Going Green and Having Balance

Lately I've been feeling like I need to start eating healthier again. On the wide pendulum of healthy eating versus terrible eating I probably fall somewhere in the middle. I rarely eat fast food or soda. I love cookies and brownies. I try to eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal, but I also eat more bread and pasta than some would recommend. If I try to eat only according to one diet plan (such as Paleo or South Beach or whatever) I will probably give up as soon as I break the rules. On the other hand, if I tell myself to make healthier choices and make a plan for doing that I'm actually pretty good at sticking to it. I'm decently smart, I know what choices are better for me than others.

My take on exercise is pretty much the same. I feel like I am fairly active and I workout a couple of times a week. If I told myself that I had to work out five times a week I would be overwhelmed and give up after the first few times I missed a workout, but having the perspective of just being more active and working out when I can keeps me more on track and motivated. When it comes to eating right and exercising and just being healthier overall I find the best approach for me is just balance.

In the past 10 years, I'd say the healthiest I've ever been was when I was making baby food or offering new table foods to Eva. Since she didn't eat very much I wanted to make sure that all of the foods I gave her counted. I didn't offer her things that were processed or sugary because I knew she would fill up on those and not want the healthier options. I also wanted to be a good example so I mostly ate the same foods I offered her. Lots of fruits and vegetables.  A little bit of lean meats. Some dairy like yogurt or cheese. Whole grains.  I felt so good and energized! Then as she got bigger I got more relaxed with letting her have some other treats and on the go snacks...which led to overall less healthy eating in our home. Not terrible, but not great.

So with all that, today I made my first attempt at making the ever popular green smoothie. Our blender is always out and active because smoothies are one of the most popular foods with Eva. I can change up the type of yogurt and fruit I throw in and there are several healthy options that she will actually eat. I added a few extra fruits to my grocery list this morning and even bought a bag of "super greens" (spinach, kale, etc) at the store so I could jump right into this. This was my guide that I used.

Okay, it may sound gross, but here were the ingredients I used today. Stay with me....

1 cup milk (I used real milk because that's what we buy and I'm fine with that)

1 large handful of super greens

4 strawberries, 1/4 banana, 6 pieces of frozen melon

1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp honey, and too much ginger (oops!)

2 ice cubes

It was actually good. Not like chocolate cake good, but way better than I expected. I couldn't taste the spinach at all. And here is the real test.....my toddler even liked it. She asked for a sip and made such a funny face at first. I think she expected it to be like her smoothie. But when I left it sitting on the table she kept going back and taking sips of it. I was proud of myself for eating more spinach than I have this entire year and I felt healthy :) I think I'll try it again tomorrow.