot) but, I think my favorite combination so far is raspberries with apples. Ok... Let me be honest - if it is fruit, I'm gonna love pretty much any combination.

I've been eating more greens too. One recent delectable concoction:

• red-leaf lettuce
• spinach
• arugula
• chard
• radicchio
• frisee
• raspberries
• apples
• pinon nuts
  
• very light raspberry vinaigrette

Who knew salads could be so fun! A handful of this, a sprinkle of that... and no cooking! LOL

Can you believe it?

I sure can't. I am totally craving my green smoothies and even salads! If you knew me, you'd know how crazy it is that my grocery buying tonight included:
Celery
Romaine
Spinach
Parsley
Mushrooms
Carrots
Tomatoes
Apples
Bananas
Blueberries
Frozen strawberries
Kiwis
Limes
Lemons
Jalapenos
Avocados
Cucumber

Seriously, this much fruit and veggies is UNHEARD of for me.

Today for my smoothie, it's old news, I had the rest of yesterday's yummy goodness which I forgot to note that I added carrots to it.

Here's my salad:



I have to admit that I am snacking on Kettle chips. I did go to boot camp so I don't feel terrible about the chips.

Oh, and can anyone say iPhone 3GS?

Love and Light,
~julz
-- Post From My iPhone

Fridge make-over

In preparation for move to more raw foods and green smoothies, my fridge needed a bit of a make-over. In other words, I needed to go grocery shopping. I think one thing in my favor for this switch is that we're into the summer months and I love eating lighter (salads, fresh fruit) meals. I missed the farmer's market on Saturday so I went to the local fresh foods market and stocked up. All organic yummy goodness.

I'm starting slowly - I know that if I try to do too much at once my body and my mind will get very cranky. So step one is to just start eating salads and fresh fruit every day and to throw in an occasional green smoothie. Then, after a few weeks of that, more green smoothies! By the end of the summer, I should have transitioned enough that at least 50% of my diet is raw. That's my goal anyway.

Saturday Blueberry Purple Passion and Sunday Mango Strawberry

On Saturday I modified Friday's recipe as follows:

1 cup water
1 cup crushed ice
2 leaves kale
2 big handfuls spinach
1 small handful parsley
2 bananas
Half bag frozen dark red cherries
The rest of the frozen blueberries (bag of frozen blueberries minus one handful)

Another yummy smoothie!

I must report that I did not ride my bike on Friday, but on Saturday Boot Camp was a killer.

I'm six days in with green smoothies and I know I have lots to learn. On Saturday, I felt kinda yucky. I had a sore throat but it's like a glandular sore throat if that makes sense. I did have a couple of drinks with friends Friday night, maybe that did it.

It's Sunday and I still have this sore throat but it's a bit better. Today's smoothie is really awesome:

1 cup water
2 bananas
half small bag thawed mangos
1 cupish frozen strawberries
4 big handfuls of spinach
1 handful of parsley
a bit of ginger

This is an awesome smoothie!

Happy Green Smoothie Goodness!

:)
~julz

Purple passion smoothie

I really taxed the blender on this one! But this is my best smoothie yet.

1 cup water
2 leaves kale
2 big handfuls spinach
1 small handful parsley
3 bananas
1 peach
Half bag frozen dark red cherries
Handful frozen blueberries
Handful frozen mango
Big handful frozen strawberries
Juice of one lemon


-- Post From My iPhone

A Green Goodness Day :)

Today, I had my weigh in (I joined a weight loss challenge with some friends) and I actually met my goal of losing 1.5 lbs this week (153.5 lbs), even after I had eaten several big restaurant meals with mi amiga, Bethany, who visited from Alabama. I miss you already B! I had my Herbalife aloe, tea, and shake for breakfast today and took my green smoothie to work with me.

So yesterday, I made a whole blenderful of green smoothie and drank half. I put the rest in the fridge in the blender container. Today, I added a handful of vine-ripened cherry tomatoes that I didn't want to go bad and two handfuls of frozen peaches and pineapple. This filled a 32 ounce container I had and I sipped on my green smoothie from mid-morning until early afternoon. It was so refreshing and yummy.

My dinner for the last few days has been over-medium eggs, mashed black beans, red chile, and either a few potatoes or a tortilla. Yum! I told you I'm a "Foodie."

Today's exercise was a fun Zumba class with a bunch of the girls who go to The Spot and do Boot Camp. I also convinced one of my friends that she should try green smoothies, so I'm taking her one in the morning. I had to go to the store and restock a bit. I picked up some parsley, bananas, yellow peaches, frozen mangoes, frozen blueberries, and frozen cherries. It's kinda odd, but I am really excited to make and enjoy a new concoction tomorrow.

I also ordered my Vitamix today!

