People often ask me my opinion about drinking “green” drinks, and honestly I don’t know enough about the many brands of premixed greens that are out there, but yesterday, being Earth Day (and coming off a night of eating and drinking too much) I decided to make my own. Out came the blender and in went lettuce, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley and of course some fruit to sweeten it up. I added half of a pear and half of an apple along with some frozen blueberries. Just a couple of ounces of water, the juice of half a lemon, and a couple of ice cubes, hit blend and I had a no longer actually green (those blueberries really killed the color) green drink. Next time NO blueberries—maybe strawberries would have worked better, or half of an already frozen banana. I had a about 6 ounces and put the rest, still in the blender, in the fridge for the next few mornings. While I wont say its the yummiest drink ever, it wasn’t at all bad and it is really, really great for everything. Filled with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals it is a great way to help clean the liver, nourish cells and get in a great dose of veggies! Did you know that half the calories in spinach are from protein? What a bonus for someone on a plant-based diet.
To further celebrate Mother Nature and our home, Earth, Mitch and I spent time cleaning up outside. It seems like I pulled thousands (literally) of weeds, cleaned up the veggie and herb gardens and removed a lot of branches from a highly overgrown palm tree. Before coming inside, it was time to pull up a bunch of carrots from the garden and highlight them in a simple, non-fattening veggie soup. Along with the carrots, I cut up celery, garlic, onions and zucchini. Along with one can of veggie broth and about 5 cups of water, I threw in some fresh oregano and parsley and cooked until the veggies were soft. Drinking soup before a meal is known to decrease the amount of calories consumed at the meal, so I am big on soup but it has to be low in calories or else the math doesn’t really work. Mitch brought some brussel sprouts home from the market and I roasted them, halved, with some cut up sweet potato. That is one of my favorite looking and tasting vegetable dishes. After dinner, I made a small shake with frozen banana, plain soy milk and a little peanut butter. It really hits the spot when looking for something sweet and filling.
I was really pleased to learn that Derek, who has been raising a baby squirrel since it fell out of a tree at just a few days (if that much) old, was able to set the little guy free in the park yesterday. It’s never easy to set something (or someone) free to live life as they should when we get emotionally attached, but you did a great job, Derek, and made Earth Day a special day for you and your little friend.
A special thanks, Carole, for the Stone Soup Story which I will be sharing on here soon! Just one more reminder of what we can do when we connect with others. Stay connected everyone…in peace…in fitness and in life!
