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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Healthy Habits: My new love: the Vitamix! + EASY smoothies

On Sunday, my mom and I bought tickets for the New Life Expo in Ft.Lauderdale. It is basically a day at the Broward Convention Center filled with all sorts of informative lectures and booths set up containing all sorts of holistic health and spiritual things/resources/services. We went last year and absolutely loved all that we learned while sitting in the lectures. The expo travels all across the US and Ft.Lauderdale, FL's turn is around March every year. 

This year, we came home with a lot of goodies! We each: received 3 free books, each bought a Vitamix, and acquired a bag full of brochures/samples/ect.

The Vitamix blender was a something that I've wanted for a while now... 
Also, now that I am working on a health coach certification starting this upcoming Monday, my husband thought it was an appropriate addition for my future endeavors :) ...aaand he also loved the fact that I can blend and heat homemade soup at the same time (My husband can eat soup all day, every day if that were an option.) 

Sunday:
As soon as I got home from the New Life Expo
Getting busy with our new Vitamix...


Yum!
Real men drink green smoothies too. 
I love him and his amazing support that he gives me even though I think sometimes he thinks I am a crazy hippie. :) 
I just remind him that good wives want to keep their husbands healthy so they can be around longer. He should worry when I start feeding him unhealthy foods... that won't ever happen though! 




Monday morning: handful of raw baby spinach, 1/2 peeled lemon, 6 strawberries, 1/2 banana, 1/2 mango, peeled kiwi, 1/2 cup of water, tbsp of chia seeds

blend. 

(FYI: chia seeds: more calcium than milk, more omega 3s than fish oil, and more antioxidants than blueberries!) I buy my Bob's Red Mill Chia Seeds at Whole Foods for about $10 and they last my foreverrrrrr since you only use about a tbsp at a time.

 Ava liked it too...

Monday night: 
I made Avocado Tortilla soup! It was thick and delicious. 

Avocado Tortilla Soup

adapted from the Vita-Mix Cookbook
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 5 Roma Tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 avocado, pitted and peeled
  • 1/2 lime, peeled
  • 1/2 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 c. canned non GMO corn
  • 1/2 c. salsa
  • non GMO/organic tortilla chips
Instuctions:
  1. Place first 7 ingredients in the blender in the order listed.
  2. Turn Vitamix on and blend on high for 7 minutes.
  3. Reduce speed and add corn, salsa, and beans. Blend for 10 seconds
  4. Garnish with tortilla chips, cilantro, or avocado, etc… the possibilities are endless!
(I added in all of the ingredients in at once because I didn't follow the directions properly. Oops. Still delicious just not chunky.) 


Yesterday: waiting at the Atlantic bridge on the way to a beach play date 

Breakfast Smoothie: whole banana, handful of raw spinach, 3 strawberries, 1/2 cup oats, cup of almond milk - blend. 


Today after Mommy&Me class: 


Not so green due to the blueberries, but sometimes your green smoothie isn't so green and that's okay!  (I like to use our mason jars for smoothies. Trying to eliminate as much plastic chemicals as I can in daily use.) 


As you can see, I've started adding some oraganic oatmeal to my breakfast smoothies along with almond milk. My friend, Jessica, gave me the idea and I am so happy that she did. It is perfect for mornings when you want something filling and really creamy. Plus, the oatmeal surprisingly gives it more of a "comfort food" taste and less of a fresh, green juice taste. Personally, I love all of my green smoothies with whatever ingredients I decide to use that day.  But it is a nice, tasty change to have the creamy, comforting addition of the almond milk and the raw oats. 

Jessica's breakfast smoothie recipe: DELICIOUS! 

-Whole, peeled banana
-a few strawberries (stems on top and all! You want that green chlorophyll - you won't taste it) 
-1/2 cup oats
-cup of almond milk 

Blend. 
(I sneak a handful of greens in because I always like the benefits of greens even though you don't taste them with the oatmeal)

Thanks, Jessica! Baby Christian is going to thank you when he's old enough to have some :) 

I recommend you try one for your on-the-go breakfast.
 A lot of people don't have time to make breakfast in the morning and so they either
 1. Don't eat and only have some coffee 
or 
2. Drive through/ pick up something not so healthy. 

These smoothies literally take 1-2 min for me to make (depending on if I am using any ingredients that needs to be peeled). 
It's grab, throw in the blender, blend on high for 15 sec, pour into your cup, and GO. 

Now, I do still think that eating your nutrient dense foods is always a better option since your saliva during your chewing starts the entire digestive process. We are meant to chew our calories to break them down properly.
But if it's between chewing an egg mc'muffin or swishing/"chewing" around healthy smoothie to get the saliva going in your mouth before swallowing... 
I'll take the 2nd choice any day! 

Even if you don't own a heavy duty: Vitamix or Ninja kitchen system, bust out the 'ole hand blender that I used (and loved) before having a Vitamix or any normal kitchen blender. Anything works!

Okay, I'll wrap this one up here...

