Vitamix Review

A week is done in my Green Smoothie Challenge and I swear I like them more everyday (cheesy!!). I had been making the smoothies in a Ninja Pro Blender and they were really good and tasty. It took a little while to blend everything up but it's what I had and I wanted to do the best I could with what I had.
And then I was given this...
A very wonderful person heard that I was doing this challenge and GAVE me this Vitamix Professional System. Ummm...I'm am NO PROFESSIONAL and it was a bit intimidating when I opened the box but I seriously could not wait to get up this morning to make my smoothie in it.

Kale, Spinach, Water, Blueberries, Pear, Flax and a Splash of Agave at the end (and it really needed it today.)

Kale (3/4) Spinach (1/4)- I was starting to feel pretty confident in the Kale since yesterday went pretty good. My Vitamix FILLED with Greens

Since I had pears here for the kids I thought I would throw one in

Since the blueberries went well yesterday I added 1/2 a cup of them frozen again

Added in my Flax Seeds ( although in a book I am reading this wasn't encouraged)

I added in a cup of ice to try to help make it a little smoother

The first thing that I noticed was how DARK GREEN that my smoothie was. I do know that is the point of this challenge but my first day it was almost purple from the fruit and now it's DARK.

The one main thing that I can say about the Vitamix other than I love it, is that it is WAY MORE POWERFUL than any other blender that I have ever used. I put in my water and greens and within seconds they were pulverized. I am not exaggerating- it was liquefied in 15 seconds. I was able to add ALL the ingredients where with the Ninja I had to add then blend and then repeat.

I also omitted the banana today and I think that it really affected the texture and flavor of my smoothie today.

I have never once yet had a day where I haven't enjoyed my smoothie but today was the first day that I added something after it was all blended. After I took my first sip and it wasn't as pleasant as I had been used to I went to the pantry got out my trusty Agave Nectar and gave it a little squirt. That little squirt really helped me be able to begin drinking my smoothie and by the end I was used to the "greens" flavor and it was ok. I would not recommend just jumping in and using greens that have a stronger flavor right away.

The most exciting part for me at this point is how many of my friends have dusted off their blenders and have started making smoothies too. I am really into this for life (insert Dave's sigh here). One healthy choice made today...

Kale and Spinach- Oh MY!

Day 6 dawned and I was craving something green. Weird, I know but I could not wait to try out my new ingredients and also to add something that I honestly don't like. It really has been a learning experience every day and I think that by making a good choice in the morning, I really do think more about what I am fueling my body with.
My ingredients this morning were, Kale, Spinach, 1/2 Banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, flax seed, and agave nectar.

I cut up some Kale and did a half and half ratio with my spinach. The green smoothie guru (shelley) mentioned that it makes it easier if you half some of the other greens with spinach to ease yourself in and since I have 15 more days to go I figured I would ease in this week and go all out next week.

Almost out of my organic spinach- I think another trip to BJ's is going to be in my agenda tomorrow.

Hopefully my new Vitamix will be getting delivered today. The Ninja has been serving me well but I really want to see if it will live up to all it's hype :)

Ans here is the ingredient I just do NOT like. This is really funny because Dave's uncle owns a blueberry farm and they also live in a town called Hammonton which boast it's the blueberry capital. I have a vague memory of going to said farm and helping to "pack" blueberries. My hands were purple for a few days afterwards and I have not liked blueberries since. So I thought that I would try to sneak something into the smoothie in hopes that I would change my mind. And once again smoothie challenge- 3 me- 0.

The taste they added was really nice and I didn't have to eat mushy berries. I also really liked using the frozen to help my smoothies be bit more slushy.

Ahhh...my half a banana. I still wish I could have left this out but it does make the smoothie a little smoother.

Blueberries also did not make my smoothie blue, it stayed pretty green!!

Once again I am trying to add some more whole nutrients and the flax seeds make me "feel" like I am doing that!

Since I didn't add any orange I thought I would give the Agave Nectar another try. I also did this because I know that blueberries and banana's were not going to give me any sweetness and I was unsure what the Kale was going to bring to the party.

