Daly Family Health Update - Green Smoothies

I have been seriously under the weather the past week (sickness too gross to explain), and I found out that my parents are moving to Houston by mid September. Boom. A lot to take in at once. I took Friday off to help Mom go through my old room and to spend some time with her. She did some serious cleaning out of her closets and drawers. I'll have to post later about what lovely items she passed along to me from her home.

Meanwhile, beyond the parents leaving, the big topic in the house these days is being healthy. All the parish ladies (I work at a Catholic Parish) are reading up on green smoothies and nutritious foods. I was recommended the book Eat to Live.

Here is the author's website.

The parish ladies especially like this blog by Green Smoothie Girl.

Green smoothies are fruit smoothies with some greens (romaine lettuce, spinach, etc.) in them. I know it sounds sick, but the fruits cover up the green taste and they are actually delicious. Plus, we are getting a ton of extra vitamins each day. 

This morning's recipe:

2 bananas (usually we freeze, then use our bananas, but this morning they were non-frozen)

handful of frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries from Ryan's grandpa

3 handfuls of spinach 

1 scoop of protein powder (I'm not sure yet what the smoothie experts would say about this part. They might recommend leaving it out, but my mom's trainer said it was good to add. It's hard to know sometimes what to do.)

1/4 cup water

Then blend, blend, blend. Blend for 2 minutes or more. It tastes better for whatever reason if you blend longer. 

I've been exhausted a lot the past year, and I am hoping adding more nutrients into my diet will help boost my energy levels. I'll let you know!

On a similar topic:

• We watched Food Inc. this weekend. It really got me thinking about how our food is prepared and the role government/politics plays in the American diet. I won't lie, I started crying at the end when the film explained ways to support healthy growing practices and healthy eating...I guess it means a lot to me that certain lobbyist and farmers have the dignity and honor to fight for wholesome food even at the risk of their own financial well-being. Shop Farmer's Markets!

• Ryan and I decided to stop eating store bought bread because we can make it ourselves less expensively, AND we can be sure it is made from pure whole grains. Ryan the Awesome Chef made the first batch last night. I don't want to give up bread because most store-bought products are way too processed, so I am excited about this yummy alternative. I think this is the recipe he used.

• Hope I'm not becoming a total food freak...it just makes sense that raw, organic, fresh food is healthier and will help my body function more naturally. P.S. I just looked up and saw another food recall on the news...Tyson Deli meat...just a few days ago it was eggs...eating close to home seems like a better decision every day.
• Finally, I haven't read over the blog yet, but my best friend Stephanie went to college with the woman who writes this healthy living blog- A Balanced Life. If Steph enjoys it, I bet it's great.