Healthy Breakfast Smoothie

Welcome back!
In my first post, I mentioned that one of my goals for this project was eat a healthier, more balanced diet, that would help support me in my fitness/wellness journey. In the third part of Ballerina Body by Misty Copeland, Copeland gives both nutritional advice and a handful of healthy recipes. I have always grown up in a very healthy household, where my parents rarely buy any junk food. I've also been vegetarian my entire life. However, my eating habits are not always the best.

This is especially true when is comes to breakfast. I personally hate eating breakfast, eating early in the morning usually makes me feel nauseous. Usually on school mornings, I skip breakfast and end up eating later in my classes.

This bad habit leads to lack of energy that I desperately need early in the morning. I also end up constantly snacking because I'm not full or satisfied. I need a boost of energy that can help me get through a long day of school and 4-5 hours of dance that night.

Misty Copeland dedicates a few chapters of her book to explaining different food groups/types, and how they will be beneficial to your journey. I focused on chapter 8, Eating for Energy. Reading this chapter and Misty's tips will help me find healthy recipes that will give me energy and keep me satisfied between meals, but aren't too heavy.

Copeland stresses the importance vegetables, and how they will provide you with the nutrients and vitamins needed to support a healthy lifestyle. "Besides helping to control weight and being loaded with fiber, vegetables are also full of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, from cancer-fighting lycopene in tomatoes to the alphabet soup of vitamins- A,C,K- offered by various greens" (Copeland 115). She also talks about the importance of fruits keeping you full for a long period of time. "Fruits are a potpourri of vitamins, phytochemicals, and fiber that leave your feeling full as well as enhance your health" (Copeland 116).

I chose the recipe called "The Ballerina Smoothie" to make for my breakfast. She recommends this as apart of her provided meal plans (Copeland 203). I love making smoothies in the morning because they are easy, as well as filling. I also love the taste and energy boost from the different fruits and vegetables.

Ballerina Smoothie:
- 1/2 cup of berries (any type)
- 1 handful of baby spinach
- 1 cup of nondairy milk (almond, soy, or coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons of agave syrup or honey (optional)
(Copeland 203).

I chose to use soy milk because I had it on hand. I also chose to use agave syrup because I'm not a fan of honey.

Before and after blending

I made this smoothie for breakfast, and it kept me full and away from snacks until lunchtime. It also had a great sweet taste. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone else who may not enjoy a heavy breakfast, or just loves a good smoothie.

What is your go-to breakfast food? Or, what is your favorite kind of smoothie?

Copeland, Misty, et al. Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Lighter, Stronger, and More Graceful You. Sphere, 2017.

Healthy Green Drinks: Just Peachy

Hello! So today will be my fifth and last post. Since it is my last post, I decided to make a drink that I knew I would end up loving, due to one of the ingredients of course, which in this case is peach. So for today I decided to make a smoothie called, Just Peachy, from the book The Healthy Green Drink Diet by Jason Manheim.

                          Ingredients:

                          4 whole peaches

                          1-2 cups spinach

                          water/ice

This was the most simple smoothie I've had to make so far. All I did was grab four peaches, wash them, and then slice them up and put them into the blender. Then, I washed some spinach and put that in. Lastly, I added both water and ice. Ice to make it a bit thicker as it is a smoothie and not a juice. I also added the water to help the smoothie blend easier.

So as you can see, this a pretty simple drink and totally not complex as some of my past drinks, though this had peach in it, so I couldn’t resist. The first ingredient being peach has great flavor of course, but along with that, it has many great benefits related to health. According to Jason Manheim, peaches are very rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, and copper which really reminds me of my chemistry class. But along with that, they are also a really good source of dietary fibers and do not contain any saturated fat or cholesterol. Then the next ingredient for this drink is spinach. We all know that spinach is one the healthiest vegetables in the world as I had mentioned back in my first post. I talked about how it is filled with many great vitamins. Though along with that, it also has a lot of, “manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium” (Manheim 24). So really, you could throw spinach into anything and it would make it ten times healthier. Which is why I have started to put spinach in the food I eat so much more often.

I ended up loving this drink just like I thought I would have. I tasted a lot of the spinach as it is very strong, but I also was really able to taste the peach too. This was definitely a drink I would make much more often just because I love it so much and it doesn’t require as many ingredients as the other ones did. But I do recommend trying some of my past drinks and of course this one too!

While being on the topic of green smoothies, what your favorite green smoothie?

Manheim, Jason. The Healthy Green Drink Diet. New York, Skyhorse, 2012. 