Blend, Blend, Blend (ooohhhhh how i love this part)

Ok, if you have been following me on this journey today's smoothie is definitely a lot darker which I am attributing to the Kale. It also looks "chunkier" but it really wasn't. I have never before eaten Kale but it really tasted very good raw in my smoothie. The blueberries didn't make it an overly fruity taste so I definitely still had more of a greens flavor (which oddly I am beginning to love). With the agave today it was a nice balance of sweet and green flavor, I really can't think of another adjective for it.

So far, I think that today's smoothie was my favorite in the last 6 days.

Tomorrow it will have been one week since I started this challenge and I laugh since my husband didn't even think I would drink one of them. Change is a good thing and I am looking forward to making some more.

One healthy choice made today...

Creative??? I think NOT

In general I am NOT a creative person- I like rules and instruction. So, today when I decided to take a leap and make up my own concoction I really wasn't behaving in true Jama fashion. I went to Publix last night to look for some Kale and they don't sell it there. Apparently they only sell Spinach and 5 Types of Lettuce- who knew? So that threw my adventure into other greens into the garbage for today. I guess I am just going to have to bite the bullet and take all the kids with me down to Whole Foods so that I can maximize this experience with some Beet Greens, Collards, or Kale.



As you can see though, my ingredients ARE a little different.

The greens, sadly are the same (i know-BORING!)

I decided to add some apple- I picked Fuji.

Oranges for sweetness?? I added the juice and pulp today and I really didn't taste it much.

People kept telling me to add agave nectar to add sweetness- you know i like my sweets!!

It is supposed to be an alternative to honey with a milder taste. I did not want to go over board so I only used a tiny squirt.

I also added a packet of flax seeds. It was supposed to add some more nutrition to my smoothie and give it a nuttier taste.

Since my smoothies have been really liquidy instead of smoothie-like I added ICE. I think I am going to have to overcompensate with the greens if I add more ice because I think that the flavor diminishes with more water, even in the form of ice.

My green smoothies ( i think the color is getting greener by the day).

SO...the flavor hmmm very spinachy today which i am still baffled to say that I like. The apple and orange make it more wet but gave in a very mild fruity flavor. The watermelon I put in on the previous days really gave it a stronger fruit flavor. I know that when I progress to other greens I might really want their taste to be masked by fruit but for now the fruit is kinda inconsequential to me. I probably could have given it more of the agave but once again that is going to be trial and error for me. I did, however, really like the flax seeds and will be putting those in more often to add some more nutrients.

All in all i would give today's smoothie a 5. It was average- nothing really special but nothing that I wasn't going to be able to drink ( i am anticipating this later on in this challenge).

I think tonight is going to be a running night again!

One healthy choice made today...

Following the Rules

Does this smoothie look familiar?? I don't really know all the "rules" of this challenge and I really hope that I haven't already broken them on Day 4.
Yesterday my SIL, Becky, texted me and asked whether or not I would like to meet up with her in Fort Myers to swim and hang out. I am a impulsive person and we had nothing on the agenda so I figured why not. So, I picked up Ashley for school (she had early release a.k.a waste of a day) and we headed down to Fort Myers. My kids and I had a great time hanging with Becky and her friend Smitty (who my kids LOVE!!). When thoughts of where we were going to eat came up we had 2 choices Hooters (Ryan's choice- DO NOT JUDGE!!) and Lee Roy Selmans. Lee Roy's is one of my top 5 favorite places to eat and Smitty had never been there so poor Ry lost out to the 5 other girls he was eating with.
Let me also say that in the many times that I have eaten at Lee Roy's I ALWAYS get the same thing!! Their Smoked Chicken Salad is one of my favorite things to eat. It is a salad BUT it has bacon, cheese, and ranch dressing and I didn't really think that was the best choice for me while on this challenge. So I actually ordered something that was in my limited view of food- healthy.

They had a Salmon Spinach Salad and although I am drinking spinach everyday for the last 4 days I figured since I missed my afternoon smoothie by being in the car that the spinach choice would make up for it. I substituted chicken for the salmon because I really wasn't feeling the fish last night and it had a strawberry vinaigrette and strawberries too. It was a very tasty salad and I did find it a little odd that I wanted those things because I usually CAN NOT WAIT for the unhealthy aspects at a restaurant.
I also had every intention of going to Whole Foods and picking up some other greens to try, along with some apples, pears, and whatever else looked good.

