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I'm excited to share a little more about the Smoothie Challenge we've been trying out for the past few weeks. This is a free challenge put together by my friend Jen over at Simple Green Smoothies, and while it officially starts for everyone July 1st, they let us try it out in June as part of a sneak peak. I'm not used to following a recipe regimen prescribed by someone else so I was very curious how it would all turn out for us!
How the Program Works
First of all, let me start by saying I was very pleased to learn the challenge is not as strict as one might think. My first concern was - What if it's a busy day or what if we just don't have time (or what if we just forget) to make our smoothie? Thankfully, this program is flexible with the goal of getting you to drink a green smoothie every day or as many days in the month as possible.
Also, they give you recipes to try, but you can also use your own recipes if you want. Just like I always say about avoiding processed food ...the key here as well is planning ahead!
To join this free program (the next one starts July 1st) all you have to do is sign up via email. Then you'll immediately get a "crash course" message with the general guidelines for the program followed by weekly emails that each contain a set of 5 recipes and a shopping list - the idea is you'll repeat your favorite recipes over the last 2 days of the week.
I found that part of what makes this challenge doable is that most of the ingredients can be purchased frozen so if you don't get around to making your smoothie for the day everything will still be happily sitting in your freezer waiting for you! So for that reason I didn't hesitate to just go for it and buy everything on the list.
What We Thought
By far my favorite thing about this challenge was being motivated to try new recipes. Sometimes you just get in a recipe rut and make the same ol' thing over and over (or different versions of it) - because you like it, right? But how do you know you won't like something even better until you try it?
This challenge really got us to step out of the box because let me tell you what, when I saw cherries on the shopping list I was like - cherries? in a smoothie? - but they were good! The challenge also got us to try some new liquids (I usually opt for milk or water), and I was pleasantly surprised with how good coconut water was in a smoothie. Especially because I don't really care for it by itself.
So it really got our creative juices flowing and a couple days into it my 10-year-old (pictured above) even said, "Mom, can I make up my own smoothie recipe today?" She loved deciding what to throw in the blender and since we all enjoyed the outcome she was very proud of herself!
That's another thing to mention about this program - making smoothies is such an easy job even a kid can do it. :)
I do also want to add that we did not notice any changes in our health, and I think that's because we already eat pretty well so there wasn't a lot of room left for something dramatic to happen. I do think if someone has really fallen off the wagon and needs to overhaul their diet they could really benefit health-wise from this challenge. I will say though I did like feeling good about the fact that I knew we definitely got our veggie count in for the day.
Our Favorite Smoothie from the Challenge
Each week I printed out the recipes and taped them to a fridge to serve as a reminder to make them. At the end of each week I put a star by our favorites for future reference.
So today I want to share one we loved that also happened to be the first time I ever threw an orange in a smoothie - who would have thought? This one is so easy and good so I hope you enjoy it, too!
What Is SmoothieBox?
Love Smoothies but want it to be even easier to make them? Then check out SmoothieBox, who will send you pre-packaged, no sugar added smoothies. Makes it super simple!!
Tropical Crush Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 orange (peeled)
- 1 cup pineapple
- 1 banana
Instructions
- Blend leafy greens and liquid base together first. For recipes that use a whole orange, we recommend you blend the orange in this step.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend again.
Krista says
I have the book, and I love it, however, I too have gotten into a smoothie rut...the same one almost every day. There are so many good recipes in the book that I need to try.
LaShanta Parker says
Can you send it through text as while.
Amirah says
So I went to the store bought the book read up to want i needed to buy an bought the stuff from the market but lose the book wish me luck....
Rato says
hi, i was trying to lose weight with some strickly diet so now i'm tired i want a healthy life style not a diet. i read about green smoothie on women's health megasine i want to do it.
Tricia says
So weird, I've tried posting a comment now three times, on three different days .. Here's hoping this time is the charm ;)
I LOVE banana, beet, blueberry smoothies. Sometimes I add spinach or kale, but it changes the beautiful color and then my kids usually won't drink it
Krystal says
that smoothie recipe sounds good I will have to try it. My favorite green smoothie recipe is:
Kale
Banana
Strawberry
Peach
Orange juice and water
CYNTHIA SNEED says
How much of each? Sorry I am a smoothie neophyte!! I wish my Nutri Ninja had more receipes in the box!
Courtney says
Hi - thanks for introducing me to this challenge and the simple green smoothies! Did you try any of the smoothies with almond milk - if so, is there a brand that you used and could recommend? I'm having a hard time finding an organic almond milk that has just almonds in it. I bought the Whole Foods organic unsweetened, but then noticed it had the following ingredients, which don't seem to follow the real food rules: "Organic almondmilk (filtered water, organic almonds), tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, xanthan gum, potassium citrate, sunflower lecithin, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin d2), dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin e)" Any thoughts you have would be great- thanks!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there. Any store-bought brand named almond milk is going to contain extra ingredients. The 365 brand is better than most as it does not contain carrageenan. To avoid all the added stuff, it is pretty simple to make your own: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/31/food-allergies-dairy/.
