It's Good to Be Green

I have been going back and forth as to how I should start this post…but I figure it’s best to just jump right in.

I just drank spinach. Actually, I’m drinking it right now.

Yeah, you read that right. Spinach. Liquid. Green. Fresh. Organic. ----Green---- Spinach.

So we all know that Ashlee is the queen of hiding vegetables in food in a brilliant attempt to make them nutritious for her family, but I found something even she was slightly apprehensive to try. The “Green Monster.”

Have you heard of it? It’s a smoothie that is all the rage in online health and fitness circles, originally created by the fabulous Angela of Oh She Glows (a blog you should definitely be reading if you’re not). There are now thousands of people with dozens of different versions of the “Green Monster,” but the premise of them all is the same…mixing spinach into your smoothie for all the health benefits it can provide.

Followers of the “Green Monster Movement” swear that by drinking this green drink, they see an increase in energy, they feel better, their skin becomes more clear and vibrant, and even that their hair and nails grow faster. I was definitely a skeptic. Not necessarily that the “Green Monster” could provide all these aforementioned benefits, but instead that it would not taste disgusting. I mean…it’s green. Smoothies are meant to pink, orange, even purple. Not green. But if I am anything, I am a gal willing to try anything once – and now, I am a gal that is part of the Green Monster movement.

I made my first Green Monster as an afternoon snack today. Obviously, I cannot yet attest to all of the benefits, but I do know enough about health and nutrition to realize two cups of spinach in ANY form will be good in the long run. However, I can attest to one thing – Green Monsters IS GOOD.

Once I got over the initially scare and took a sip…I was sold. This is my new go-to smoothie. Why? Because it tastes like every other smoothie I’ve made, but it now includes multitudes of extra vitamins and nutrients. I was surprised by how good it is. You definitely need to try one for yourself!

I decided to take Angela’s original Green Monster recipe and alter it a bit to suit my own tastes. Basically, I added peaches, but you should tweak the fruit content to be something that you enjoy! 

Peachy Good Green Monster

2 Cups Organic Spinach

1 Cup Milk (your choice of cow’s milk, soy, hemp, almond, rice, etc).

2 Small Peaches

1 Banana

Ice

In the original recipe, Angela adds an optional tablespoon of flax. I didn’t have any of that on hand, but I might try it next time.

Place the ingredients into the blender in the following order:

1) Flax and Washed Fresh Spinach

2) Peaches

3) Banana

4) Milk

According to the original recipe, the reason for this order is so the heavier ingredients weigh down the flax and spinach and keep it from flying up around the blender and sticking to the side.

1)   Blend everything on the highest setting for about a minute

2)   Add ice and blend on the ice setting

3)   Place in fancy glass in order to feel less awkward when drinking something Green

Let me know when you try a Green Monster...and let me know when you like it!



Links to Health:

MizFit Helps Us Understand Protein Powders

What Do You Think of Approval by FDA of Device to Freeze Away Fat?

Physique Speak Gives Us a List of Frighteningly Fattening Fall Foods

 

AOL Health Discusses How Brain Cells May Be to Blame for Obesity

Try This Squash Stuffing As We Approach Fall Holidays