I'm Bringing Healthy Back! {and a Green Smoothie Recipe}

At the beginning of the year, I was super motivated to lose some weight before we went on Bryan's company trip to Jamaica. I did great - I met my goal and got back to my 'normal-heavy' weight and out of the 'oh crap, it is not normal for me to be this heavy!' range. But on the trip, I ate and drank all I wanted. Then the week after the trip is dubbed 'feast week' - as in, the annual beach trip is over, now we can eat lots of junk. And since then (for the last month now!), I keep saying to myself that next week I'll start being healthy again. Well I finally stepped on the scale again, and that was plenty of motivation to make me quit procrastinating (eek!!). So this week, finally, I'm bringing healthy back - for good this time!

For one thing, we've jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon. Gotta admit - I am totally shocked Bryan likes these too! I'd expect the color alone to frighten him away from trying a sip, but he reluctantly gave it a try, and he's hooked. If you're still skeptical that they actually taste good, let my vegetable-hating husband be a testament to how delicious they are!

Everyone seems to have their own green smoothie variation. This one has been my go-to, and I think it's a good starter version if you haven't tried them yet since it has minimal, simple ingredients and doesn't taste 'green'. It's also a great light version if you're trying to lose a bit of weight like me, and you don't want too many of your daily calories to come from a drink.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp PB2
• 1/4 c. nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
• Handful of ice
• A couple tablespoons of water

Throw your water, ice, banana, yogurt, PB2, and spinach in a blender. You can also add a bit of sweetener too if you'd like - I usually only do that if my banana isn't very ripe (brown & spotty is the best!). Blend & enjoy!

And take a look at those nutrition facts - one little drink has about a third of your Vitamin A & C for the day, a quarter of your fiber, a good chunk of protein - and less than 200 calories and a gram of fat. If you're wondering about that 4.8 in the corner, it's a food score that basically means it's super healthy for you overall. Plus it's actually very enjoyable to drink! 

You may have seen this on Pinterest, but it's a handy little guide with some additional green smoothie ideas...

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Do you do the green smoothie thing? What are your favorite ingredients?