Glowing Green Smoothie

In my quest to read everything I can get my hands on that talks about gluten-free/clean eating, I stumbled upon a blog that praised the book 'The Beauty Detox Solution'.

The blogger claimed this must is a MUST READ when it comes to clean eating.  So, of course, I purchased it.

I could not put this book down. 

Kimberly explains the process of what it takes for certain types of foods to break down and travel through the digestive sysetm, and how that plays in integral part in the nutrients and vitamins our bodies actually receive from what we are eating.

She also explains it in terms of pH levels...acidity and alkalinity, and I, as a science-nerd, was better able to understand certain aspects of nutrition that hasn't always made sense to me in the past.

She does recommend eating a vegetarian life-style, but also adapts her eating strategy to allow those of us who do eat meat, to continue eating it. 

The last 30 or so pages is filled with salad, soup, and meal recipes.

And the recipe I was most excited to try was the Glowing Green Smoothie.

My family as been on a smoothie kick lately, but it's fruit smoothies.  I was curious if the fruit in the glowing green could actually mask the taste of all the greens, like she claims it does.  If so, what a great way to add a few more greens into my family's diet.

Here's what I used to make my green smoothie.

-1.5 cups water

-Half a head of lettuce

-Handful of baby spinach

-Banana

-3 slices of pear

-8 pieces of pineapple

-Juice from 1/2 lemon

Blend REALLY well!!!!

My recipe ended up making 1.25 L (without ice added).

Kimberly recommends drinking the green smoothie very cold, so I added ice cubes directly to my cup.  The rest I will refrigerate for tomorrow.  It's supposed to keep well in the refrigerator for several days.

The taste was amazing, however, it was a little thick so I think I'll add a bit more water next time.

Overall, I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by how good it actually is.

Spinach Hummus

Late last year, I decided to cut out processed foods, as much as possible, from my family's diet.

Not that we ate a lot before, but I wanted to be even more disciplined about it.  I'm a firm believer that your children acquire a 'like' for the foods they grow up eating, and I want to get my kids off to a good start when it comes to making good decisions about food choices.

Now that's not to say that we don't eat Subway every now and then, because we do.  I've just become more conscience of the foods I buy at the store.

We've never been a family who has bags of chips, cookies, ice cream, etc in our house for snacks, and a lot of our family members say we are 'weird' because of this.  I'd just rather my kids eat nuts, fruits, veggies, etc. if they want a snack.

Ava, our middle daughter, has been having some GI issues, which has lead to us going gluten-free.

And I'll be sharing more of our new favorite gluten-free recipes with you all soon.

Today's recipe is by far one of the kids new favorite 'dips'.

If your kids are anything like mine, then they always have to have 'dip' for everything they eat. lol

And if you're anything like me, you LOVE simple, easy-to-make recipes.  You know the kind that contain five ingredients or less. :)

So, here we go:

-Chick Peas

-EVOO

-1 Tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tsp Cumin

-Handful of spinach

Throw it all in a food processor. 

Blend well while drizzling in EVOO.

Literally, two minutes later you will have a yummy bowl of hummus to enjoy on anything your heart desires.

Aside from being absolutely delicious, you can store this for up to four days in the refrigerator, and the cost break-down is just over $2.  And you just can't beat that.

Dear Kate

When I first learned of Bre's congential heart defect, and the seriousness of the situation, my head told me to guard my heart.  There was no way this little 4.5 lb, 31 week preemie could survive this.  But my heart knew there might only be a few, short days to physically be with her and I needed to love her with everything I had.

In those 15 days prior to surgery, and for the month following, my life consisted of barely being able to touch her, comfort her, to really do anything but just be with her and love her.  I felt more helpless than I ever had in my life, and I know right now, there are times that you feel the exact same way.  It may be for a different reason, but the pain is still the same.  It's partly in feeling helpless and partly in wanting something so much more for your child because you love them so much.

I've prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more since I received your email with the diagnosis.  I know the road ahead is long, and will often times be bumpy, but I also know that in those moments when a sweet, little O calls his Mommy 'a princess'....it makes it all worth every ounce of worry and every tear shed.

This morning as I drove the kids to school, I was listening to the writer of the song I'm about to share with you, talk about his feelings when his own child was diagnosed with a congential heart defect in utero.  As I pulled in the school parking lot, tears flowed down my face as I flashed back to that place in my own life, and then you and little O were all I could think about.

This line got me..... 'I chose to recklessly love my child, even if I bleed'.

Afraid to love, something that could break,
Could I move on, if you were torn away?
I'm so close to what I can't control
I can't give you half my heart, and pray it makes you whole

You're gonna have all of me, you're gonna have all of me,
Cause you're worth every fallen tear, you're worth facing every fear
You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts, giving you all of me is where I'll start.

I won't let sadness steal you from my arms
I won't let pain keep you from my heart
Trade the fear of all that I could lose, for every moment I share with you

You're gonna have all of me, you're gonna have all of me,
Cause you're worth every fallen tear, you're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts, giving you all of me is where I'll start.

Heaven broke into this moment, it's too wonderful to speak
You're worth all of me, you're worth all of me
So let me recklessly love you, even if I bleed
You're worth all of me, you're worth all of me

You're gonna have all of me, you're gonna have all of me,
Cause you're worth every fallen tear, you're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts, giving you all of me is where I'll start

You're gonna have all of me,
Causeyou're worth every fallen tear, you're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts, giving you all of me is where I'll start
It's where I'll start

I see this in your dedication to do everything you possibly can to make O's life better, and I just wanted to tell you that I think he's one blessed little boy to be surrounded by that kind of love from his princess Mommy.