Very Green Monster

this is definitely the greenest green monster i have ever had. as i was adding all of the ingredients i kept thinking "i don't know if i am going to like this!" indeed, it was the most "green" tasting green monsters i have made but it was surprisingly still pretty good.

why the extra-green smoothie? well, i came to the realization last night that i need to eat more veggies. i am convinced everyone is either a fruit or a vegetable person. i think most people like either fruits or vegetables more. obviously we need to eat both, but i would rather have fruit hands down. i like veggies, but i love fruit. therefore, i set a goal of eating more vegetables every day. i easily get in my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, but at least 3 of them are fruit. i try to eat a salad for lunch but it doesn't happen most days. so here i am declaring to the world (or at least the three people that probably read this blog - hi mom!) that i am going to eat 4 servings of vegetables every day this week. hey, it's a start right?

the easiest way for me to get a serving is to add the spinach or kale to my smoothies. so, i am going to have a green monster every day this week. today i was ballsy and added 2 new things to my green monster (chia seeds and ground ginger). i have had the chia seeds for quite some time now and have yet to put them in my smoothie - mainly because i always remember when i have already consumed half of it. what are chia seeds? i am so glad you asked! here is what i found out about it from some online research pieced together from various sources. i hope i am not plagiarizing.

"Known as the running food, its use as a high energy endurance food has been recorded as far back as the ancient Aztecs. As a source of protein, the Chia, after ingestion, is digested and absorbed very easily. This results in rapid transport to the tissue and utilization by the cells. Another unique quality if the Chia seed is its high oil content, and the richest vegetables source for the essential omega-3 fatty acid. It has approximately three to ten times the oil concentrations of most grains and one and a half to two times the protein concentrations of other grains. These oils, unsaturated fatty acids, are the essential oils your body needs to help emulsify and absorb the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, & K. Chia seeds are rich in the unsaturated fatty acid, linoleic, which the body cannot manufacture. When there are rich amounts of linoleic acid sufficiently supplied to the body trough diet, linoleic and arachidonic acids can be synthesized from linoleic acid."

chia seeds don't really have a taste. they are very small and don't blend together so it does taste like strawberry seeds or similar when you drink them. i also took a ginger root capsule i have (they are supposed to help with motion sickness which, unfortunately, i suffer from). most of you probably know the health benefits of ginger like migraine relief (another i suffer from, fun, fun), heartburn prevention, reduces pain and inflammation, and some studies even show it may have cancer prevention qualities.

so, if you are brave enough to try my extra-green, green monster here is the recipe:

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Extra-Green Monster
(makes 1 large serving)

1/2 c 100% orange juice
2 oz mango puree
1/2 c skim milk
1/2 banana
1/4 c frozen mango
1 oz kale
1 tbs ground flax seed
1 tbs chia seeds
contents of 1 capsule of ground ginger
1 c ice

blend together in blender till smooth.

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ok, i'm off to make my salad for lunch:)