Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 2

Technically, its Day 2 of the challenge, but this is my 3rd day in a row of green smoothies. I'm learning as I go, and really enjoying it so far!

Maybe this is all in my head, but I swear my energy level is much higher this week than it normally is. And I haven't been sleeping much (maybe 5-6 hours per night lately, ugh), so I should be really tired all day. Normally, around 2-3 pm is my sleepy time, but so far this week, that hasn't happened.

For the challenge, we were given 5 green smoothie recipes for this first week. I've been picking whatever sounds the best to me each morning, or whatever I have time to prepare. Yesterday, I kicked off the challenge with a smoothie called Falling for Apples:

• 1 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 green apple
• 1/2 pear
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 banana

It was absolutely delicious. I drank 1 cup with breakfast, and saved the rest for later. Well, "later" I forgot about my smoothie in the fridge at work. I went to the county fair for lunch (it was Senior Day and I met my grandma, mama, and aunt for a quick meal) and bought some peanuts, which became my afternoon snack. So today, I figured I'd drink the other cup of Falling for Apples as a snack. Wrong! It was not good at ALL. I'm not sure if I didn't store it properly (it was just in a travel mug with a lid), or what, but I couldn't drink it. Boo.

I should have brought the smoothie that I made this morning for a snack. I have a feeling it will keep nicely.

This morning, I made the Berry Blast Cold Fighter (I think that's the name of it):

Okay, so its not "green," but I promise, there are greens in there! Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups kale
• 1-2 cups water
• 1 banana
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 2 cups frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

It, too, was delicious! It was a little watery for me, though. But I think that might be because every one of my ingredients was frozen, except the kale. I'll make this one again in a few days, and thaw the banana overnight. I think that will help a lot. To make this one a true cold fighter, you're supposed to add elderberry extract. But I don't have any of that, and I'm not fighting a cold, so I didn't feel the need to buy any. I'll have to remember it the next time I get sick, though!

I should have brought this one to work with me today. But I'll get the chance tomorrow morning to see how well this one keeps. I doubt I'll make a new smoothie tomorrow. This recipe made quite a lot of smoothie, and I don't want to waste it. Plus, I know I'll be home late tonight, so I won't have much time for prep work.

Last night, we got home pretty late (we took C to the fair!), but I was determined to get some smoothie prep work done before I went to bed (which ended up being at 12:30am - yawn).

I peeled and froze bananas:

I washed my bag of kale I picked up on Monday:

(I like to dry stuff on kitchen towels to save paper towels! Plus I think they work better.)
Then I froze the kale:

It was easy work, but it took me a while. After that, I looked over my green smoothie recipes for the week and chose the one that would be the easiest for me to assemble the next morning.

I wish the month had started on Monday. For some reason, I am staying really confused this week about the days. I keep thinking the week is almost up for the challenge, but actually we've got several more days! Plenty of time to try all the recipes they gave us. ( :

Today at lunch, I walked across the road to the Family Dollar. Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves a dollar store! They have the best stuff. I got C an adorable pair of shoes for $6. Can't beat that! Anyway, I also picked up this little gem:

Cute, huh? I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated "smoothie cup" this month (and hopefully beyond). It was $3, so I'm sure it won't last forever, and its not insulated or anything. But until I know if this green smoothie thing is somethin I'll keep up after these 30 days are over, I'm not spending too much money on extra gadgets. I couldn't resist the bling on this cup, though. They had some other colors, but since I love lookin at the greenness of my smoothies, I knew I'd enjoy a clear cup the best.


Its not too late to sign up for the Simple Green Smoothies 30 Day Challenge! ( :