Green has gotten a bad wrap from toddlers to 4th graders, teenagers to husbands.

Poor Green.

My son was color blind until he went to pre-school and quite literally, in a matter of weeks decided, or was informed by the secret society of toddlers, that Green is Gross.

Sigh.

So us Moms weather the storms of dinnertime compliance and making sure our littles get all the well rounded nutrients we need them to have.  Its a juggling act for sure to offer whole, healthy foods, in a world of convenience pre-packaged mayhem and hope for the best.

My 5th grader is FINALLY, MOSTLY, USUALLY,  OFTEN sometimes open to trying a NEW vegetable or one I continue to offer knowing full well its gag inducing.

So as long as he, read RESPECTFULLY, gives it a try, and swallows it, he can move on to the 10 YearOldApproved fare of a less-green existence.

Harder yet when the big folk of the house have aversions to a plethora of green, or any, fruits and vegetables.

Yet, its so important to try.  Modeling healthy wholesome eating habits is key and if you are in the “big folk” category and you struggle with leafy greens, or broccoli  yourself, than perhaps taking one step at a time is where it should begin.

I am a very big proponent of taking things one step at a time; being a diveintothedeependheadfirstkindagal myself its hard to practice what I preach, but I try.  The slow boat is definately the one that will help you achieve long lasting results in ANY change you wish to make in your lives.

The mere fact that you are adding ONE new leafy green item in your salad, OR adding in ONE new vegetable to your family’s dinner plate is AWESOME.

One less processesed food or snack, and one less product with toxic un-pronounceable things is FANTASTIC.  One change kicks off another and another until guess what?  You are a ROCKSTAR!

I wanted to discuss greens specifically because in a rush to run home at lunch to deal with our dog Max-the-escape-artist, feed my hangry self, AND a desire to consume the produce that I wanted to use up before it goes MEH, I decided to zip up a kitchen-sink variety of a Green Mosnter.

I don’t even officially know what is IN a green monster, I just know it was popular years ago and that I like the name.

In today’s case the “Monster” is Max the Dog and the Green was my lunch.

MTD GREEN Monster

** MTD being “Max The Dog”  as he has a hashtag, AND an Acryonym.  Our dog has a hashtag, maybe a few.  #MaxTheDog, #MTD, #LifeWithMax…  The 5th grader acronymed the dog (is it legal to make “acronym” a verb?).  “MTD” is the 5th grader’s newly bestowed name for anything he produces.  He created a sandwich and named it MTD, his LEGO stop-motion film productions are named MTD… I don’t have a hashtag OR an acronym; but a 20 lb Chihuahua / Beagle, does.**

ahem

Add in to your Nutribullet cup or blender the following GREEN AND GREAT ingredients:

• All the leafy greens in your leafy green tub that is threatening to get to get wilty very soon.  In my case that was 3 handfuls of spring mix in my large Nutribullet cup. – I don’t need to extol the virtues of leafy greens here do I? Nope didn’t think so. Greens are good!
• A 1” knob of fresh Ginger- great for digestion and inflammation
• A 1/2” knob of fresh Turmeric- OH we need a post on turmeric; AMAZING for inflammation
• A handful of grapes –  (mine were red and only used to make this a little sweet)
• A large wedge of lemon, peel and all. – very cleansing and alkalining to your body
• A large handful of Parsley- cleansing and helps flush retained water 
• 1/2 a smallish to medium avocado- satiating AND brain food for the second half of your busy day. All those good fats!
• Almond or Coconut milk, or a blend (thats what I did) – becasue water sounded gross.

BLEND

YUM

**NOTE**

Do not be afraid to add in what is IN YOUR produce bin that is waving its flag going “Hey…Hey you there….ummmm I’m gonna go all slimy VEEERY soon if you don’t make me into a green monster. JUUUUUST SAYIN”

This is what I did becasue that is what I had waving its hands at ME and what sounded like it might be okay in a smoothie.  Pretty much anything soft and watery is amazing and of course GREEN and ANYTHING LEAFY.  Cucumber, zucchini, bell peppers, you name it. The whole point is to not be afraid to zip it up, and walk out with lunch in a cup, and an emptied produce bin, less waste and TONS of fresh wholesome GREENS.  The avocado made it smooth and creamy and provided brain fueling FATS, which are SO important for the afternoon slump).  You could have also added in a handful of raw, soaked nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds (dang why didn’t I do that earlier) and whatever strikes your fancy.

BE BOLD, BE CREATIVE and GO GREEN!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new reusable silicone straws I got for Christmas.  They are large volume so I don’t have to suck myself silly and easy to clean (they came with a brush)  also they came in different colors: Purple, teal, blue, pink etc. very girlie.

Bottoms up!

Annie