How to Make A Blueberry Green Smoothie
There’s something magical about a green smoothie made right. This blueberry green smoothie is just that. A taste bud explosion! Anyone who knows me knows that I have quite the infatuation with smoothies. The greener the meaner! I actually really believe that….lol. My love for these bursts of green goodness started almost 5 years ago when I decided that I wanted to start living a healthier lifestyle. I had put on over 80 pounds of access weight. I developed joint issues, skin rashes, mood problems and the worst of all, asthma. Some may say you don’t develop asthma as an adult. But I’m living proof that you can. I had no problems with breathing until my 30’s, when my weight sky-rocketed.
Why was I eating so much?
It was simple. I had replaced the things that I enjoyed doing with eating unhealthy foods. Fattening, calorie dense, salty, sweet foods made me feel good and it was a temporary escape from all things scary. Someone at work said something that I didn’t like. But I didn’t have the immediate answer to stand up for myself. I ate. Someone was rude to me at the bank. I ate. Someone cut me off in traffic and threw me the bird. I ate. My kid was bullied at school and I wasn’t there to protect her so I ate. The bottom line is I handled daily pressures of life by stuffing my face and not with “living” foods. It was always food laden with salt, fat and TONS of unhealthy carbs. Plus it didn’t’ help that at work they were always celebrating with food. Someone got a promotion, we celebrated with food. Someone found out they were having a baby, we celebrated with food. Someone paralleled parked correctly, we celebrated with food. Ok maybe not the last one. But I bet you laughed. You get my point. Food was a reward and comfort and so my journey of self-destruction began.
Diets Don’t Work
I did the whole diet thing. We won’t go into that story. It’s pages long and kind of boring. Just know I became the perfect yo-yo dieter. It wasn’t until I went to the doctor one day with those rashes. She and the nurse assistant’s reaction of disgust made me realize this was too much. The final draw was when my beloved Aunt Linda passed. I think I may have been at my highest weight at that time. Topping the scales at over 220 lbs. She had passed from Lupus, something she had no control over and the day of her funeral I vividly remembered she always told me to take care of my body by feeding it God’s foods. Her voice rang over and over in my head the days after and one day I made THE decision, “No more!” That started my new journey towards a healthier, happier me.
Are We There Yet
Now you may be asking, “Aquilah what in the world does all this have to do with the recipe?” Fair question. I want you to understand the importance of making lifestyle changes. This is not a fad. My goal is to introduce you to something that you can incorporate into your daily/weekly regiment and make it habitual. I personally know the key to any success is consistency and if you can’t stick to something. You won’t get the results you seek. Anytime you can get more fibrous leafy greens into your diet, along with some nourishing seeds and fruits is a win. Green smoothies are the perfect option. Plus you can give them to the little guys. BIGGER WIN! These recipes I share are for a basic idea of what to do and my hope is that you take them and put your special twist on it. You can even name them after yourself to have a little fun. Everybody likes fun, right?
There’s A thought Process Here
I love to get my fruit frozen because it’s picked. Then flash-frozen to hold onto the nutrients. I don’t use a lot of really sweet fruit like grapes because sugar is sugar. Though fructose is better than the other sugars, it’s still sugar and this is something to be very careful about, especially for pre-diabetics and diabetics. I do not use any milk. Why? Because I’m lactose intolerant and it flares up my asthma as it does with many humans. But if you must use it. Go with skim. One last thing, a high-end blender makes all the difference in the world. No you don’t have to go with a Vitamix or Blentec. But go with one that can blend leafy greens and not leave a chunky mess. The Nutribullet and Ninja do fairly well. Ok so here it goes:
Ingredients for A Blueberry Green Smoothie
- ¼ cup frozen blueberries
- 1 ripe frozen bananas (more on how I freeze mine)
- 1-2 handfuls of baby spinach or kale
- 1 ½ cups of unsweetened almond milk (if using other types watch the calories)
- 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
- *optional – 1 packet of Truvia
Put all ingredients in the blender in this order and then blend til smooth. There you have it, your masterpiece!
I encourage you to try out different recipes and change-up ingredients based on your palate. Always err in the way of, the closer it is to what’s pulled off a tree or grown in the ground, the better. If you’re going to add protein powders. Be careful of the ingredients. You don’t want to add a highly processed powder with ingredients that you can’t even pronounce. Potentially wasting all of those delicious healthy veggies by ruining your smoothie with something that has a shelf-life of 2000 years. Ok I’m exaggerating but you get the point. You’re almost better off having some organic, caged free eggs along with your smoothie versus some of the protein powders out here. Always be cognizant and wise about what you’re putting in your body. This isn’t rocket science. It’s about using your common sense to make good judgements for your overall health and well-being. I hope you found this post helpful. Please leave comments about what amazing smoothies you master.
With Love,
Keela
