Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Going Green (smoothies)

My son had his first follow-up with the oral surgeon today - all is progressing well. I'm so grateful for that good news.

The last several days have been a blur - literally. With Caleb on an all liquid diet, some friends of ours loaned us their Vitamixer.  I whirl up breakfast. I blend up a mid-morning snack. I puree lunch. I make a shake mid-afternoon. And then comes the question Caleb dreads, "Hey Bud, what do you want to drink for dinner?"

He wants steak. He wants cheeseburgers. He wants Chinese take-out.

Last night I made an awesome tortilla soup. I dropped the soup and the chips in the Vitamix and blended for a few seconds. I waited to see his reaction after his first bite. A big smile. (Or at least as big as he can manage right now.)  I tried his and thought it tasted tremendously good!



Meanwhile I'm becoming addicted to the green smoothie I make us every morning: green grapes, pineapple chunks, 1 organge, 1 apple, 1 large carrot, 1 banana and 2 cups of spinach. Sometimes I thin it further for Caleb with some green tea.

I actually look forward to this now.

And I love that we get the fiber as well as the juice.

Rick and I have an anniversary coming up in May. I may lobby that we get one of these Vitamix machines as our gift to each other (and Caleb). Not very romantic, but rather yummy and very energizing!

8 comments:

  1. Oddly enough...that looks yummy to me! Thanks for the recipe!

    <3 Heather

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    1. Hi Heather - it keeps me from feeling "mostly dead all day." It's not as good as a mutton, lettuce and tomato sammie but it's pretty darn good! :)

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    2. ROFL!!! I don't know about that Rachel. When that mutton is nice and lean, it's so perky, I LOVE that!

      <3 Heather

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  2. I understand how Caleb feels... I had corrective jaw surgery (so it was planned and not from an injury like his) when I was 15 and did the liquid diet for a month. By week three, I started sucking on hamburger dills, throwing hot pockets in the food processor, and cutting up hot dogs into teeny, tiny pieces. I was so desperate for food. You can only eat so much soup and drink so many milk shakes! Bless his little heart! Hope his weight loss is minimal. And I hope your sanity is in check after listening to the sound of that Vitamix for a solid month... :)

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  3. I make a smothie for lunch most days using frozen fruit (put in microwave for 25 secs.) 2 tsps of Benefiber, a strawberry Yogurt (Activia) and some cool whip which makes a great lunch. After reading that you put spinach in I may try adding that. I have been diagnosed with macular degeneration in both eyes and I'm supposed to have 5 helps of greens every week. I've been eating collards with lemon juice and sweet pickle juice for flavoring (I don't like vinegar and I don't like spinach). Thanks for the Going Green Post.

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  4. I have a similar mixer and it is an amazing little machine. If you want to make the tastiest hot chocolate (or chill it and have it as chocolate milk), take semi-sweet chocolate morsels and whole milk (the combination varies depending on your taste for chocolate)and blend until the desired temperature (you do know you can heat your soups up in the blender, yes?). It is to die for!

    And a variation on the green smoothie that I've found tasty is to put in your favorite greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc), pineapple chunks, coconut milk, a little water and maybe some raw sugar. It's a green-a-colada. :-) Hmmm...I haven't done that in a month of Sundays. I think it's time!

    I'm glad to hear Caleb is progressing well :-)

    Leah

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  5. Glad you're finding a rainbow among the gray clouds! It's amazing what you find you like when you're forced to try something different. I'm glad he's well on his way to healing : ) Enjoy your green smoothies! Both of you!!

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  6. Giving praise that your son is progressing along well. We will continue praying for him as he adjusts to his liquid diet.

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