Feel-Good Blueberry Smoothie

blueberry-smoothie-2013-home-grown-chef-recipe-1859-oregon-energy

I can admit it. I survived the holidays thanks (in part) to a little beverage we call coffee. I went from my normal one cup per day, to two, even three cups a day in order to get it all done. And I did, for the most part, get it all done.

Here I sit at the first of the New Year, and all of that “hurry-up and get it done” busyness of the holidays has disappeared—leaving a handful of spare time in its wake. I’m also left re-evaluating the need for 3 cups of coffee a day. I love the ritual of it—the warm mug cradled in my hands, the rich smell of the dark liquid mixed with a little cream, and the desire it instills in me to curl up on the couch and read.

But, there are times when I am reminded of some advice I was once given, “When you really pay attention, how does your body actually feel when you drink that beverage or eat that food?”

Honestly, I can say that anything past one small cup of coffee doesn’t actually feel that great. My stomach isn’t thrilled with the extra acid and my already ramped up Type-A body could do without the extra adrenaline. That’s not to say that I will give up coffee. No, I love the ritual too much, but after the excessive indulging of the holidays, I feel inclined to be kind to my body.

Occasionally, I whip up a smoothie that never fails to make my body feel energized. The ritual isn’t the same as coffee. There’s a list of ingredients. There’s the noise from the blender. There’s the fact that the beverage is cold and I loathe being cold. But, my body loves it. I can actually feel my mind sending out little messages of elation to the far extremities of my body as I drink down the grape purple concoction.

I’m not sure why I don’t make it more often. Perhaps it comes down to the choice between cleaning the coffee pot and cleaning the blender, and I choose coffee pot. Whatever it is, I plan to use a bit of my newfound time to make my energizing smoothie more often.


Feel Good Blueberry Smoothie

My kids love this smoothie. They have no idea there’s a handful of spinach in there. Hopefully, they won’t read this.

Ingredients:

1 cup orange juice

1 banana, broken into chunks

a handful of spinach, approx. 1 cup

¼ cup plain or Greek yogurt (optional)

1 tbsp honey

a shake of cinnamon

1 ½ cups frozen blueberries

1 cup ice

Put the ingredients into your blender in the order listed above. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 large glasses or 4 small ones. Drop in a straw. Drink and be energized!

Tags from the story

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.