Chris C. says
How do you know the calorie content of a smoothie after you mix all of the stuff together and blend it?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
HI Chris. This is from their FAQ page: DO YOU INCLUDE CALORIES FOR YOUR RECIPES?
Our meals are nutrient-rich and therefore give back to the body, and will balance your blood sugar, keeping your energy at a steady flow. Rather than focus on calories, It’s much more important to focus on having good quality protein, healthy fats and loads of vegetables and fruit to get all the goodness that you need.
Calories are deceiving and not the basis for determining what is healthy. For example, if something is low in calories, it’s not necessarily good for you. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Food that is low in calories, like a piece of white bread, is not only void of nutrients, it saps extra nutrients from your body to process it. It also turns to sugar once it’s digested which then contributes to weight gain. Change it to a wholegrain bread and add some avocado or nut butter, and suddenly you have something much higher in calories, but a slow burning fuel that will continue to serve your body for hours.
Carolyn says
I did my first green smoothie challenge last July and have been hooked ever since! Rarely does a day go by that I don't have a green smoothie. In fact, I brought my Vitamix with me on our family beach vacation so that I wouldn't have to skip my daily smoothies. With our hectic morning schedule of getting my children and myself out the door, a smoothie is a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast for me to take along for the ride to carpool and to work.
Mary Lou says
Hi Lisa, I am signing up for the July green smoothie challenge, I need this, so thanks!
GiGi says
My friend keeps saying to me that the smoothie way is bad, cause of all the carbs/sugar in fruits.
Can you list some nutritional info on these smoothies?
Laura says
Eating fruit is not unhealthy for most people. Grains, vegetables and fruits all contain lots of carbohydrates. It's likely your friend is talking about the sugars in fruits. Smoothies use whole fruits, which also contain lots of fiber and vitamins. The recipe above has 1/2 orange. 1/2 banana, and 1/2 cup of pineapple in a serving. That is not too much fruit for a day. If you are concerned about reducing sugar intake, there are probably foods that you can cut back on that are less healthful than whole fruits.
For people who have trouble incorporating enough fruits and veggies in their diet, a smoothie can be a great way of adding 2-3 servings.
Christy says
This is what happened to me. By coincidence, I had my fasting blood sugar tested about the same time I started drinking green smoothies for breakfast. I enjoyed those green smoothies for breakfast on most weekdays. One year later, I had the same test taken. My fasting blood sugar went from 83 to 95. That's a lot! Although I love green smoothies, their high fruit content was too much sugar for me. So I had to stop. I tried using mostly greens with low glycemic fruits, but they weren't as yummy unfortunatly.
Doe says
Your fasting blood sugar fluctuates all every day depending on what and when you ate the night before, your stress level, the time of year etc. I wouldn't be concerned about a smoothie
Amy says
Hi,
I am already signed up for this, I seen that you used frozen items for your challenge. My question would be: how did you figure out a way to measure these items so that they were the same amount for fresh? So excited to try this and to know that you already went through it and recommend it! Thanks
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi. Freezing ingredients won't effect the amounts used.
Brenda says
I love Jen and Jadah's challenges! Thank you for sharing!
Melissa says
I'm ready for this! We are experiencing a cancer scare (awaiting results right now) and we have started eating even more healthy! I started making the Glowing Green Smoothie last week and you know what? My husband and I both crave it now! I'm excited for the new recipes and we definitly feel more energetic. My Vitamix has been a great investment in my family's health. I know it's a lot of money, don't get me wrong, but it is our kitchen work horse. I made baby food for all three of my kids: it paid for itself with this alone. July 1st baby!
Stephanie says
This seems like a great challenge. I've always been interested in trying out smoothies like these but can't ever find enough variety for me to continue because I don't want to drink the same exact smoothie every day. That would get boring super quick.
http://aneducationindomestication.com
Nicole says
Thank you for the update on how your challenge went! I am going to sign up for the challenge so that I can try some new smoothie recipes, because I agree...I always make the same yogurt, banana, strawberry, milk, and some green vegetable smoothie. I was wondering when your family drank the smoothies? Afternoon snack? part of a meal? etc.? I enjoy smoothies, but they never quite fill me up for a full meal and so a lot of times I forget about making them.
Lisa says
Good question - for us smoothies are either a snack or a way to supplement a meal (like lunch or breakfast). I agree they aren't really meant to be a full meal by themselves.
Nicole says
Thanks for the reply! Can't wait to try out the tropical crush smoothie and the 30 day challenge. Hope you are having a great weekend :)