We are 25 days into the new year and I have finally found the time to get back into blogging. While it appeared like I was on a mini vacation, this past month has been a whirlwind and I have been extremely busy- with an exciting event and a not-so-exciting event.
First, the exciting event. To start off the new year I did something crazy… I moved to Victoria, BC! I have to get my About Me page updated now 😛 Talk about new year, new me! I just got a new job based in Victoria so we packed up and move out to The Island. Surprisingly, the move went incredibly smooth considering that we had to travel from the mainland to Vancouver Island- only about 70 kilometres- but we (and all my stuff) had to take a ferry to get there.
I have moved a lot in the past few years and even though moving kind of sucks, I really like the feeling of having a “fresh start” and a new environment around me. Of course, I loved setting up and reorganizing my things in my new kitchen. It’s much smaller than our previous kitchen in terms of counter space and storage, but we made a few investments that allow it to be functional for us, including buying a new sideboard. It’s a dream.
Now for the not-so-exciting news. Just when I thought the whirlwind was over, I got incredibly sick with a bug that has been going around. It was horrible and I was out for about a week. But on the bright side I lost 5 pounds! Goodbye Christmas weight!
Now that I am feeling much better, I want to keep myself strong and healthy so that I don’t get sick like that again. What better way to do this than with a Green Smoothie?! Plus it’s perfect timing because today is #NationalGreenJuiceDay!
This Green Smoothie gets its bright green colour from spinach leaves. If you’re not into putting veggies in your smoothie, you definitely need to give this recipe a try; you don’t even taste the spinach. Gradually you can work your way up to adding the hardcore veggies (kale and celery) to your smoothies- something that I’m still getting used to.
To mask that raw spinach flavour, I add some frozen banana. I love adding frozen banana to smoothies since it makes the smoothie sweet but also creamy. Freezing the banana also makes the smoothie nice and cold so that you don’t need to add any ice to the mix.
I also add my favourite unsweetened almond milk, a few scoops of Greek yogurt (you can use regular or vegan yogurts here too), some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and protein powder. My protein of choice has, and will always be, Vega protein powder. I’m trying out the Vega Protein+Greens Vanilla powder here and it’s incredibly delicious (and it’s a local company)! Of course, you can use whatever protein powder you like here. If you don’t drink protein powder you can omit it from this recipe, just add another half of a banana to thicken the smoothie.
Just add all the ingredients to the blender and blitz all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth! Side note/ kitchen appliance update: My partner and I jointly bought a Vitamix for Christmas and we have been blending everything you can imagine. It’s an incredibly powerful machine and is 100% worth the investment so I highly recommend getting one the next time you want to upgrade your blender. I particularly love the smoothie setting on the Vitamix; you just click, walk away and in a minute you have the most velvety smooth smoothie ever!
Once your smoothie is blended, pour it into a glass and drink it right away; you don’t want to loose all those nutrients! After drinking this Green Smoothie you will feel super healthy and radiant from the inside out! No bug will get you if you drink this!