Green Smoothies!
I am so happy to be back in my green smoothie routine. I drank them every day of my 2nd and 3rd trimester, since I was trying to build up my iron stores without having to take an iron supplement (trying to avoid constipation...). 
After the birth, Matt continued to make one for me every day (spinach/kale + frozen mango + 1/2 banana + 1 c yogurt) until Henry was diagnosed with a dairy sensitivity. Henry still seems to have a bit of a sensitivity (he has really dry skin, which has a 50% chance of coming from a food sensitivity), but we are getting back into the green smoothie routine. Drinking green smoothies is such an amazing way for someone like me (i.e., a person who doesn't like to cook greens for dinner) to get a daily dose of leafy greens. Well, Matt and I do eat a salad nearly every night, but we usually use spring mix.
It's highly likely that Henry will get pickier and pickier with his eating as he gets older, so I'm hopeful that green smoothies will continue to be a tasty way to fill him up with fruits and vegetables. It's better than drinking juice because it's the whole fruit (fiber and all). And even though I still haven't been able to splurge on the coveted Vitamix, I don't really have any problems making smoothies in a regular blender. In fact, after Henry broke our blender, I invested in a super-cheap, single serving blender (you twist off the blender from the base and it becomes a travel cup!) and it works fine, too.
This week I'm going to try to pair different fruits and veggies for variety...
After the birth, Matt continued to make one for me every day (spinach/kale + frozen mango + 1/2 banana + 1 c yogurt) until Henry was diagnosed with a dairy sensitivity. Henry still seems to have a bit of a sensitivity (he has really dry skin, which has a 50% chance of coming from a food sensitivity), but we are getting back into the green smoothie routine. Drinking green smoothies is such an amazing way for someone like me (i.e., a person who doesn't like to cook greens for dinner) to get a daily dose of leafy greens. Well, Matt and I do eat a salad nearly every night, but we usually use spring mix.
It's highly likely that Henry will get pickier and pickier with his eating as he gets older, so I'm hopeful that green smoothies will continue to be a tasty way to fill him up with fruits and vegetables. It's better than drinking juice because it's the whole fruit (fiber and all). And even though I still haven't been able to splurge on the coveted Vitamix, I don't really have any problems making smoothies in a regular blender. In fact, after Henry broke our blender, I invested in a super-cheap, single serving blender (you twist off the blender from the base and it becomes a travel cup!) and it works fine, too.
This week I'm going to try to pair different fruits and veggies for variety...
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6 comments:
Funny coincidence! Just before I fell asleep last night I said to Adam how I need to go to the grocery store for green smoothie ingredients. It's been a month or more since I had one and I can definitely feel a difference.
Have you ever heard of the book Green for Life? It's by Victoria Boutenko, who changed the lives of herself and her family by eating strictly raw food, primarily green smoothies. It's an interesting read. Also, it contains a ton of recipes for different green smoothies. None of them contain dairy, so if that becomes an issue again, they should still be okay for Henry.
We actually host Victoria's Joy for Life retreats at our resort! She's a really wonderful woman and the smoothies she has made for us have been absolutely delicious!
And FYI, you don't need to add dairy to your smoothie. My partner makes us smoothies every morning with a variety of fruit (fresh and frozen), and he never adds dairy. It actually makes it healthier for you! His trick is to just make sure that he's adding some "wet" fruit too, like grapes or oranges (especially oranges these days!). Sometimes, rarely, he has to add a little water (a few Tablespoons) to get it liquidy enough to drink. Now, granted, these smoothies may be more expensive because you're using more fruit (replace volume of yogurt with fruit), but I think the health benefits of more fruit is worth it.
(Granted, we have a Vitamix, so I don't know if that makes a difference in our ability to bypass yogurt. Maybe it does, since Vitamixes essentially liquify your fruit...)
Hi, Neen! I like to add dairy for the protein (I'm vegetarian) and calcium, but thanks for the suggestions! (and I'm jealous of your Vitamix)
I love doing smoothies, but I was falling behind with the routine having to run out the door in the morning. What made it easier for me was that I started buying frozen, organic fruit from Trader Joe's, usually mangoes, strawberries and then a raspberry and blueberry mix. When I get home from the store I combine all the different kinds of frozen fruit I want for each smoothie into a zip lock baggie and store in the freezer that way. I also add ground flax seed to each baggie. Then, when I want a smoothie in a hurry, I dump some kale from the fridge and yogurt or juice in the blender and then just dump a fruit/flax baggie from the freezer in. It saves me a little time in the morning and I always know how many more smoothies I can get out of the ingredients I have on hand. I hope you report back Sara on what new smoothie combinations work for you so that I can try them!
As a nurse, I've been taught that calcium and iron shouldn't be taken together because calcium interferes with iron absorption. Have you considered that, now that you're using smoothies to help Henry get his iron? (And bravo for that, since kids often get iron deficient!) I'm sure you know there are other vegetarian and non-dairy ways of getting protein and calcium, and calcium supplementation has not been shown to improve bone density, anyway. (The calcium obsession in America is just dairy industry marketing, in my opinion!)
I just bought a new juicer and am new to how to put different fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc. together. I am going to try this!
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