Join the 30 Day Living My Best Life Green Smoothie Challenge
Who’s in?!?!?! I love green smoothies! Green smoothies were in large part responsible for my weight loss back in the day and it was completely by accident.
I started drinking green smoothies for my health. I looked at my diet and recognized that I was not eating enough fruits and vegetables. The thought of consuming so much of the good stuff however was a little daunting for me and I thought there must be an easier way.
So I took the lazy girl way out and decided to blend them together every morning in order to get my fill of vitamins and minerals. That was truly the only reason. I wanted to be healthy for my little munchkin, I wanted to encourage her to be healthy as well and so I decided to give green smoothies a try.
It was so easy to blend one and go every morning since the 9-5 life I was living back then lent little time for preparing a healthy breakfast. Or maybe there was enough time but I valued my sleep more. You know I’m not much of a morning person.
So I’ve decided to get back into the habit of having a green smoothie a day to clear out any muckiness in my insides, do a little detox and get back on track where weight and overall health is concerned. This time I’m hoping you will join me!
Now is the perfect time to partake in such a challenge because why not now? There’s never a bad time to commit to good health.
Are you in? Need more convincing? Take this quiz and let’s see how you score!
5 Reasons Why Green Smoothies Are So Good For You
Green smoothies offer max nutrition – There’s nothing healthier than a big bowl of green leafy vegetables. Greens like spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens and lettuce pack a powerful punch when it comes to vitamins and minerals. They’re great for digestion, for your skin, for your hair, to prevent cancer and just keep you moving, yo!
Green smoothies are easy to digest – because the greens and other ingredients are already blended, your body has much less work to do to break down the foods and get to the good stuff it needs to function. They’re an awesome way to give your body a break so it can focus on other functions like detoxifying the meat you eat (or the alcohol you drank last night), the toxins you breathe in, the lotion you put on your skin etc etc.
Green smoothies help you to shed excess pounds – everyone could stand to lose a couple pounds. If the rest of your diet isn’t so great then green smoothies won’t work a miracle but replacing one meal a day with something so nutritious, filling and low in calories is a great way to get rid of unwanted pounds.
Green smoothies boost energy – because your body didn’t have to spend time breaking down your usual breakfast foods but received such a high density of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you’ll be much lighter on your feet, have a clarity of mind and benefit from a great energy boost to get through your day.
Green smoothies boost your immune system – these smoothies are packed with phytonutrients, antioxidants and vitamins and minerals that strengthen your body’s immune system meaning your likelihood to catch a common cold when consuming loads of green smoothies are slim! I can attest to this! Green smoothies can also help to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure when consumed at least once per day.
Did you know that some nutritionists argue that green smoothies are even healthier than eating a salad? There are two main reasons for this:
- Blending breaks down fruits and vegetables – going back to the point of making smoothies easier to digest than eating a salad, your body is able to receive more of the nutrients than if you chewed up the pieces when you blend them.
- You’re able to consume a lot more greens in a smoothie than in a salad – you can stuff two (or more) whole cups of spinach into a blender but you’re probably not going to eat so much in a salad.
I advocate for blending your vegetables and greens instead of juicing them because juicing removes a lot of the fiber that’s helpful to flush out the toxins in your body and to help you feel fuller. I want to keep the fruits and veggies as close to their natural state as possible, juicing removes too much of the benefits I’m after.
Now, there’s a specific science to blending your perfect green smoothie. Just like a salad can be laden with unhealthy toppings causing it to be very high in calories and defeating the whole purpose, so can a smoothie tip the scale if you use too much fruit or fruit high in natural sugars. This is especially important for those who are diabetic or watching their sugar intake.
On this challenge, I will be including fruits that rank low and in the middle of the glycemic index as well as some powerful punches to add to your smoothies for added benefits. These will include nuts and seeds for protein and other nutrients, superfood supplements and odd ingredient here and there to add something new to your diet.
You can always add a spoonful of honey or stevia to help with taste in the beginning if you need it. I used to do this until I got used to the taste and found the perfect ratio of fruit to veggies for me.
How The Challenge Works
There’s a grocery list below to guide you. This is a super-list and you absolutely do not need to buy everything on it to participate. When you sign up, you will receive this recipe guide plus four recipes to begin with. Mix and match ingredients from the different sections to create a delicious smoothie no matter what you happen to have on hand. After a while, you’ll begin to come up with your own creations.
It’s important to rotate your ingredients so that you’re getting a variety of nutrients and so that you don’t get bored. Try not to use the same greens every day. Creativity is encouraged and is super easy with this guide.
Green smoothies are just one of the ways I recommended in this list of ways to lead a happy life, every single day.
Remember to sign up below to receive the grocery list in a handy PDF format as well as your recipes.
Green smoothie tip: Blend your greens with your liquid first so that all the greens are blended out nice and smooth and leaves space for your fruits and nuts. I recommend a Vitamix blender for your smoothies because no matter what you throw at a Vitamix, your smoothies will come out the perfect texture every single time! Ice, nuts or even frozen fruit are no match for a Vitamix! (It also creates chunky chops for salsa etc and kneads dough!) A Ninja blender is also a great option, the Vitamix can be pricey.
#LMBLGreenSmoothie Master Grocery List
Fruits
- ripe bananas (around 5 or 6 will do for 2 weeks)
- mangoes
- apples
- pears
- avocado
- medium papaya
- pineapple
- oranges/grapefruits
- watermelon
- lemon/limes
- assorted berries (since I live in Jamaica where these are either not available fresh or very expensive, I buy them frozen in bulk)
Greens
- romaine lettuce
- kale
- spinach
- swiss chard or beet greens
- celery sticks
- cucumbers
- chopped callaloo (This is a Caribbean thing, use collard greens with stems removed for my international friends)
Liquid Options (When plain old water won’t do)
- Green tea bags (or matcha tea)
- Coconut water
- almond milk
Proteins/Fiber/Healthy Fats (you’ll need only small portions of these but they’re so healthy I buy them in bulk)
- Almonds (or your preferred nuts, I like this mix)
- Pumpkin seeds
- Hemp hearts/seeds (good omega booster)
- Sunflower seeds
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Greek yogurt (plain)
Superfood add-ins and miscellaneous
- Spirulina powder
- Green Superfood with Wheatgrass
- Maca powder
- Turmeric (use with milk for better absorption)
- Ginger (or get the powder)
- Organic Cayenne (if you can handle it, super great antioxidant)
- Cinnamon (spring for organic Ceylon cinnamon)
- Vanilla bean (or organic extract)
- Medjool Dates to sweeten
Grab your recipe guide below! See you on the healthier side and please, share this with a friend!
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Love the list of superfood add ins! My toddler LOVES smoothies and I love that he loves them because of all the nutrients I can pack in, so it is nice to have even more options!
my daughter used to love smoothies now hates the thought of a green one, im on a mission to try and get her back in the mix!
This really look delicious. I have to go back to making my smoothies. You just made me want another one. My Vitamin has been sitting idle for too long. Thank you for sharing.
yes whip out that blender and let’s get it!
Great recipes. Can’t wait to try them!
As good as the benefits are I’m gonna have to tap out on this one. Good luck though.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Smoothies! Hope I can budget these ingredients in the holiday shopping. Breakfast smoothies are my favourite
member seh you don’t need all of these 🙂 The smoothie i made this morning had flax seeds, spinach, banana, apple and spirulina. Thats it and so good!
Aww man, wish I seen this earlier so i could join. I will you blessing on your wellness journey.