Friday Favorites: Darn Good Blue-Green Smoothie

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

I really dislike fad diets. Over the years there have been so many crazy weight loss schemes with a majority of them not based in health and nutrition. Sure, you may lose weight if you remove all carbohydrates, persist on mainly juice or restrict yourself to 600 calories a day but are you healthy? Most definitely not. When I was younger I tried many fad diets. I have followed Slim Fast, attempted the cabbage soup diet (my goodness, the gas!), cut out all fat, cut out all carbs and even horribly failed at a juice cleanse that ended in me eating a dirty burrito in desperation and feeling horribly sick. Looking back on all this, I shudder to think the kind of damage I may have done to my body.

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

The root of all of this has, for me, come down to body image and self-acceptance. For most of my life I have felt like my self-worth, desirability, success and happiness is a direct result of my appearance and, more specifically, how thin and beautiful I am. Although I know these things are not related, it is still hard to shake. Even at my thinnest (a size 0-2) I was horribly unhappy and my life was spiraling downward. I was in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. I worked out 3 hours and ate only 600 calories daily and no carbs. I did this because the man I was with told me that he could see fat on my body and if I didn’t lose it he would be embarrassed to be in public with me.

As a result of this constant distress, I took to binge-eating and then punishing myself for it afterward. I was lucky enough to get out of that situation but the lingering damage did not help my already existing body image issues and my awful relationship with food. One of the reasons I started this blog is to help myself stick to a regimen. Before all this, in my early 20’s, I had lost 35 pounds on the Weight Watchers plan and learned a great deal about healthy eating and nutrition. My problem was not a lack of knowledge but a lack of control. Control over how I feel about myself, where my worth comes from, control over my life.

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

I’ve found it extremely difficult to stick to a weight loss program over the past several years but I could not understand why. It’s only recently that I’ve realized I have to fix my body image issues first. Now my focus is on being healthy and feeding my body the right nutrients while trying to repair my negative body image. So yes, losing weight is a good thing, but being healthy is more important. And part of being healthy is having love for myself.

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

Normally, I would start the day with my Powerhouse Breakfast. However, lately with my new sense of well-being, I’ve felt like a bit of a change so I started making smoothies. This Friday Favorite is dedicated to my health and happiness and this smoothie is my favorite because it is packed full of nutrients and, well, it’s just darn good! This is the perfect thing to sip on while reading my emails in the morning or taking photos for my next post. Plus, it starts off the day on a good foot and reminds me to love myself and focus on my health first. I may have a difficult hill to climb in overcoming my issues but each day gets a little better and, well hey, I like a challenge. Cheers to that!

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 1 • Serving Size: 1 smoothie • Weight Watcher Points+: 5*

Calories: 339 • Fat: 13g • Carbs: 58g • Fiber: 14g • Protein: 7g

Sugars: 30g • Sodium: 51mg • Cholesterol: 0mg

*I did not include points for 0 Points+ foods. Using the recipe builder this smoothie is 11 Points+

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups fresh kale, leaves only
  • ½ avocado
  • 2 oranges, juice and pulp
  • ½ cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ cup water

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree on high until smooth. Pour into your favorite glass and slurp up the goodness with a big straw.

Darn Good Blue Green Smoothie

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Hi! I'm Barbara and yes, I cook! Welcome to my world of mouth-watering delicious food that you don't have to feel guilty about.
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