The journey

The first thing I want to share today is this AMAZING green smoothie I made last night. It was inspired by, but not stolen from, ideas from Kristen. There are some things on her site that she talks about all the time, like Raw Chocolate, and Hemp Protein Powder, and I had no clue where to get these things. She has a link on her website so I figured I would order it all from there, until I went to Whole Foods last night and turned a corner and bam! It was all there, lined right up like I had asked for it or something. I wasn't even looking for it, so I was super excited. So I bought the chocolate and the protein powder and a bunch of fruit, and made this:



One mango

One banana

Handful of Raw chocolate

Two tablespoons of hemp powder

One handful each swiss chard and baby spinach

Splash of vanilla extract



It was lime green colored, chocolate flavored greatness. I also had one for breakfast. Last night I paired this smoothie with a sandwich on whole wheat bread, with tomato, avocado, and a sprinkle of organic mozzarella. This morning, I brought two more bananas and peanut butter for either a mid morning or afternoon snack, whenever I feel like it. I'm getting a Quiznos salad, (I know, I just ruined it didn't I..) but at least its a salad with dressing that I will add MYSELF, and not a giant sandwich or something. I'm PMSing, I'm entitled. Especially since I only had 2 Thin Mints yesterday. EXTREME willpower.



I was thinking last night about all the stages people go through to lose weight and/or be healthy. I was thinking that there are a lot of people out there who are starting their progress in baby steps, like switching to baked chips, or giving up soda. (Soda is the devil. If you still drink it, STOP.) There are people who are starting to put mustard instead of mayonnaise on their sandwiches, and trying to eat more turkey than ham. People who are trying to drink more water, but can't stand water, so they flavor it somehow. And to these people, I say good job. Keep it up. Because everyone has to start somewhere, and not everyone can make a giant, drastic, green smoothie change all in one day. Not everyone understands or cares about organic produce, or the importance of NOT DRINKING SODA. I think becoming healthy is a journey, and anything big or small that you can do to improve your health, you should do it and feel good about it. When I started eating meat again after high school, I decided I could never give it up again. I have been meat free now for over a year and I don't really miss it. When I first heard about eating Raw, years and years ago, I didn't even give it a second thought. I dismissed it as something I could never do. (And to be fair, I still don't think I could do it completely. I love spaghetti too much.) But as you learn and grow, you discover things about yourself that you can do, that all of a sudden you WANT to do. So for the people who are taking their food journey in baby steps, I am SO proud of you. One day you will look back and see how far you have come, and you will be proud too.