Blog / green smoothie recipe

it's been a roller coaster of life lately. so much going on. my own way of thinking of things also puts me into places that can be utterly pleasant or terrible, depending on how my mind wanders... I had one rough moment yesterday afternoon. I suppose the best way I can put it is that I'm aware of all that I manage and oversee and for some reason, it is feeling like it is too much these days. I am seeking help and support but not really getting it and so something has to give.

I shut off all electronics last night and went to bed at 10 pm. It felt good for me to cease and desist all computer work and mindless FB chatting. In bed, my mind immediately went to a beautiful image of some future place and state that I want to be in. I drifted off into sleep.

In the morning just before awakening, I had a dream about an old boyfriend. One that I hadn't thought of in years and years. I don't know why he decided to show up in my dream but my reflection after waking was on the ways in which I gave a bit of myself over to him. I was very immature back then and had not had much relationship experience back then. I was a lot stronger, too, in many ways, and that was also good to reflect on. It turned out to be a very good reflection... I went into a place of meditation after that. Acknowledging the thoughts and reflections and then letting them be. No need to analyze further.

More thoughts and reflections came in and they went about their way, too.

In my rough moments yesterday, I want to acknowledge that I did some tonglen around them, too. There was a moment when the pain I was feeling (emotional pain) was so great that it felt like I couldn't breathe for a few seconds. I breathed into and out of that space for myself and for countless others that could possibly be feeling that right then, too. I suppose it helped me to do this act for myself and others because that pain was big enough to fool me into thinking I was alone in that thought/feeling.

This morning I made a loose plan for how I wanted the day to go to day. I'm doing all things for me right now. OBLIGATION was the word that kept popping up as the action to avoid in my life from now on. :-) It feels good to make that claim. I also figured on what I was going to eat today since eating has been so strange for me since late January. (No worries on this.) The phrase that popped in to replace obligation was CARING AS A WANT FOR SELF/OTHERS - in other words: CHOICE. It's a much better place in my heart (with lots of space around it) when I ask myself, "what do I choose to do today?"

This morning I made a kickass slam dunk green smoothie for myself and my kids:

2 bananas
1 orange
1 local small apple
a head of lettuce
local blueberries
rice protein powder
hemp powder
AFA
cacao powder
vitamineral green
cinnamon

I sucked down 3/4 of it and will have the rest later. Since January I have been at a loss for what to eat. Don't ask me why. I decided today that I will have a smoothie in the morning and a nori wrap this afternoon if I'm hungry. Dinner is always easy to figure out.

So that's all that's on my mind thus far. I'm off to see about getting another paper written and posted for school. Thank you to anyone that is reading my thoughts and mind wanderings... all love, Linda

So the "program" continues for me. I'm committed to 8 more weeks at least in order to get things back on the track that I like them to be.

I had a great day yesterday - I had 6 hours of ME time. How sweet is that. I don't get them often. In the morning I got up and made a juice:

1 pineapple
4 oranges
a bunch collards
1/3 cuke

The pineapple and oranges made about a quart of juice so I took about half that and added it to the greens and drank that down. I took the remainder fruit juice and put it in a blender and pre-made a smoothie:

16 oz fruit juice from above
1 banana
1 cup frozen local blueberries
heaps and heaps of baby spinach
vitamineral green
rice protein powder
water

this made another quart of smoothie and I drank that down a bit later. Then I put some water in a jar and went to a 3-hour yoga workshop with Lauren Walker. This was an energy medicine yoga workshop - the first of its kind, I think. I had not taken a class with Lauren before and found the class very fun. She's relaxed and funny and gets into her work. She's good at demonstrating and speaking the steps of what to do and why to do it. The 3 hours flew by and I was very grateful for that.

I went home and immediately went to the cafe where 3 friends of mine were meeting to have our weekly support/dream group. We each shared and supported one another for 2 hours. I'm very grateful for this group of women.

