Saturday, August 20, 2011

What's For Breakfast?

I've been having a green smoothie for breakfast for about seven months now and I love starting my day with it.
  First off let me say that I am not a nutritionist.  I took nutrition classes in college as part of my major, but I don't have any certification or "professional" nutritional degree.  If you are having health issues go see a professional.  With that being said I have read and studied a lot about healthy eating.  If you are a generally healthy person, most health professionals will tell you increasing your vegetable intake, especially dark green leafy vegetables, is a good thing.  There are some diseases in which people can not tolerate high levels of green vegetables, but I'm talking about generally healthy people. 

Do you ask your doctor before you eat a pizza or a cheese burger? 
Probably not, so if you are in generally good health you probably don't need to ask a professional if it's OK to eat more veggies, just saying. 

This is a simple, quick, delicious way to do just that.


  I read a book called the Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr and I stole some of the smoothie recipe ideas from the book.  It was recommended by my friend Heather Jones over at Mrs. Jones.  She is very talented and witty and I like her style.  Like most nutrition books I read, I use what is applicable for me.  I am not a vegetarian, but my diet has evolved to be mostly plant based.
 
Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It!

I also really like these two books.


I changed my diet about four to five years ago?  I keep tweaking it as a read more, discover more, and find what works for me.  The way I eat now is not even recognizable compared to how I ate ten years ago.  The change was due to some nagging health issues that doctors couldn't explain?  I developed an auto immune disease while pregnant with my second daughter and have continued to be plagued with other symptoms that doctors could never diagnose.  I had to go on daily medication.  As a result I changed the way I ate.  It helped a lot , but I still had nagging symptoms that would creep up from time to time?  I could never pin point what was causing them?  I started drinking Mona Vie about three years ago, wow what a difference it made.  My joint paint completely disappeared, but I still had digestive problems that would come and go.  I recently was able to lower my dosage of the daily meds. I'm on for my auto immune disease (Do not adjust your medication unless your doctor prescribes the change.)  I attribute it to the dietary changes I've made.  That's a whole other blog that I won't go in to now.  This is just a short little breakfast post.


Simply put, I eat way more of this,
raw, raw, and more raw.
Not this.  This is poison for my body.

  I put the veggies and fruit in a blender in a 2-1 ratio and make this yummy concoction.
Today it's kale, cucumber, sprouts, broccoli stocks, zucchini, frozen berries, green apple, and pear.  Sometimes it's collard greens or spinach instead of kale.  If possible I try to use stuff we grow in our garden or what I can buy organic.  That's why I included the zucchini, we have a ton of it in our veggie garden.

Cut everything up to be about the same size and throw it in the blender.
I add some coconut water.  You can also use purified water.  Coconut water has as much potassium as a banana.  It's way better for electrolyte replacement than sugary sports drinks. I always lecture the athletes I train to not drink sports drinks.  Sports drinks are basically sugar water that high priced athletes have been paid mega money to get people to think they are good to drink.
That's a whole other post.   



 And I add a packet of Stevia.


This is what I drink for breakfast every day. 
 I know it looks similar to pond scum, but trust me, it's GOOD!
After you start drinking these you will think donuts look disgusting.
(OK maybe the donut part is an exaggeration?)


Ahhh, my body is happy, energized, and strong.
 I'm ready to give my best to my family and to the wonderful girls I have been entrusted to coach volleyball.


What's your favorite go to healthy breakfast?

Thanks for checking it out.


Lastly, my friend Meg over at Meg's Handmade Life is having her very first give away from her cute Etsy shop.  Don't be fooled by her profile picture on her blog, she's the adorable model in the hand knit beanies.  Go check it out! 

10 comments:

  1. Hi Shannon!! Thank you so much for your lovely comments!! You made my day!! :)

    I LOVE your blog!!!! I totally love the name, too!!! :D You write about so many topics that I am interested in I cannot wait to peruse around! :)

    This post gives me a lot to think about....and I'm going to find "Inflammation Nation" for sure. Thank you for recommending it!!

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  2. Great timing! I am so in need of making some changes. After hitting forty (3 years ago) I have been experiencing things I never had to deal with before. I love veggies and fruit, so this would be an easy way to incorporate more into my diet. And, Kate loves them too (and she loves smoothies). Will definitely have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing the book recommendations too...I love learning new things.

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  3. Hi Shannon, I awarded you a "Butterfly Award" - please pop over to my blog to see your award! I love your blog and appreciate your comments on mine! :)
    Peggy
    http://repeartreedesign.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-recd-butterfly-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aw Shucks!

    Thanks for mentioning my blog and contest!

    Meg

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  5. Great post! Will give this a try.Have terrible joint pain at the moment!
    ~Anne

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  6. Hi Shannon!

    What a great post. It's great timing for me, because I haven't been taking care of myself. And of course, as soon as I stop eating well, I get sick again. I'm inspired to get my act together. I always feel so good when I drink veggies, and I feel so good about what I'm doing for my body.

    Thanks for the mention. You're awesome!

    ~Heather

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  7. I dig green smoothies. I have an incredibly hard time sticking to anything...but I LOVE my green smoothies. I did a post on them a while back too...My mother in law got me started on it. I could go on and on...I was once a very strict vegetarian and never felt better in my life..trying very hard to get back to that Thanks!

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  8. Great post! Thanks for the 2 to 1 guideline. My 13 yr. old son is OBSESSED with nutrition. I look forward to trying these together, thanks!

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  9. Hey Shannon! I used to take Monavie..amazing stuff. I try to juice a lot..I think I am going to try your combo as well. I had Grave's Disease and have beaten it. So, I understand how you can feel with an autoimmune disorder. Wishing you total and complete health.

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  10. I have to make a note of this. We are enjoying more raw vegs now that the kids are a little older. I, too, went the Mona Vie way for a year but could not keep up with it. I eat TJ's oatmeal with TJ's dried blueberries and a little agave nectar every morning (addictive). My other daily nighttime drink is green tea. Thanks for sharing!

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