Green-ish monster

The basis for this smoothie/shake comes from Squeaky Gourmet, my go-to resource of late. Some of the recipes in the book are SO SIMPLE and yet, I'd never thought to make them. Clean eating doesn't have to mean complicated, and even I forget that sometimes.

Anyway, this shake is supposed to be made with milk, protein powder, coffee (a packet of Starbucks Via works great--just dissolve it in a bit of warm water first so it's not gritty), vanilla, and ice. After making that a few times--The H likes it, too--I decided to mix it up a bit today and greenify it.

The one I made today contains almond milk (plain, unsweetened), chocolate protein powder, instant coffee, spinach, a dash of vanilla, ice and about a tablespoon of coconut butter.

Cool and refreshing, with the tasteless benefits of spinach. Not a bad way to start a day that I'm feeling under the weather!

Have you ever seen ice cubes sink?

Yep, my ice cubes sunk to the bottom of my green monster this morning. I think that's the first time I've seen that happen!




I enjoyed this with several pieces of chocolate biscotti from Clean Eating Magazine. If I could ever find the issue that recipe is in, I'll post it for you to enjoy, too. Until then, it's mine, allll mine! (No really... it's not gluten free.)

Yep, I was right!

My carb-load from last night helped me power through my long run, over 7 miles, this morning. It was a very pleasant run (non-runners, there really IS such a thing!) with no aches or pains, mostly dry roads, and not too much wind. Meeting a friend just after mile 3 provided a nice boost, too. When we got back, our host was making oatmeal-blueberry pancakes and omelets. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had real maple syrup, which I enjoyed on my first pancake, but it was gone by the time I had my second (ok, ok, and my third--they were small!) so I used a little Mrs. Butterworth's. What a difference in taste! I'd forgotten how sweet the artificial stuff is. The H and I shared an omelet stuffed with cheese, sausage, and black bean salsa. And of course, I did my part to keep Folgers in business and put away a good 2-3 cups, lightened with low-fat milk. Dinner tonight will be ground turkey nachos topped with tomatoes, black beans, cheddar, peach salsa, and guacamole. I'm not sure what I'll eat in between now and then, but a green monster smoothie is a good possibility--I need to bump up my fruit/veggie intake.

I grew a pair.

We're visiting my parents again--seems like we're here more than home, lately--and this time I decided I wasn't going to leave feeling guilty and unhealthy. So I decided to man up and bring my own clean foods. I packed a container of whey protein powder, since I don't care for the flavor of the soy they use, some homemade granola, 72% dark chocolate, raw almonds, rice pasta, and an arsenal of fruits and veggies.

Dinner last night was marinated pork that Mom had already thawed thinking it was chicken, and I made the Italian Pasta Salad from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids. I did indulge in two small brownies (!) after dinner, but don't feel too badly about that because they were gluten-free, I used some mashed banana in place of 3/4 of the oil, and they were monstrously delicious.

Breakfast today was a green monster smoothie (milk, spinach, chocolate protein powder, and a frozen banana from Mom's freezer) and my AM snack is Bob's Red Mill 7-grain cereal with blueberries, honey, milk, and a cup of coffee. I am going to toss in a handful of raw almonds to round it out.

We're planning a trip to Trader Joe's later, which is usually detrimental to my bank account, but I have a small list for a change so hopefully it won't be too bad.