Healthy Green Drinks: Anti-toxi-mint

Welcome back! So for my fourth post, I decided to make a green smoothie instead of a juice. It is called the Anti-toxi-mint smoothie from the book, The Healthy Green Drink Diet by Jason Manheim. I was just searching through my book for what juice I should make today and when I came across this smoothie, it had said this helps with skin, so I obviously had to try it out.

 

                   Ingredients:

                   4-5 mint leaves

                   ½ English cucumber

                  2 large leaves collard greens

                  ½ cup froze acai berries

                  1 kiwi (peeled)

                  1 lemon (juiced)

What I did for this smoothie first, was that I took some mint leaves, and washed them up so they'd be clean and put them into the blender. Then I did the same for the cucumber but I had chopped it up. For the collard greens, I also washed them and chopped them up because they are so large. Then I measured a half cup of frozen acai-berries and put those into the blender. After that I peeled up a kiwi, sliced, and put it into the blender along with some juiced lemon and water.

For this drink, the first green ingredient would be mint leaves. Many people don’t think of mint as being as beneficial for your health as they really are:“a fantastic remedy for upset stomachs from ailment such as IBS, indigestion, and other colonic issues” (Manheim 22). Upset stomach? You've got to try this out. But along with that, the main reason for why people add mint leaves in foods or drinks is because they want to add a burst of refreshing flavor just like I do. Moving on, the next major green in this drink is cucumber. I personally love cucumbers, but have only tried them in a drink once before . Cucumbers contain a lot of B vitamins, such as B1, B5, and B7. They also have a lot of water and fiber which are two of the most basic elements needed for healthy digestion. The last major green in this drink is collard greens. I have talked about collard greens in one of my past posts where I talked about how they contain many great vitamins and elements. Though according to Jason Manheim, they also have a bit of spiciness but otherwise they are pretty mild in terms of flavor. So more than adding flavor to your drink, they add many great health benefits. The next ingredient in this drink is acai berries. Acai berries are a superfood, so we already know that drink will be very beneficial to your health. “They are extremely high in antioxidants like anthocyanins and flavonoids” (Manheim 31). Acai berries protect your cells from damage that are caused by harmful molecules in the body. This was actually my first time trying acai berries and I’m going to be honest, I didn’t really like the taste. Though since I put them into my drink, they gave it a sort of tangy taste, which I did like. The next ingredient was kiwi, which I absolutely love. Kiwis are a very high source of vitamin C and they have many other benefits such as being a sleep inducer, helping with digestion, and helping your skin. The last ingredient in this drink was lemon. I don’t play around with lemon too much, unless if it’s necessary to add in something, because I usually tend to go a bit overboard with the amount I put in. Though, lemon does have many health benefits such as, helping with digestion, detoxification, rejuvenating the body, and boosting your energy and mood.

I actually really ended up liking this drink. While I was drinking it, it made me feel so refreshed and I also felt like toxins were being flushed out of me, which they were, hence the name, Anti-toxi-mint. If your trying to look for a drink that’s good and helps with getting out toxins from your body, I would recommend this one for sure!

What’s your favorite Anti-toxi-drink?

Manheim, Jason. The Healthy Green Drink Diet. New York, Skyhorse, 2012.

Healthy Green Drinks: Beetle Juice

So today, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and make a juice that I would almost never make. It is called, the Beetle Juice from the book, The Healthy Green Drink Diet by Jason Manheim. I wasn’t too excited to make this juice, but I did want to try it, and I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought ti would be.

                         Ingredients:

                         1 yellow bell pepper

                         1 Fuji apple

                         1 small crown broccoli

                         1 small beet

                         ½ sweet potato

                         1 handful parsley

                         2 carrots

First, I took a yellow bell pepper, washed it, took out the seeds, and sliced it up.Then I took a Fuji apple and washed and chopped it up. After that, I did the same for the broccoli, beet, and the sweet potato then put them all into the blender. For the parsley, I first washed it, then I chopped it up. After that, I took the the carrots, chopped them up, and and put them into a food processor before putting them into a blender so they would blend more smoothly. Lastly, I put in some water for easier blending.

