A Great Green Smoothie AND C25K Announcement!

I will be the first to admit to having no interest in the breakfast smoothie craze. The only suitable breakfast drink is coffee. Orange juice is occasionally acceptable, but it has to accompany eggs and bacon or what’s the point?

But then, things changed.

I went to Camp Blogaway and was introduced to Organic Girl Good Clean Greens and their adorable salad shaker!

If you’ve followed for the last few months, you know Organic Girl was very generous in giving away some great greens to one of my readers. Ever since, I’ve had crazy cravings for their baby spinach.

Can I tell you how bizarre it is for me to crave spinach? You need to understand, my world revolves around cookies, berries, ice-cream, fabulous dinners and coffee. Spinach never fit well in any of those categories.

What changed?

I had my first taste of Organic Girl Baby Spinach!

Being a dutiful home chef, tasting everything is a requirement. How will you know what you like, get flavor profiles and learn to season things properly if you don’t taste it? So, when that first care package arrived, I popped open the baby spinach and took a big, healthy bite. To say I fell in love, might be an understatement. Suddenly there was a whole new world of things to make!

Spinach Salads, Pesto and Pesto Butter, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Spinach Stuffed Zucchini and the list went on! That list however, did NOT include breakfast smoothies.

But then, things changed.

I decided I needed to make my health a priority. There were too many times I was out of breath and struggling to simply tie my shoes. The pictures I’ve seen of myself lately don’t reflect the person I know is inside. I have big, huge plans for the rest of my life! Plans that require me to be in-shape and able to hike, climb, paddle, swim, sit in an airplane seat comfortably, and FULLY experience all the things I’ve missed over the last 25 years by being overweight. I got this CRAZY idea to do a Couch to 5K. As it happened, fate knew it was time for me to do this too! There was an ad on MSN for a 5K run, right here in my little town!

Awesome, right? Yes and No. Yes, because it’s the incentive I need to make serious changes in my life. The run is in December (18 weeks from TODAY!) and while I haven’t signed up yet, I plan on registering as soon as I can afford it! No, because “exercise” is a word I haven’t used in a very, very long time. I am firmly on the COUCH side of the Couch to 5K equation.

That’s ok. Things are changing.

Breakfast is now a priority. If I’m going to get in shape and increase my intake of fruits and fresh vegetables, I may as well start with something I LOVE! What better way to start, than with Organic Girl Baby Spinach? So I began experimenting and A Great Green Smoothie was born! It’s DELICIOUS!

The final results are lots of Baby Spinach, some cucumber, Banana and Chia seeds, blended with a little milk, orange juice and ice. WOW! It’s refreshing, tasty and actually quite filling! I may be converted to the breakfast smoothie craze after all. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

A Great Green Smoothie!

 

Yield: 2 big servings

Ingredients

2 cups Organic Girl Baby Spinach, packed

1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 banana

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about three big oranges)

1/2 cup non-fat milk

1 TBLS Chia seeds

2 cups ice

Instructions

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Do you want to join me on this crazy 5K adventure? If you’re in Southern California, come run with me! You can find all the info here: Run Like A Diva!
Yes, you read that correctly. Run like a DIVA! There are Feather Boa and Tiara stations during the race where we can dress up AND at the end, you’ll get a sparkly medal and be greeted with champagne and roses from a handsome man! Seriously, it’s all in the race info. Guess I’d better tell my husband… ;-)

What do you say foodie friends? Are you game to have some fun and help me get in shape? Leave me a comment and lend me your support! I am going to need it!