Ladies and Gentlemen…Start Your Blenders!!
August 17, 2009 at 3:39 am 32 comments
Today is the big day! Do you have your fruit? Your greens? Your motivation? I’ve been getting emails all week from people who started a little early for practice and they are losing weight and feeling amazing! I know this is going to be a great month!
Here are a few last minute tips to help keep you on track:
- If you miss a day…don’t sweat it! Just drink a little more the next day and move on. Or, if you miss your smoothie in the morning, have it for lunch or dinner. A green smoothie is a meal in itself…if you don’t feel full enough, just drink more!
- Be gentle on yourself…this challenge is about “jump starting” your habits and it will hopefully add up to a life long change. Don’t worry so much about getting it all right, as you do about changing your mindset about food/exercise.
- Read blogs and inspiring books during the 30 days…I guarantee it will help you stay on track! When you’re reading about others drinking their green smoothies and exercising and cutting out sugar…it’s makes it harder to drive through McDonald’s 🙂 If you are documenting your journey through the 30 days on your blog, be sure to post a link to it in the comments!
- If you don’t feel like you’re ready to commit to the entire set of “rules” for the challenge…don’t leave quite yet! Even if you just add the smoothie to your day and do nothing else, you will still see changes!
- At last count, we were up to 174 people participating in the challenge on Facebook…let’s go for 200! Tell your friends, your co-workers, your family…get them on board with you. Everyone will benefit from a green smoothie a day…you never know how you might change their life!!
- If you’re feeling like you want to kick it up one more notch, try going about 80% raw for one week of the challenge. What does that look like? Do your smoothie for breakfast, a big salad for lunch, snack on fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds throughout the day, and then have a healthy vegan dinner. If you want to see what my day looks like, check out my food journal, Raw Delight.
- You can also try “raw til noon”…this is especially good for those who need to prepare meals at night for others, but want to eat healthy throughout the day. Just do your smoothie for breakfast, the salad for lunch and then do your normal thing at night.
Can’t wait to hear your stories! Let the challenge begin…
Entry filed under: Green Smoothies, Raw.
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Happy Foody 
1.
joan | August 17, 2009 at 11:55 am
I’m on the east coast. Day 1 is already a done deal!
2.
Amanda | August 17, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I made my first good smoothie today. I’ve done one before, but obviously I didn’t blend it enough because it was not smooth. After watching your video, I realized I needed to let it go for several minutes. It is sooooo good! I let my children (three year old twin boys) try it. My picky eater actually liked it, but then “decided” he didn’t – normal for him. But the other one loved it, and we are fighting over the remaining amount!
3.
cavewoman | August 17, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Made a gorgeous and yummie smoothie today:
Kale
Pear
Frozen Banana
Carrot and Orange juice.
So yummie, and my stomache feels good!
4.
Noelle | August 17, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I started last week, just to get myself into the routine of making the smoothies and I feel GREAT! My body just feels better and I love knowing I’m doing something good for myself and kickstarting a healthier lifestyle. Good luck to everyone!
5.
rokuban | August 17, 2009 at 2:39 pm
HI! I just found your blog and I love it! I am also a breastfeeding mommy. I have been dabbling with raw for the past 5 years and decided to switch to 100% raw about 3 months ago. I eased back to 85-90% a few weeks ago and feel really good! Here is a link to my blog with one of my smoothie recipes. I drink one every morning. Thanks so much for your wonderful info!
Baby Roku on Raw – A Guide for the Modern Mom
6.
Kelly | August 17, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I am ready!! Especially after a birthday weekend filled with lots of partying =).
I did a 30 day raw challenge last winter with my husband and it was difficult to jump in 100% but was definitely educational. It’s documented on our blog http://www.rawfoodrealpeople.blogspot.com and I also plan to write about this 30 day challenge there.
Thank you Sara for organizing this and being such a great motivator!
Kelly
7.
kristin c. | August 17, 2009 at 3:31 pm
started this am!
rasberries
pineapple
banana
lots of mixed greens
is it okay if the smoothie doesnt actually turn out green? or does that mean there is not enough green veg and you need to add more?