Now for this drink, the first ingredient would be bell pepper. When I first looked over the recipe for this juice, I was kind of weirded out by putting bell peppers in my juice, which is also the reason for why I wanted to try it out. Yellow bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C. Also, they actually contain many vitamins. They also contain fiber, protein and iron and add a sweet flavor to the juice. The next ingredient was apples which are very rich in important antioxidants, flavonoids, and dietary fibers. Moving on to our greens, our first green is broccoli. I have talked about broccoli in my last post, but what I didn’t mention before is that broccoli is also known to help combat many diseases and cancers: “Things like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stomach, breast, lung, and colon cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and more” (Manheim 14). So as you can see, broccoli has many great health benefits relating to many different diseases or cancers that you may have been unaware of and that I was unaware of too. The next green in this drink is parsley which according to Jason Manheim is a great source for folic acid. Folic acid helps keep your heart functioning in a healthy way so no matter who you are, you should be taking in lots of folic acid to keep your heart healthy, Along with that, folic acid also helps combat colon and cervix cancer. After that, the next ingredient we have is beet. Beets are very high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals. They also contain manganese and vitamin B folate. So even though you do not eat beets, like me, it is good to at least have them once in a while because they are great for your immune system. The next ingredient is sweet potatoes which are supposed to be very good sources source for vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B6. I personally do not like sweet potatoes because I feel as if they are ruining the vegetable by them being sweet. Though, if you are into the current trends, you must know that many people are starting to consume sweet potatoes because of their great health benefits. The last ingredient for this juice is carrots. Carrots contain a lot of beta-carotene and fiber content. Beta-carotene also converts into vitamin A which is very important for eye health and good vision. So make sure to have yourself a carrot here and there. 

This juice is something I never would have tried if I hadn’t gotten into  making green juices. It did taste kind of weird, but it was not as bad as I had thought it would be.The consistency was not my favorite and I probably would never make it again. But, I do recommend you to try it, maybe you’ll like it more than I did.

What’s the weirdest juice you’ve ever tried?

Manheim, Jason. The Healthy Green Drink Diet. New York, Skyhorse, 2012. 

Healthy Green Drinks: Heavy Green

For today, I chose to make a green juice called, the Heavy Green from the book, The Healthy Green Drink Diet by Jason Manheim. So recently, I got hit hard with the flu and I am not enjoying it as I am typing this out surrounded by a bunch of nasty tissues. So this morning I decided to make the Heavy Green specifically because it is filled with many greens that should help me feel better.

                       Ingredients:

                       1 cup broccoli

                       2 leaves collard greens

                       1 cup spinach

                       ½ green apple

                       ½ cucumber

                       ½ avocado

                       1 lime (juiced)

For this drink, I first took one cup of broccoli and washed it all down. Then, I chopped it up into smaller pieces so it would be easier to blend, and put it into the blender. Then I took the collard greens and the spinach and washed them and put them into the blender. After that, I took a half of a green apples and cut it up into smaller pieces and put that into the blender. I also took the cucumber and avocado and did the same. The last ingredient was lime, so I juiced out one whole lime and put it into the blender. Lastly, I put in some water and turned on the blender.

Moving onto the ingredients for this drink, the first ingredient is broccoli. A lot of people are not very big fans of broccoli because of the taste, though it is very beneficial to your health. It is loaded with “vitamins C, K, and A, folate, and fiber” (Manheim 14). Broccoli is great for your body because the fiber helps with digestion so that your body is able to absorb vital nutrients from foods. The next ingredient in this drink is collard greens. Collards are known to be one of the best cholesterol-lowering foods ever and according to Jason Manheim, they are also overflowing with many vitamins such as A, C, and K, manganese, folate, calcium, and dietary fiber. This is very beneficial to people who struggle with their cholesterol or for people who have cancer because collards help fight it. The next green in this drink is cucumber. I absolutely love cucumbers. They are very refreshing and help with digestion and also help contain beneficial nutrients that promote health and maintenance for the cells in your body. The last major green for this juice is spinach, one of the healthiest vegetables in the world which says a lot. I talked about Spinach in my last post so if you want to know more about it, make sure to look back at that. Moving onto the superfoods the major superfood in this green drink is an avocado. Avocados are also sometimes called the food of the gods. “It is one of the healthiest sources of monounsaturated fats you can eat” (Manheim 32). This means that your are getting good fats. Some people do not know what avocados are made out of and will say that avocados are filled with fat and are bad for you. But in reality, if you eat the right amount, avocados are actually filled with fats that are very good for your body. When avocados are added into green drinks, they can increase the absorption of carotenoid antioxidants lycopene and beta-carotene. They are also known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Moving on, the next ingredient is green apples. All apples have great health benefits, but the green ones in particular have a lot of protein, minerals, vitamins and fiber, so you already know they are great. The last ingredient in this drink is lime. Lime are different from lemons and are very beneficial as they help with skin care, digestion, constipation, eye care, peptic ulcers, respiratory disorders and much more.

I would not recommend this drink for the people who are new to green drinks. This is definitely for the more hard-core green juice drinkers. It was pretty bitter for me but some of that bitterness could have been because I am sick and cannot taste too well. If you want to try this out but are not a big fan of green drinks, try adding in some fruits. 

So, what are your favorite major greens or superfoods? 

Manheim, Jason. The Healthy Green Drink Diet. New York, Skyhorse, 2012.