Green Smoothies-Beginner level recipe

Wow, there was such a response from my last Green Smoothies post!  So I'd thought I'd do a follow up post to answer all your questions.

 

Kids even not my own loved the smoothies and popsicles

Green Smoothies are great!  They can naturally lower your weight, give you better skin, and loads more energy.
Why?
Because your giving your body what it needs and wants with no junk.  That's it plain and simple.

There are different "levels" of Green Smoothies.  The first one I tried was an advanced smoothie.  It had celery, spinach, lettuce and more in it.  Celery is a strong and fairly sharp flavor, that along with multiple greens in it make it more of an acquired taste.

If you've eaten clean and healthy for years then by all means jump in and go advanced.  If your new on the health path or if your hesitant then try a beginner recipe.

Here is the recipe I give my clients when they try them for the first time:

1c. water
1 c. frozen blueberries (or fresh)
2 c. Fresh baby spinach (must be fresh and don't pack it down, keep it light and fluffy)
1 TB Honey

-Blend well and sip.

This is a delightful recipe and no one has yet guessed there is spinach in it.

The intermediate level you add in Kale, and or cucumber to various fruits such as  apples, bananas, pineapple, and pears.




Once your pallet is used to that, add in other healthy fun stuff:
flax seeds, or milled fax
chia seeds
protein powder
avocados
almonds
almond milk

Experiment, the world is yours, and you'll be healthier for it.

DIY Baby Food

We all know preservatives are really really bad for you.

Have you thought about what you giving your babies?  Commercial baby food has to be processed and preserved.  That precious little thing is so fresh and young, and what do we do? Shove preservatives in their mouth- usually unintentionally, we just don't think about those things.

Not only that but the mark up on baby food?! Ridiculous!!!

It's not hard or really time consuming to DIY, not to mention so cheap. All you need is a blender (or even better a magic bullet or equivalent) and your baby can have fresh nutritious food in flash.

It only takes about 2-3 minutes.  Fill the bullet with a bit of water and add veggies.  Steam them in the microwave and blend. -That easy.

Or you can make a big batch and fill ice cube trays.  When frozen dump 'em out into a zip-lock bag.  Label the bag. -Repeat with more fruit and veggies.

Parents has created this easy guide to help along the way if you need it.  If you have a baby check it out.

May your baby be healthy too!

Healthy Kids- cold weather activites.

As we focus and work hard to keep ourselves healthy, we need to do the same for the next generation.

I don't know about your weather but mine has been cold.  I've taken my kids to the park dressed in snow clothes twice this past week, but we can't do that everyday nor do I think it healthy to do it more often until that chilly wind dies down.

So what to do?

Over the next few posts I hope to give you ideas to keep your kids, moving, active, burning energy, using their minds and keeping the screens off.

I bring you...Dino Eggs.  This idea I enhanced and build upon from kimboomu.
These bad boys made for two days of fun.  Easy and cheap to make.  All you need is cotton balls, water, flour, and food coloring.  Things we already have right?

 Mix 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water together.

 Add some food coloring.

 Coat your cottonball in the paste.

 Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

 You can call it done here or you can get a paint brush and decorate with food coloring.

 This makes for cool designs (and more wholesome activities).  This also very importantly, crates an opportunity to have healthy relationships with your children.  As parents or caregivers we need to interact and play with these precious little ones.  So get in there and embrace your inner Martha Stewart.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

The next day (or same day) take then outside and smash them with a hammer!
- What child would not love that?

 If you want to spend a little money, you can coat small toys like animal figurines and pretend their fossils.  You can go crazy with this by hiding them all over the house and go on an archeological hunt.