Sewage Sludge aka Green Smoothie

 drink up! (yes, I reuse glass jars to bring stuff to work...like my mama!:)

You know what I would l absolutely LOVE? No, not flowers or candy. I would LOVE if everyone tried to eat greens at EVERY meal. Yes. Every. Single. One. Lunch is easy-add a salad (no, the lettuce on the Italian sub does not count). For dinner have a side of steamed broccoli or sautéed kale. So that leaves breakfast...sure you can add spinach to your scrambled eggs but what about a green smoothie?  

We all know that smoothies are delicious and chock full of fiber but it also has a good amount of sugar-usually from juice bases or loads of fruit. However, we can replace some of those sugary fruits, amp up the nutritional and fiber-ous value of a normal everyday smoothie by adding in glorious greens, and upgrade your breakfast! I promise that it does not alter the taste of the smoothie, just the color. You can add any green you want (e.g., kale, cilantro, celery, parsley, seaweeds). So far I have used spinach and spirulina powder (it’s a seaweed!) and neither has affected the taste of the smoothie at all. The beauty of smoothies is that you can put ANYTHING you want in there. So dig deep in your freezer for all those bags of frozen fruit. Also, summer is coming up and the warm mornings will be the perfect time to start drinking green smoothies.

I don’t have an exact recipe for the smoothie pictured above (which I've been having the past couple of mornings) but here is approximately what I used to make my sewage sludge green smoothie:

• 1 banana
• ¾ C frozen Trader Joe’s berry mix (includes cherries, blackberries, raspberries, & blueberries)
• 1 T (or more if you want) nut butter (I used Trader Joe’s organic chunky peanut butter)
• 1 T Bob’s Red Mill ground flaxseeds (you can leave out or use chia seeds, if you want)
• ½ C Whole Foods organic rice milk (you can use water if you want or another liquid, use your better judgement)
• 1 T of cocoa powder (the kind used in baking)
• 1-2 C organic spinach
• 1 T spirulina powder (I got mine from the bulk section of a local co-op)
• Add ice and water to your desired consistency.

There are a lot of ingredients listed. Do not feel like you need to use all of them.  Adjust it to your taste and to what you have in your kitchen/pantry.  Also, I used a lot of organic ingredients, and you don’t have to. I specified them to remind you to keep the dirty dozen top of mind when making your purchases. Buy organic ingredients if you can, but remember that a smoothie with non-organic ingredients is better than a bowl of cereal and milk or a triple mocha frappucino for breakfast.

Drink up and get ready to answer questions from inquisitive or grossed our minds :) And please share your favorite or ideal green smoothie “recipes” with me!

Upgrades aren't just for Hotel Rooms & Car Rentals

As I stepped out of my apartment complex this morning, I saw a mother fiddling with her double stroller. I'm not sure what she was doing but I immediately saw an adorable baby girl and her cozy older brother. I did a double take when I saw that the little boy was eating a sugar cookie with green sugar reminiscent of those found around Christmas time. So many thoughts popped into my head! Is that his breakfast?? Or is this his breakfast "dessert"? Are we straight up not even trying to feed our children nutritious foods anymore? Have we given up?


There is a lot I could talk about from this 10-second experience but I think I'll focus on breakfast, the meal, itself. I know to some of you, this situation sounds ludicrous, but to the vast majority of Americans, this is pretty close to their reality. I know the thought process…sugar cookies have calories and sugar, that should keep me or my child going for a while. Or, eating this for breakfast is better than no breakfast at all. No matter how common having coffee and a bagel for breakfast is, it doesn't change the fact that we are not getting the proper nutrients and real, whole, true energy from those foods. Refined flour, sugar, and salt and caffeinated drinks will give us a momentary spike in energy but then we'll crash while reaching for the next cup or sugary item.


Now, I admit that I enjoy my coffee as much as the next person, but it's not a daily or twice a day habit. It's generally a treat for me. Instead, I get my energy from eating a banana, whole grain cereal with almond milk with some sort of fat (generally a nut butter). These specific foods may not work for you. Maybe you like hard boiled eggs and an apple. Whatever it is, look at your breakfast today and "upgrade it," as David Wolfe would say. I'm not talking about eliminating anything or depriving yourself of foods you like, but maybe you can have a banana before diving into that bacon egg McMuffin, or if you like bacon, switch it up to turkey bacon. Instead of a plain bagel opt for whole wheat or maybe add a slice of tomato to the bagel. The other day, I put beets into my yogurt because I didn’t' have any fruit, cereal or nuts on hand. It was really good! Get creative! Food is your body's fuel, how well do you want it to run?


I'd love to hear ways you are going to "upgrade" your breakfast this week! Let's finish is strong!