Now, I need to decide what soup I'm going to whip up for part our dinner tonight! :-)
I also saw this easy dressing and want to try it out for our side salads:

(This dressing calls for honey. Remember, most mainstream/processed "honey" is not just raw honey but contains things like GMO corn sweetener. Make sure to buy some organic/ raw honey for your home. I never knew that about honey either but it doesn't surprise me.) 
raw honey comparison


Remember: anything you make at home from simple ingredients- even if they aren't all organic- you will still be cutting out A LOT of dangerous and unhealthy ingredients. 
I don't care what the FDA thinks... Some of these "approved" ingredients are not meant for human consumption!!! 

This is a "fun" little article that my friend, Kaylyn, posted: Mind blowing...




Hope you all have a happy & healthy Wednesday! 
XO

Christina 

19 comments:

  1. We have a Vitamix too and LOVE it. We use it for green smoothies several times. Week, soups, salsas and have even made sorbet in it! That machine is amazing!! Congrats!!

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    1. Thanks, Amanda! Isn't it great! Worth every penny (+ the 7 year warranty haha) I tried a sorbet at the expo while the man was demonstrating...so cool! He added like a sliver of carrot and cabbage in there which was SO RANDOM. Not only did I not taste in the sorbet, but it was DELICIOUS!!!! Thanks for the reminder... I am making sorbet as soon as Ava wakes from her nap!

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  2. My husband ALMOST bought it after he saw the cool demonstration! I've talked to him about it several times. I know we have a blender (poor old blender) and we have a juicer (poor old juicer). Why not mix the two? One of these days ;) Thank you for all the yummy recipes! And congratulations on the certification! I was thinking of going to school for a degree in Nutrition. We will see :)

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    Replies
    1. Good for you! I hope you do! Let me know if you have any questions about my year program that I am doing from home and I'll email you some info ;)

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you, Michelle! I was SHOCKED at how easy making soup is! I have found my new easy "go to" for dinners :) Yay! haha

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  4. I seriously want a Vitamix so bad. I think I could make so much stuff! haha And be healthier! haha But If I ever do get one I will know where to come back and look at recipes!!! :)

    Love Always,
    Elizabeth
    thejourneycreatingme.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha! well until then... you can use your blender or hand blender like I did for almost 2 years. Get it out, Elizabeth! I don't know about you, but when I start my day with something healthy, it helps me carry on the rest of the day following through and feeling great. I want to see you write me back soon with a healthy recipe or smoothie that you tried! haha aaaand GOOO!!!! (I am always open to new, yummy ideas.. you are in my team now... let's go! ;)

      XO
      Christina

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  5. I've been wanting a vitamix for a while now. I think I might take the plunge and purchase one after hearing how much you love yours!

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    Replies
    1. I do love it but the truth is, it isn't the reason I make and love my smoothies. I have used my blender and hand blender before I got it recently. So whatever you decide, you can still do a lot without a Vitamix! Let me know if you do any new, yummy/ healthy recipes or smoothies! I am always wanting to learn how to make something new. Thanks for coming by, Hanna.
      XO

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  6. I have recently started using chia seeds in smoothies and overnight oats. I have a friend who loves macha in her smoothies - do you know anything about that? This might be a silly question but do you put ice in and how much?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Beth Ann! Do you mean Maca??? It comes in powder form too? From what I know, it is a natural and very very healthy way to enhance energy (libido) and fertility, energy, and balance hormones. As far as the ice goes... I only add ice in my smoothies before blending if I don't add frozen fruits to make it cotlder. If I do add ice, I only add a couple cubes to blend in and make it cold so that it doesn't become all watered down. And sometimes, I don't add anything because I drink it quickly and I drink quicker when something isn't so cold. So to answer your quesion (kind of haha) it is by preference. You cannot go wrong ;) Let me know about some of your smoothies! I would love to see how other people make theirs!
      Enjoy
      Thanks for stopping by, Beth Ann!

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  7. We absolutely LOVE our Vitamix! Probably one of the best purchases you will ever make. We use it all the time and it does so much better than just a regular old blender. Loving all the smoothie recipes, and that soup looks fantastic!

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    1. Thanks, Tiffany! I am LOVING the Vitamix. I think I myst have used it about 20 times times since Sunday... Happy you like my smoothie recipes. I sometimes feel like I am being repetitive but I do love them haha
      ...and yes, the soup is so much fun to make. Isn't it crazy how fast that thing goes that it heats it at the same time?! Love that!

      XO
      Christina

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  8. First of all, love that you're drinking out of a mason jar.

    Second of all, really like your point about "busting out the ol' hand blender." My buddy Jonah started with a hand blender and became hooked, too.

    Finally, I noticed the dressing recipe. I'm gonna have to give it a try. Perhaps I can make my own version and add it to the collection of sauces / dressings. http://lifeisnoyoke.com/category/recipes/sauces-and-dressings/.

    Good things,
    Lenny

    P.S. I'd love to hear more about what creations you make for your little one. Seems like there's a lot of potential for improving the way babies eat, too.

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    1. Hi Lenny! Thanks for stopping by!! I went by to look at your website too :) Yes, the hand blender is all you really need to get started. I just love the Vitamix so much because of the smoother consistency it can blend smoothies, etc. to . Also, I am still learning about babies and health. I give our daughter daily, high grade probiotics for her gut and immune health so if I could wish anything for other parents, it would be for them to start there...
      Hope you'll come back again!
      -Christina

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XO