8.
livelightly | August 17, 2009 at 3:54 pm
kristin c: Yes! It seems strange, but a green smoothie might not always be green. Any type of berry will turn it purple/red. The reason mine are so bright green is because I use light colored fruits (banana, mango, peach, apple). There is just as much green goodness in a non-green green smoothie 🙂
9.
lisa | August 17, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I have been doing the smoothie challenge since you announced it last week 🙂 I’m feeling great!
Green smoothies come up a LOT in my blog: http://happymama-lisa.blogspot.com/2009/08/currently-enjoying.html
10.
Holly | August 17, 2009 at 4:17 pm
What?! Green smoothies are actually good and tasty?! I can’t believe it. I’m drinking my first green smoothie ever, and I STILL can’t believe it. I was really dreading today, having to choke this strange concoction down (I’m not usually very good with blending stuff), but it’s delicious, and I can’t stop sipping away. Thanks for sharing your recipe & video, Sara!
11.
sodarnhappy | August 17, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I can’t find the bottom part to my blender! I’m gonna have to start next week when we can afford to buy a new one. I’ve scoured thrift stores with no luck. 😦
But I’m on board with everything else! I have my greens ready for lunch & it’s been all water today.
My caffeine headache’s already starting to kick in.
12.
Nichole | August 17, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I was one of those who started drinking the smoothies last week and have already seen results…namely my system being cleaned out. Starting today, I am going to add to the smoothies: no refined sugars in my diet, eating mostly raw throughout the day, less dairy and less meat. I’m going to keep track of my challenge on my blog too. http://pureandsimplehome.wordpress.com/
13.
Lacey Bowen | August 17, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I will be starting tomorrow, since I was not able to get to the store. I am excited and will let you know how it goes.
Lacey
14.
mariah | August 17, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Day 1, Yum! I’m documenting this along with a new exercise routine I’m doing on a blog I set up for just that purpose. It’s here:
http://iwokeuponemorning.blogspot.com/
I’ve been drinking them since last week and I feel great! I took it to church yesterday since I was running late and drank it in the kitchen there before service and a couple of people were very curious and interested. Spreadin’ the green smoothie love! 🙂
15.
Karri | August 17, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I’m in! This just the motivated I needed to get back on track with my greens and veggies! I’ll be blogging my 30 days, among other things, on my blog! Thanks for the inspiration!
16.
Lisa | August 17, 2009 at 10:34 pm
I forgot to mention in my post that my 1 year old daughter loves them and drinks some in her sippy cup in the morning 🙂
17.
jessica | August 17, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I love it!!! My green smoothie was great this morning and in fact i might drink another one tonight. Thanks for getting me started again.
18.
KMH | August 17, 2009 at 11:51 pm
I must be doing something wrong! I seem to be the only person who didn’t enjoy the smoothie.
I had: pineapple, orange, blueberry, banana, and spinach. Tomorrow I am going to try banana, orange, apple, and spinach. The only frozen fruit I could find was in very small bags. So I’m trying fresh fruits. Maybe that is the problem?
Kim — still hanging in there and trying to figure out my problem.
19.
Michelle | August 18, 2009 at 12:09 am
My kids drank the smoothies! We are training to run a 5K and they thought it was a great way to give them extra energy and nutrients!
20.
laurel Sauls | August 18, 2009 at 3:54 am
I had a pretty good first day. Hope to do better tomorrow. So glad you are doing this challenge!
http://appleadayx30.blogspot.com/2009/08/green-smoothie-challenge-day-1-today.html
21.
Alexis | August 18, 2009 at 8:22 am
I started a day early (live in Australia). First day I was nauseous all morning until I ate some avocado. I think I needed the fat. My ‘chubby, eats a bad diet’ body couldn’t handle so much yummy goodness. Second day was better.
22.
bluezfire | August 18, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I wrote up a recap of the first day and posted it here:
I think I did pretty well for the first day. Completely vegan, about 80% raw. Now if I can keep it up for the month, I’ll be happy.
Congratulations to everyone who made it through the first day. I look forward to keeping up with you all as we go along.
_ Lee _
23.
Katy | August 18, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Yummmm….
