Tag: smoothies

Healthy Smoothies with Goji Berries

1 Comment

A year or so ago I learned of a new berry called goji berries.  Apparently they are poplular in Chinese medicine and considered to be a fruit of longevity.  These little dried berries are a real superfood that can aid the immune system.

Blueberry Goji Smoothie
Blueberry Smoothie with Goji berries

The little bright red dried berries – pictured in the photo above – can be eaten by themselves, kind of like dried cranberries, or you can add them to other foods like a smoothie.  That is how I prefer to have my goji berries – in a refreshing fruit smoothie.

Chia Seed Gel

The other superfood ingredient I have recently rediscovered and am using in my smoothies is chia seed gel.  Chia seed gel is really simple to make.  To make the gel you take about 2 Tbls of chia seeds or I use Spectrums ground chia seeds and then add about 3/4 to 1 cup of filtered water and stir, allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes and stir again – it should be a gel.  I put mine in a mason jar and label it and date it – I usually use it within a week in my smoothies or even yogurt or oatmeal.  I like adding this gel to my smoothies to thicken them a little and to provide extra fiber and antioxidants plus omega-3’s.

Today I am going to share a couple of my recent smoothie creations using goji berries and chia gel.  To make these smoothies it is best to have a high speed, good quality blender, like a Ninja blender which is what I use.

The first one is Blueberry Goji – this one is super healthy with the blueberries and rhubarb plus the goji berries and the chia gel.  This is great for breakfast or for a snack.

Blueberry Goji Smoothie Recipe

 

The other smoothie I recently made and love the taste of is Peaches n Cream Smoothie.  This one is also great for breakfast or a snack – the frozen peaches make it really creamy along with the peaches n cream greek yogurt.

peaches n cream smoothie

 

What kinds of smoothies do you like to make?  Let me know in the comments – I am always looking for new smoothies to try.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

Working Out Week 40 of 2014

This week was not exactly a working out week for me.  I did manage to fit in a few workouts and a bike ride but we were in the process of redoing the floors in my dining room and living room so the whole week was spent living in a construction zone.  The below photo shows what the room looked like when we ripped out the carpet last weekend.

carpet removed from living room

You can see in the left in the background of the photo the boxes of wood floor that were waiting to be installed.  Of course that didn’t go exactly as planned since our house is over 30 years old the floors were not completely level – they had to add some more concrete day 1 of install and then let it dry.

day 2 of wood floor install

The above photo is day 2 of the install – things did not go well as the floor was not locking in place correctly – so we decide to get rid of the underlayment (that black and red stuff) and go with a glue down.  Of course this requires more time, supplies and money so it will now be a couple of more days, they say, before they can finish.

finished wood floor installed

 

cat ready to workout on new floor
Cat is ready to workout on the new floor
View of dining room into living room of new bamboo floor
View of dining room into living room of new bamboo floor

The above photos show our new, almost, finished floor.  They still need to come back tomorrow and nail in the trim – they didn’t have the right kind of nail gun with them today for that part.  I am so glad it is finally finished and in a couple more hours I can get all of this extra furniture out of my sewing-computer room.  It has been very crowded in here for most of the week!

So, in dealing with all of this the past week I was able to get in a few workouts but not the normal amount.

  • Monday – workout with exercise bands with door attachment – 25 min.
  • Tuesday – ride bike to store for groceries
  • Wednesday – off
  • Thursday – yoga in evening before bed – 15 min.
  • Friday – yoga in morning – 20 min.
  • Saturday – off

I was very stressed out this week on Thursday when things were really falling apart with the floor installation.  The yoga really helped calm me down that evening – so glad I decided to do a short routine before bed.  I think it also helped me to sleep better.

I did keep up with my juicing this past week.  I tried several new juicing recipes.   There are a couple of them below but I made so many different ones this week I can’t remember what these were called.  I know the orange one had carrots in it.  My kids are even starting to like the ones with carrots in it – especially if there is pineapple in the juice.  The pineapple makes the juices really sweet.  fresh juice made with a juicer

green juice made with juicer

One of the other juices I made was this green one above.  I have found that if you get out the juicer and make a few of the juices ahead of time and store them in 12 oz. mason jars they keep well for at least a couple of days.  I like the juice cold better, anyhow.  You just need to shake it up good in the jar before you go to drink it.  Also, it saves me from having to haul the machine out more than once a day.

I also started the 30 day green smoothie challenge this past week on Wednesday.  The challenge is through a website (click on the highlighted green text to go to site) and if you sign up they give you free recipes to try.  So far they are just okay with me.  I think I have gotten used to juicing and prefer the juice over the smoothie but I am trying to do this to increase my fruit and greens intake.  So, I am having a green smoothie a day and at least one juice, usually with breakfast or as a snack.   The one I made yesterday, on the right in the photo below – was strawberry lime and it was pretty good and refreshing – a great afternoon snack.  I am not sure if it is the type of spinach or kale I have or the fact that I am using some frozen fruits in the smoothies but mine are not turning out very “green” –  more of a brown to me.

Green Smoothie Challenge wk 1

Fitness Tip for the week:  Fit exercise in where you can

We all have days or weeks when regular scheduled workouts are not possible.  On those days or weeks try and get workouts in during your day.  Here are some ideas:

– Go for  20 or 30 minute walk after lunch or dinner

– Ride your bike to the store for a few groceries

– Walk your kids to and from school if possible – this is also a great time to talk to your kids about their day

– Do a short yoga routine or stretching before bed – you will also sleep better

– Do some ab exercises while watching TV

– Do some stretches while waiting for your morning coffee to brew

Also, if it isn’t possible to squeeze in any type of physical activity don’t stress about it – just start up again the next day or week to get back on track.

I hope everyone is having a great week!  I am so glad my floor is mostly complete.   I am also looking forward to working out in there on Monday!

– Kimberlee