Cucumber Smoothie Recipe

My morning smoothies come into existence from two main things:  time and available ingredients.
My hubby is the grocery shopper (can I get an Amen?!) so smoothie ingredients are not on the "regular" list unless I make a special request.  I've been a total slacker in the meals department lately and have been winging it with the bare essentials for weeks and weeks.  Luckily, my daughter has started some health kick with her friends and has been tagging along with dad on grocery nights.

She takes fruit infused water bottles to school every day and makes herself a healthy lunch and snacks.  Thankfully, I've been able to hijack some of her ingredients for my smoothies! Ha!  Unfortunately, the only green thing she bought this time was cucumbers and avocados.  But fortunately, I've learned that cucumbers are AWESOME.

I threw half of one in my smoothie earlier this week and really enjoyed the crisp, fresh taste.  This morning, I had a few extra minutes to throw another together and used up some more of her ingredients (shhh) plus a few of my own non perishable ones. It was delicious!

Cucumber Fruity Smoothie
1 banana
3/4 cucumber
few strawberries
few raspberries
1 cup of pineapple
2 figs
chia seeds
ice


I knew cucumbers had some healing anti inflammatory benefits.  I've seen them commonly at the spa sliced in water for drinking or heard of slices over the eyes to reduce swelling.  With all my exercise, I thought I could certainly use some of that anti-inflammatory action on my sore muscles.  Can't hurt right? Simultaneously yummy and healing?  Can't beat that!  

I decided to look them up and learn more about cucumbers and what else exactly they are known for. I found that they are a one of the world's healthiest foods! They're full of vitamins and minerals and are not only anti-inflammatories but also anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, great for skin and hair, aids good breath, rehydrates and even promotes joint health!  There are tons of articles out there (two of which I've linked) noting all of their wonderfulness.

I think I will keep these on the "regular" shopping list because in a pinch, they can make a refreshing smoothie or put a pep in a glass of water while reaping the rewards of all the benefits they have to offer.  I've found lots of easy recipes where we can quickly incorporate a summer salad with our dinners too!

Follow me on Pinterest if you've haven't yet to see what recipes I'll be pinning later to try out.

Happy Wednesday all and don't forget to keep moving!

Valerie :)

New year, new you happy you.

It's that time again where we tear out the last page of the calendar and start anew. The gym gets crowded, the 20% off Elfa sale at the Container Store goes over like Black Friday, social media is all abuzz with motivational fresh start mantras regarding your mental, physical and emotional state and the ads to a "new, better you" pop up everywhere whether for weight loss, botox, tanning or laser hair removal.

It seems that everywhere you turn, someone it trying to help improve you and your life or lifestyle. How to organize your life, quit smoking, get a new job, get your finances in order...all the answers seem to be thrown at you at the beginning of the year. Do we really go into such disarray throughout the year that we need that much fixing?

And why do we feel the need to get it ALL fixed at once? It seems awfully overwhelming.

I am not one to ever set Resolutions because I know all too well what their success rates are. Rather, I set goals for myself for things (or just one thing) that I'd like to work on for ME. There is no magical thing that happens at 12:01 on 1/1 so I loosely start thinking about it in the first couple of weeks of the year. This year, I have suggested to my family that we should create a goal board with all of our goals, mainly family goals.

It initially sounded like a chore. And admittedly, when I have to come up with work goals, I moan and groan too. There never seems to be any fun in setting goals other than the fact that meeting them gets you paid a bigger bonus. Am I right?

So what's the incentive to doing this at home? Well, having your opinion on family decisions count for starters. Getting to look forward to doing things together and working together to do it is a pretty good reason too. The sense of accomplishment you get from achieving a goal is pretty sweet and doing so as a team should make it that much sweeter.

We haven't quite "set" our goals yet but things we've tossed around is deciding when and where we would travel to as well as the planning of said voyage. DIY house projects are also on the table for discussion. Laying tile, painting, landscaping or simply moving furniture around and refreshing a room with new plants, art and window coverings could be an option too. As "head" of the healthy committee in our house, I vote for picking a goal to keep us all active and eating better (and at home). Minimizing our restaurant visits by pre-planning meals is HUGE on my personal list but by incorporating everyone else in the "active" part, I think the whole family will become more aware of how important nutrition comes into play with staying fit. 

We have already dabbled in fitness challenges together so keeping with this and getting outdoors weekly *should* be totally doable. Right?! I have many more ideas (entertaining more, volunteering in service projects, races, etc) but I don't want to over commit the family and set them (us) up for failure. Ahem. So, family, let's keep our goals ATTAINABLE. Let's just plan on having something to show for 2014 as an accomplishment that made us ALL happy.

Looking back at 2013, those accomplishments were not in the form of house projects, weight and honestly, I couldn't remember what our nutritional intake was (other than it was not in our kitchen)-- although a little of all of that did occur too. I can, however, say that the memories of spending time together whether in a rented Suburban driving across the Southwest or more simply when attempting a yoga challenge and having the family join in like circus clowns, are priceless. Those make me smile and warm my heart. I look forward to a lot more of those in 2014. :)

 Happy New Year!

 ~V