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Well, after hopping on the scale and not being too frightened by Saturday’s weigh in, I’m trying to master another month of dieting by trying to keep my calories low (back to 1200) and my vegetable intake high. Now, I think that I speak for most people when I say that it is a struggle to get enough veggies in any diet. Fruit is easy, but the idea that 2/3 of my dinner should be veggies has never been easy for me to swallow. So I’m dubbing this month veggie madness and trying to smash in as many as I can.

When it comes to improving my vegetable consumption, I cannot speak highly enough of my trusty blender. A few years ago I received a Blendtec Total Blender Classic as a gift, and it has now become my go to for all things that I would normally have used a food processor, cheap blender, or juicer for. I’ll be honest--- it pretty much does everything. You can even make hot soup in it! Smoothies and juices have become an essential way for me to get the right amount of fruits and veggies on a limited calorie diet. I’m willing to throw just about anything into a smoothie to see how it tastes. Sometimes I end up with a delicious healthy treat… and sometimes a green monster.

This morning’s smoothie was a literal green monster. It was the brightest shade of green I’d ever seen… and the consistency was something along the lines of the paste kindergartners used to use that came in the container with the stick to brush it on. It took some serious chutzpah to take the first sip… and once I got past the consistency--- it wasn’t so bad. I treated you all to a little photo of me—post workout--- braving my healthy lunch. Sometimes, if a drink is hearty enough, I do meal replacement with smoothies, and sometimes I drink them like a side salad to my meal. It all depends on the contents of the drink!

I have a few favorite ingredients for smoothies and juices that I will share. There’s not usually a recipe to my madness, I just start tossing things in and modify as needed for flavor. Here are some of my go-to ingredients:

1. Raw Honey can cover up bad flavor in even the worst blender monsters.

2. Ginger root is a little creepy to look at and has a very strong flavor, but has many potential health benefits, including being known to be good at settling stomachs.

3. Greek yogurt or Almond milk, have a decent amount of protein and add nice texture that turns a juice into a smoothie.

4. Sources of fiber, like flaxseed and psyllium husk, that have good colon cleansing/regularity effects.

5. Greens like spinach, kale, parsley, and swiss chard. They’re good-for-you vegetables with easy-to-cover flavors when mixed into a drink.

6. My favorite fruits, used to mask the flavor of the veggies and make it seem like a real treat. Think blueberries, apples, raspberries, banana and lemon/lime juice.

It’s an easy way to squeeze in your daily recommended amount of veggies without eating salad for every meal. A few of my go to recipes? The Big List of Green Smoothies, Make Ahead Oatmeal Smoothies, Martha Stewart’s Oatmeal Smoothie and Dr. Oz’s Green Drink.

Send me your favorite smoothie/juice recipes by posting on Carolina Bride's Facebook or try a few of my favorites! Blend your way to a healthier diet!

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