My smoothie is very similar to the one in your video –
frozen banana
frozen mixed fruit (my bag is strawberries, mango, pineapple, and peaches)
fresh pineapple
3 handfuls of baby spinach
a small squeeze of agave nectar
Question: I have made a couple using water and they were good. Then on a whim instead of water I used organic, no sugar, apple juice (ingredients are apples and water) as the liquid. The apple juice was so good! Do you have any thoughts/opinons on using a juice (no sugar, organic) to blend instead of water?
24.
kimberly | August 18, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Getting a bit of a slow start here…but hoping to catch up with all of you soon! We have a baby due in a few days and I am struggling with gestational diabetes..can’t have the fruit in the smoothies right now. I am praying that everything will go back to normal after the babe is here and we can get back into a good routine. I’ll keep checking your blog for helpful info and motivation! Thank you!
25.
Kiersten | August 18, 2009 at 11:02 pm
What should I look for on labels regarding sugar? It seems like there a million different ways to say SUGAR! How do I know what is okay and what isn’t?
26.
Amy @ Muddy Boots | August 19, 2009 at 3:47 am
Is there any way you could add a Mr Linky for people to link up their Smoothie Challenge posts? It wouldn’t have to be each day, but maybe daily would be fun (although more work for you). That way, anyone who posts a Green Smoothie related posts on their could add their link here to make it easy for us to find each other. Or maybe weekly?
If you don’t want to, I’d be happy to host the Mr Linky on my blog as I already have an account. I’m working on my first Challenge post right now and decided to check back to see if I’d missed seeing a Mr Linky since I read in a reader.
27.
rokuban | August 19, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I made a pina colada chai green smoothie today…YUM! For greens, I used beet tops. It was so good! Here is the recipe:
Baby Roku on Raw
28.
dria | August 19, 2009 at 8:40 pm
day 3 of the green smoothie challenge..i love it!! i have never had a green smoothie before and i had 2 today, im hooked! thanks!
pura vida!
29.
Kara | August 22, 2009 at 3:14 am
I am recording my 30 day challenge, along with my new workout routines, on a blog I started just for this 🙂 Although it’s REALLY hard for me to try new things (I never eat fresh fruits, and have issues with textures), I am doing my best with this and think I’m doing pretty well so far 🙂
30.
annie | August 23, 2009 at 1:49 am
Okay, I’ve been doing this for a little more than a week now and am totally hooked. I’ve even got my two year old requesting mama’s “treat”, so I have to mix up a little extra in the morning to give her so we can share our treats together. 🙂
I haven’t seen any results yet, but I like them so much I don’t care. 🙂 I have noticed that while they don’t keep my sugar cravings at bay (yet….), my tolerance for sweet things has plummeted. I still want something sweet, but just a little will do before I get a sweet-overload. Something that hasn’t happened to me since I was in high school (and battling an eating disorder), so yay green smoothies!
I am nursing both my children (two year old and four month old) and finding the green smoothie is not enough to keep me going in the mornings. Within the hour I’m ravenous and often so hungry I grab whatever I can to munch on while nursing the baby (usually homemade cereal). I have only enough in the grocery budget to make just a little more than a quart a day, so increasing the amount to satisfy me isn’t financially possible. I did try, though, to have more than a quart to see if that would fill me up but all it did was give me a stomachache.
So….any (relatively cheap, easy-to-find) suggestions to pair with my smoothie in the morning to stave any hunger pangs? Or maybe I’m asking too much of it and should have it later in the day? I’m up at five with at least one of the kids and usually have the smoothie made and gobbled up by 6. 🙂
Anyway, I”m looking forward to week two!
31.
rebekah | August 24, 2009 at 3:05 am
We started today – well, officially tomorrow bc we just learned of this today. But we had our first smoothies today with
peach
plum
banana
romaine
yum!
check it out: http://legersathome.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-are-what-you-eat-did-you-know-that.html
32.
amanda | August 26, 2009 at 1:05 pm
how funny, i just found your blog. i’ve been a vegetarian almost 8 years now. i cut off all things refined and processed on august 3rd for several reasons (experimental, mostly). I was only going to go 30 days but i have found (as will many doing your challenge i’m sure) that i have no interest at all in going back and the idea of feeling unhealthy again repulses me. how sweet is it that eating what God has created and blessed, in its purest form, satisfies us greatly and causes us to worship Him for what He has made! i hope your participants experience worship and gratitude as a result of this!