adventure
BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE
How did it go? With these ingredients, I made multiple batches of two distinctly different smoothies, and they were both delicious (recipes below). More than once, my daughter actually jumped out of bed in the morning when I mentioned her smoothie was ready. She even asked if we could take By Michele Robert Poche the challenge longer than just seven days. I can think of no better endorsement. Oh, and before I forget, while I was at the grocery, I was approached by a beet juice salesman. I tried his product, loved it and bought it on the spot. So “30 Days on Nothing But Beets?” Not so scary anymore. What’s next?
ARE YOU UP FOR IT?
A
Photos by Richard Vallon
few months ago, I put myself out there in one of our editorial meetings. “I want to try a few challenges for one of my columns,” I said. “Challenges?” they said. “Yes, challenges. Like eating this or doing that for seven days. Or ten days. Or whatever. Depends on the challenge. Know what I mean?” Looking around the table, I could see that they liked the idea. I swallowed nervously, imagining ar ticles entitled “30 Days on Nothing But Beets!” and “Sleep! Who Needs It?” My worries melted away the moment we established the first challenge:
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INSPIRE HEALTH
March § April 2016
Have a smoothie for breakfast every morning for seven days. Sounds easy enough, right? Except that these wouldn’t be just any smoothies. They wouldn’t come from a commercial juice bar or “smoothery,” nor would they come from ready-made kits found in a frozen food section. The challenge smoothies would contain 100 percent all-natural ingredients with at least one super food per recipe. Oh, and I would be serving them to my daughter, so they had to be good. Challenge accepted. I left that meeting, picked up my daughter from school and drove straight to the grocery to purchase the ingredients.
MY SHOPPING LIST: • almond milk • bananas • cherries (frozen) • chia seeds • coconut oil • Goji berries • mango (frozen) • raspberries • spinach (raw) • Stevia sweetener • tart cherry juice
Green Goodness • 1½ cups almond milk • 1½ bananas • 2 handfuls raw spinach • 2 cups mango, frozen • 1 Tbsp. chia seeds • 1 tsp. coconut oil Cancer Kicker • 1½ cups almond milk • 1½ cups raspberries • 1½ cups cherries, frozen • 2 Tbsp. Goji berries • 1 Tbsp. tart cherry juice concentrate • ½ tsp. Stevia sweetener (optional) To create either recipe, place all ingredients in blender, add desired quantity of ice, and blend on high until smooth. Enjoy! Recipes by Christina Leidenheimer
