Thursday, March 4, 2010

DAY 207 More Squirrelly Thinking & My 1st Greenie


Hello Journal & Friends,

I finally figured out the REAL reason I've been stalling in trying out the green smoothie drinks that so many have been talking about...


Think of two little kids, sitting on the floor, playing with toys. One reaches for the toy the other is playing with, but the kid with the toy pulls it to his chest and yelps "MINE!". They haven't learned to share yet... they are still immature.


Well, today I realized I have been that way with my calorie budget. I have only so many calories for the day, and I don't WANNA share them with "veggies"!! I want to eat WHAT I want, WHEN I want, and I feel like saying "MINE!" when a veggie threatens to take some of my calories! 


Yep... immature, totally. Squirelly thinking, totally. At least now I realize it, and can work on it.

But yesterday, I did quit procrastinating, avoiding, and stalling... and finally made myself a GREEN SMOOTHIE. And not only did I make one... I actually DRANK it! And survived.


My whole reaction to the green smoothie thing has revealed to me that I still have way too many issues around food. This should be no big deal... yet I acted like someone was trying to get me to take castor oil! And honestly, it was pretty good.


Granted, I made my first Greenie in kind of a wimpy fashion... I sweetened it. I figured I would make it TASTE good, and get used to them, then later work on the nutritional part.

I made mine in my Bullet, that little counter-top mini-blender thingie that I use all the time. Love it!


Here is what my very first ever Greenie had in it, all whizzed up together:

2 big Romaine lettuce leaves
1/3 cup zucchini, diced
2/3 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 cup Almond Breeze, unsweetened
sweeteners (I used stevia, splenda & xylitol)

It was so good, I would probably have liked it just using water instead of the almond milk. I'll definitely have them often. For such few calories (around 125ish) it was very filling!

I  want to do better on the nutritional aspect of this journey, and I think this will help me in the veggie/fruit department.

Thanks to all of you who wrote about them, giving good reviews. I appreciate these little practical tips we can learn from one another. :-)


From Dr Phil's book: "If you continue to eat the way you've always eaten, you will continue to stay the way you've always been."

My verse for today: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

My quote for today: "Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." --Doug Larson

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta
=^..^=


17 comments:

x said...

I am not a veggie or fruit fan either really...well maybe strawberries, BUT I MAKE myself eat 5 servings combine a day...calories be damned even.. when it comes to fitting those in. I think you are doing great and anybody willing to try something new, may eventually find what works best for them.

Anonymous said...

looks good for occasional use, but i prefer to eat my calories!!!! Plus, did you know you get the highest nutritional value from vegetables if they are eaten with a small amount of fat? yes! vegetables' vitamins are FAT SOLUBLE. My low cal friends dont want to believe it. i love fried kale and its most nutritious that way!

antgirl said...

I love my fruits and veggies. They keep me full and satisfied. All that color is beautiful, appetizing and makes me feel more satisfied.

You could try cutting them up small, too, to put in things so they're not as noticeable. :)

financecupcake said...

Yay! You stepped out of your comfort zone, and you liked it. :) Where do you get your chia seeds, and are they expensive? I've heard (read) a few people talk (write) about them, and I'm interested!

Anne H said...

Life, art and fruit in one wholesome blog.
Cool pics!

Fiona said...

I can totally relate!

karen@fitnessjourney said...

I've seen so many recipes for those green drinks. One had apples in it. That might help sweeten things up a bit.

I seriously love your food sculpture pictures! I want that watermelon owl at my next party!

Retta said...

NANCY: Usually I do too, but I have to be honest and say in this last year I have NOT gotten in enough veggies and fruit, no matter what I keep saying to myself. So, I figured I would ADD this to what I am doing now. Maybe in the future I'll have it figured out better, and won't need them. For now, they are very convenient, fast, loaded with veggies and fruit and fiber, and here's the key: I will DO them.

CINCIMOM: I sent you an email with chia info and links. :-)

Loretta
=^..^=

Christine said...

well, you know all those vitamins flooding to your cells is going to make you so healthy. lol.
I love veggies, but I like to just eat mine.
Way to get em in though.

globalmom said...

Good for you Loretta--I have some green superpowder stuff, but I haven't used it lately in smoothies--not an appetizing color. I love my roasted veggies with olive oil. BTW, I didn't know you were from Oregon--I'm from Oregon originally myself!

JoAnn said...

Loretta, I've been thinking about this post since yesterday. I think adding lots of veggies in to your diet would help you lose weight faster. I was surprised to read that you didn't eat many veggies. As Antgirl said, they really do fill you up and have very few calories and you need that fiber. Maybe try to not count the veggie calories for a week or two, eat lots of veggies and see what that does for your weight loss? Try to cut out more of the calories from bread, potatoes, pasta rice, and any junky stuff you eat.

Also, by weighing only once/month you're really only seeing a very tiny snapshot of your weight for the month. Maybe you had more sodium the day before and you're retaining fluids. I think you should weigh yourself more often just to see, you may have been down 3 lbs the next day.

Patsy said...

I still can't get my head around juicing veggies... I think I'd rather just eat them... Glad you enjoyed it, though! :o)

Joanne said...

You are braver than me - you lost me at the Romaine lettuce. Although I would have loved pretty much all of that in a salad - choices.

Love the pictures - great post!!

Retta said...

JoAnne: That's an intriguing idea... just add in veggies and not count the calories. Totally takes away THAT excuse! Hmmm. I might just give that a shot!!

Also, for the last year I haven't eaten ANY bread, rice, pasta... anything with sugar or flour. I do eat some junk, yes, in the form of sugar-free treats, occasional hot dog, spam, sugarfree daVincie syrups, an ocasional Diet Rite soda, that sort of thing. So I can't claim "clean" eating.

Like I've said in my posts, I weigh in every Monday, but just report it and log it on my Blog once a month. My numbers are so variable that it got frustrating trying to explain that every week. Hence, the once a month. So it was frustrating to actually go UP for the month. :-(

Thanks for the cool "free" veggie idea!
Loretta
=^..^=

Shelli Belly said...

Hurray another convert. I ate a salad the other night at dinner and it took forever! I kept thinking I could blend you in 2 seconds. I think I'm hooked!

Here's another recipe: spinach, pear & mint or parsley, mango w/ a splash of lime juice.

Don't use Sprouts they burn on the way down Blah!
Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Love these pics!!!

Jules said...

Thanks for sharing these with me!

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