It was a little after 6 when I got home and I remarked to myself how I feel when I do these things for myself. They are so needed and necessary - I feel so great when I do them. i have plenty of opportunities to do these kinds of things but I don't do them so much. WHY? I'll have to work on that.

got home and heated up leftovers from last night for dinner. (see yesterday's post for that.) Again, it was heavenly eating this and feeling grateful for it. I also had 2 spoonfuls of raw cheezecake for dessert. That tasted creamy and smooth and delicious.

we had an evening of old X-files shows and then Avengers, a great movie. I had my dog on my lap as I contentedly sat with my family. It was very nice.

I got to bed really late and woke up 7+ hours later. I feel quite good. I said my morning prayers/intentions and am now going to begin my day. More later.

all love,
Linda

I had 8 hours of sleep last night! Oh what a joy! It's been a while and it felt great! For breakfast, I had a fruit pudding consisting of 1 banana 1 mango pureed in a food processor. Very yummy. I also made a green juice and split it with the family: 1 pineapple 4 oranges heaps and heaps of baby spinach 2 stalks celery very yummy! I went into town to do some energy medicine with Lauren Walker and it was great. Things have been off for me for a while and it's helpful to have a good crew of support peeps around... She's one of them. I made her a lemon cheezecake, parsley pesto, pizza crackers and carob YUM balls for payment. She was delighted and I couldn't have been happier. I really do love making food for people. Particularly when they are so appreciative! :-) I stopped by the local coop to get some greens for tomorrow since I only have some celery and baby spinach left. Remember: it's good to mix up your greens! I also got some simple saline for my nose. It has been a DRY winter and my nose is not happy about it no matter how many humidifiers I've got going around the house. I made a green smoothie for lunch and split it with Matt: 2 large bananas 1 10 oz bag frozen blackberries 1/2 10 oz bag frozen raspberries 1 whole bunch lacinato kale 1 TBSP vitamineral green it was yummy and very berry tasting. the color was a deep dark red - it was gorgeous, like the color of dark cherries. FRESH. I forget how simple these smoothies taste - simple and delicious. I get caught up in adding protein powders and chia and while those things are great, it's nice to keep it simple. I was able to drink 64 oz water today and haven't been able to do that for a whole week. I guess fiber makes you more thirsty - makes sense. worked a full day - had a very nice day at the cafe. Got some orders out. Sold a couple Offhand Designs bags, too which always makes me happy. Got home and found that the closet in my room is pretty much done! YAY! Now I need to make some time to organize it and get my clothes in there. This will make it so I won't need a dresser. Dinner was cooked and raw - a whole lotta veggies. In a pan, I added water, broccoli, red onions, yellow onions and zucchini - cooked them up a bit and added lemon juice and wheat free tamari. Also added some kelp noodles. I tend to gravitate to these after a fast. They are so fun. I added some Rhapsody tempeh and brown rice and at the very end (after turning the heat off) I added chopped up chard. Served it over a big bed of baby spinach. I added a teaspoon of parsley pesto and kim chee. And let me tell you, I was a happy camper. I felt soooo grateful to eat this beautiful meal. I was afraid about feeling overly ful but aside from the big pile of spinach, I mostly had the kelp noodles. I felt very human again, grounded and grateful and hunger sated. It was great. After dinner, we watched some old episodes of creepy X-Files and then I decided to take a bath. It is cold in the house and the bath felt goooooooooood. Epsom salt, essential oils and bubble bath made for a great combination - that and a good book to read. I was sweating the bath was so hot and again, I felt grateful to sweat. So that was my day. Lovely for the first day out of a fast. all love, Linda

Ode to the Green Smoothie by Linda Wooliever Oh how there never shall be a green smoothie tastier than thee (except, of course, until the next one.) Today's first Green Smoothie after the fast

• 2 bananas
• 1 container of fresh strawberries
• 2 TBSP bee pollen
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• coconut water

Blend in the VitaMix and serve. This made 2 massively delicious green smoothies (2 quarts). ENJOY!