Friday, April 13, 2012

feel good Friday: Green Monsters

I've sort of had this idea in the back of my mind for a while now, but I am not very good at keeping up with these sort of things...
I do like the idea of sending you off on your weekend on a happy note.
SO, I'm going to give it a shot. maybe every Friday I will give you something about feeling good...
Should we give it a shot?
Today I want to tell you about the green monster revolution.
You could probably search "green monster" and find many variations of the recipe.
I tried a few, and the first few were sort of fails for me.
I didn't really like them. I think one of them had yogurt in the recipe and the tartness just didn't go.

Recently I decided that I wanted to change the way I was eating and just maybe wear a bikini this summer...something I have not done in a very long time.
So on a Thursday, I got up and just started.
By Sunday, seriously, stop the presses.
I had lost 7 pounds.
By Thursday (7 days in) I had lost 10.
I died! How in the world!?
I did not exercise. I just made a few changes.
I started drinking tons of water &
I went from eating 2 true meals a day to 5 meals a day.
{every 3 hours. 3 meals, 2 snacks. No more cleaning the kids plates. The dog might get fat now}
One of the meals is always this green monster.
So before you turn your nose up, hear me out.
My kids eeeeewwwed and gagged at the sight of this beast.
But guess what, I caught my daughter chugging my monster just the other night.
"heyy!!! that's mine!" I yelled.
"it's actually good mom. It tastes like a vanilla milkshake."
we were fighting over a spinach smoothie....
A VANILLA MILK SHAKE.
I rest my case.
So are you going to try it?
Here is the recipe that turns out delicious every single time.
I promise you will not taste spinach,
and eventually, you might even find yourself drinking it with your eyes open ;)

single serving. 
1/2 a frozen banana 
2 Tablespoons of "healthy" peanut butter 
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
3/4 cup unsweetened, original Almond milk
a giant handful of baby spinach
a giant handful of ice.
throw all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely mixed, pour into a tall glass and enjoy feeling a little like a monster for a minute ;)

*cut your bananas in half, peel them and throw them into a freezer bag then throw the entire bunch into the freezer this way.
*healthy peanut butter can be bought at Walmart. Just by the brand you usually do but buy their "healthy" version.
*I usually double this recipe at once because the hubs is totally on board with me and it all fits into the blender just fine
I calculated about 375 calories per serving if you are wondering about that sort of thing.
are you also wondering what else you can do with that container of almond milk?
I used it to replace coconut milk for a curry sauce on my veggies and it is also delicious over a bowl of granola instead of milk. for reals.

9 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to have a go at this but we seriously JUST sold our blender in the garage sale because we "never used it and it just sat there." and now my hubby will be highly upset if I want to buy a new one so I can make things with it. Le sigh. But this looks amazing - spinach and all! :)

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    1. ooo no! maybe you could use a food processor if you have one?
      Get rid of your blender!? Girl how can you make a frozen margarita now!? ;)
      happy Friday sweet skye!

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  2. I keep seeing these smoothies everywhere and I feel so intimidated by them. I'm a recovering picky eater, and fruits and veggies are my problem area... and there's a part of me that thinks that these smoothies might be the way to get myself to eat some of these things, but I'm also terrified of what they might taste like. Like... for this one, you said it tastes like a vanilla shake, but I'm terrified I might smell or taste a hint of banana and not be able to stomach it.

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    1. This smoothie hardly tastes like a healthy smoothie at all. REALLY. I think the bananas being frozen make a BIG difference. I was super skeptical because I really don't like banana flavored things. But I think with it being frozen it makes it more like a ice cream consistency and cuts back the banana taste. Also I think that vanilla protein powder is probably what makes it end up tasting like a vanilla shake.

      My kids LOVE a fruit smoothie I make for them too. I buys a bag of frozen fruit, and then add a handful of that, orange juice, a frozen banana and some vanilla Greek yogurt and ice. They LOVE it and ask me to make them "a smoothie" all the time.
      Sometimes we put them into Popsicle molds and make pops out of them. Maybe you could start out with a a one of those? the fruit smoothie is a pretty color too ;)
      Good luck!

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  3. Ok, it looks like you have had a MUCH better smoothie experience than I have ;-) I think I will try your recipe before I give up completely. I mean, peanut butter? How can you go wrong?

    Congratulations on the weight loss, too! That is so encouraging to hear, because although I started the smoothie thing to get healthier, I really was secretly hoping it would start me on the path of losing 20 lbs or so...

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  4. Aubrey, I'm a big fan of the green monster smoothies! :) I blended spinach, coconut water, mango, an orange, and some almonds and poured it into cupcake tins to freeze. Now I have green monster cubes that I can add to ANY smoothie- and you don't even taste the greenness.

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  5. freeze!? I'm going to have to try it!
    I currently have a cool Popsicle mold on my wish list, so maybe green monster Popsicles?

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  6. I just made this and it tastes awesome! I was hesitant, but I think I am hooked! I'm so glad I am came across this recipe.

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  7. I just tried this for the first time and I was hesitant, but I think I am hooked!!

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