I called and ordered a refurbished machine on the 3-payment plan. The customer service lady was pretty cool and she noted that I was the second person who had read Kristen's post and called this week.

I also ordered Green Smoothie Jugs from Green Smoothie Queen's site.


Obviously, when I'm in, I'm in and I'm totally in on green smoothie goodness.

My goal tomorrow, is to ride my bike to my appointments in town tomorrow. I'm a bit scared of the drivers in this town but since I've written about it, now I have to do it!

I expect a fabulous healthy goddess day tomorrow for me and for you.

A virtual hug to you all,
~julz

My first Green Smoothie - Thanks to Julia!

Thanks to Julia, I had my first green smoothie - and I loved it. Of course, I had to snap a pic of Julz creating the wonderful concoction. So, I'm pretty excited about trying this at my house... but, first I have to go grocery shopping. I just checked the fridge and, while there are some greens, I definitely need to get some fruit.

Vitamix vs. Blendtec, I've Made a Decision...

I'm not sure how much healthier I really am on only my 4th day of green smoothie goodness, but psychologically, I feel awesome doing something that I truly believe is so good for me.

And so, today, I'm pondering the return of my $50 Walmart 800 watt blender and going for the new Vitamix 5200. I think I should go for it as I'm just not completely happy with my 800 watt blender.

I am choosing to go with the Vitamix after much reading and agonizing (these things are an arm and a leg!) and two things did it for me - 1) their 3-payment plan and 2) Kristen's Raw: I'm Cheating on My Blendtec...Oh My! post.

Today's green smoothie recipe:

1.5 cups water (might have been too much water)
2 full handfuls of spinach
1 leaf of kale
3 green apples
2 cups frozen grapes
1/3 banana (that's all I had, I need more bananas, I think this greatly improves smoothie texture)
1 lemon (just the juice)
1 tbsp agave nector

I loved the flavor of this smoothie but the texture could have been better. I was definitely "chewing" my smoothie a bit today.

I also had an Herbalife shake today and now I'm getting ready to head to Boot Camp with my friends from The Spot.

I hope everyone has had an opportunity to do something good for your health and nutrition today.

Love and Light,
:)
~julz

Yes, I am a "Foodie"

I should add some important initial information. I consider myself a "Foodie." I love food experiences, social eating, stress/emotional eating, etc. I am definitely overweight at this time. I could go into the excuses but bottom line, I need to change my life in this area. So, as I like to say, I'm throwing everything and the kitchen sink at my weight, health, and nutrition issues.

I recently read Betheny Frankel's book Naturally Thin and I really appreciated the concepts in this book. One concept that I have my friends using now is "cancel your membership to the clean food plate club!" Don't you love it?

Anyways, I currently weigh about 158 lbs. Something that shocked me today was Green Smoothie Girl's page about ideal weight. According to the chart on her page, I should weigh between 104 - 108 lbs. Holy weight discrepancy Batman! I'm still pondering this and wonder if this is achievable for me. I was thinking I'd be happy to get back down to the 130 lbs. I used to be at pretty consistently in my 20's. Oh yeah, I'll be 40 this year.

I sort of don't want to be a "Foodie" anymore but you know, the thought of not being a "Foodie" is weird. It's such an integral part of who I am...
:)
~julz

Green Smoothies & More

I've been seeing (Oprah & Dr. Oz) and reading about green smoothies (see side links and resources) and I'm sold! I intend to add a green smoothie to my daily diet.

I've also been reading a lot about raw food diets and it just seems so extreme, though reading about the Boutenko family's experiences, I have to wonder...

I feel that adding green smoothies is a good compromise for this time in my life.

Additional health related things I'm doing - herbalife meal replacement shakes, really thinking more about the calories and foods I put in my body, Boot Camp exercise classes, hanging out with people who are like-minded about improving health and nutrition, and starting this blog with my friend Bethany.

On Sunday (May 31, 2009), Bethany was visiting from Alabama and agreed to join me on my first green smoothie adventure.

First Green Smoothie Recipe
4-5 Kale leaves
2-3 handfuls of spinach
1 cored organic pineapple
2 handfuls strawberries
2 bananas
4 slices of ginger root

This filled the blender container which seems to hold about 2.5 quarts (10 cups). We each had a large glass of green smoothie. I felt that I should have done more fruit and less greens because it was a bit "green." However, it wasn't bad. I put the remainder in the refrigerator and drank a large glass on Monday and a smaller glass on Tuesday (today). I have gathered a bunch of recipes so I'll post each one as I make them.

B took some pics maybe we'll post those later.

That's it for now. Happy healthy and nutritional adventures to you all!
:)
~julz

We start a health adventure!

Bethany and I are starting some health and nutrition adventures! We will capture the fun here.

:)
~julz