Healthy Start

Everyone knows that they are supposed to eat lots of greens everyday, right? Sometimes, though, you just don't have the time to sit down and eat a salad. You should make this instead: I got the idea from Tasha at Clean Eating Mama blog (original post here) and I love it. I changed the recipe a bit, so here's what I did:

8 oz. almond milk
3 tablespoons flax meal
2 large bananas
3 large handfuls of greens (spinach, kale, mixed baby greens)
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon agave (note about agave at the bottom)
drizzle strawberry syrup (optional, and shouldn't really be in this list)

Place the almond milk, flax, and bananas in your regular old blender and blend. Add your greens and blend until smooth. Add in all your strawberries until completely smooth and taste. If you think it needs a bit of sweetness, add some agave nectar (or maybe a simple syrup if you don't have/don't like agave) and taste again. It should be thick, cold, and taste like strawberries with a hint of banana. You won't be able to taste the greens at all. (I accidentally pu too much flax in mine and the flavor of it over powered the drink so I put in some strawberry syrup. I realize this was a silly thing to do since I'm drinking this for the ton of healthy stuff in it, but oh well; we can't be perfect all the time! =D) Pour it in a tall clear glass, and garnish with a strawberry. It's pretty, tasty, and healthy. You'll have several servings of fruit, a couple servings of vegetables, healthy fats from the almond milk, and plenty of Omega-3s from the flax. Not to mention plenty of fiber from the strawberries and flax. Very tasty.


And look who else liked it!

She mostly just wanted the strawberry, though.
Now, about agave nectar: If you've never tried it, you must! It's amazing stuff. The agave is closely related to the lilly and amaryllis, and the nectar is a delicious sap called aguamiel (honey water.) It is sweet and delicious, and healthier than processed white sugar, especially if you get raw agave nectar. It is a great vegetarian replacement for honey, and some tequila is made with agave. I use it in sweet tea, on pancakes, in coffee, to sweeten up vegetable shakes, etc. It's cheaper than honey, and lasts me a long time. Try it out!