All of this to say that I am drinking yesterday's afternoon smoothie for breakfast today and I hope I haven't broken any rules ( i hate to do that!).
After being in my refrigerator I do feel like the flavors are more concentrated and I am getting more of a spinach taste this morning but it is a taste that I am actually looking forward to now.
I also think that I have more energy during the day and as I said earlier I am wanting to eat the healthier choice when given the option. Who knew :)

One healthy choice made today (i think!)...

One not so Happy Momma

So.... Day 2 ended with my stepping on the scale and I WAS NOT PLEASED. I know that this is a journey of eating healthier but I assumed that it would help with the scale and it has not as of yet. Yes, I know that it is only day 3 and as you can see I have NOT given up and I don't plan on it but I am definitely watching more the calorie that I am putting into my smoothie and after a nice run last night I did feel better.
I felt pretty good about the smoothie yesterday so I stuck with the same ingredients (minus a few) to see what the difference would be.

HELLO Spinach- I put in WAY more than I have in the last 2 days.

I added the orange...

And I enjoyed the watermelon flavor yesterday so I kept that as well...plus I kept it because of it's water content :)

Blend, Blend, Blend

And I have my quart of "smoothie" for today. The consistency was more like juice and I kinda liked it better. It wasn't as sweet but not really spinach tasting either. I have to admit that I am not as hungry during the day and if I am hungry I have an option to drink which is healthier than anything that I would be grabbing during the day anyway.

Another bonus is that it has kicked my butt back into running and I do love my running :)

One good choice made today...

Oh what a glorious day

I made it to Day 2- which is a definitely plus all on it's own :) But today's smoothie was a bit more of a challenge with ingredients. I am being completely honest when I say that I DO NOT LIKE VEGETABLES. I will eat them but if I can have chicken and french fries from Chik-fil-a or chocolate I will chose the later every time. Today's concoction was more drinklike than smoothie consistency and I honestly like it much better that way.

No I did not pour in the whole container of fruit :)

Started with Spinach -partially because that is what we have on hand and partially because I am a bit scared of Kale, Collards, and the other greens- I'm sure that I will get more creative as this challenge goes on.

Today I added fresh squeezed orange juice. My friend Shelley told me that it would help with adding some sweetness and I have to agree. My smoothie was definitely sweeter than yesterday.

I only added half the banana because I am a calorie conscious person and I was afraid that I would be adding the whole thing I would be getting more calories than I would prefer ( crazy -I know but I never said I wasn't crazy!)

I added some watermelon today because I know that it has "water" in it and I am trying to improve my hydration.

Cantaloupe because it was in the mix and I thought it would go well with the watermelon.

Blend, blend, blend

Hooray- today the smoothie is actually green so I don't feel like I am cheating on the challenge.

My Smoothies for today :)

I was very impressed today by the texture. It was all mixed and combined and it tasted MUCH sweeter than yesterday which I can thank Mr. Orange for. The watermelon was the predominate flavor today and it was very very good. I have NO IDEA what I am going to try tomorrow and I am sure there may be days where I am not loving the greens that I am drinking that day, but today was a Super Success!!

One Healthy Choice Made Today...

Today is the begining

Green Smoothie- Take 1

I was a bit apprehensive because I will be completely honest- I don't really like vegetables (GASP!!) but i have gone into this challenge as I would any other- with an open mind and a lot of determonation.

My wonderful 4 ingredients

The main "green" for now- SPINACH

BEFORE

AFTER

Add in the Banana (to make it smoother)

Added in some mixed berries for sweetness

Blend Blend Blend

Yummy final product!!

The rest of my day's smoothie!

It really was very good- and i would definitely say if it wasn't. The only issue I had was that it wasn't very sweet and I do like things sweet! Tomorrow I am going to add some honey and I think a little vanilla protein powder and see how it turns out.

One good choice made so far today...