The start of a Smoothie revolution (or tricking myself to eat vegetables)

I really wanted to get myself a smoothie maker a while back but I ended up talking myself out of it because I wanted something that would blend vegetables too and everyone kept recommending ones that cost over €100. I tend to be impulsive with my health kicks so I got bored of the idea once I realised it would involve me saving some money first. Then last week my sister was down for a visit and started telling me about the super cheap one she had gotten in Argos and the amazing smoothies she was making with it. I got very excited but I was also in the middle of all my night shifts so I had to keep reminding myself to go look for it as soon as we were done having coffee. I was in the kind of head space where I was liable to forget my own name if someone didn't remind me (the joys of back to back night shifts).I wanted to get in there while I was still excited about the idea, the one she told me about was only €23 and came with 4 cups, and actually remembered what I was looking for. At that price I couldn't afford to not get it. Unfortunately as it turned out at that price they had completely sold out of it. I left feeling a bit dejected until I decided to go back and see what else they had on offer. While deliberating I found out I was working another night shift so I figured I could afford to spend a bit more on it. In the end I came out with another model of the blender she had told me about for €46.99. Nothing like combating sleep deprivation depression by buying yourself a present.

 I went straight to Dunnes after to stock up on supplies so I could try it out straight away because I am bit of a nerd about my kitchen appliances. By the next day I had already made 3 different kinds of smoothies and I was in love. Now I had briefly gone off the idea of making my own smoothies ( back when I was first contemplating it) because I had read that its not a good idea to blend all your fruit. When you remove the fibre apparently your body digests fruit juice as though it was a sugary drink. However since then I have learned a trick which is to sneak in some vegetables. This is excellent for two reasons, firstly some veg can be better absorbed in a juice but also for a vegetarian I don't eat a lot of veg. Considering I don't eat any meat and put up a fight when eating fish, this is lack of vegetables is kind of ridiculous. Its getting too warm for soups and I just can't seem to find a kind of salad I actually enjoy eating so this might turn out to be just the thing I've been looking for.

 I've had it since last Thursday and I've had at least two smoothies a day so I have already gotten my money's worth. In my food shop last Friday (while incredibly sleep deprived) I bought mostly fruit and veg and it was mainly with my new favourite toy in mind. My smoothie ingredient list so far has consisted of some combination of the following ; Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, kiwis, pears, bananas, cucumber, celery, spinach, kale, avocado, almond butter, ground seeds (sunflower,flax, pumpkin) coconut milk and almond milk. I don't actually put all of those into a smoothie together because that probably wouldn't be very delicious but for example my breakfast one is strawberries, raspberries,blueberries, almond butter, spinach, ground seeds and almond milk. It tastes like almonds and strawberries, yum, but I'm still sneaking in a few extra nutrients. For lunch I make a green one with loads of veg but throw in some fruit to sweeten it and while its not as delicious, it still tastes good and I've had a full bag of spinach plus a half bag of kale since I started my shakes. Now I am not implying I get by on just smoothies because that would be mad but I know I'm getting a lot more vegetables and protein so that can only be a good thing.

 I am still experimenting and I have yet to make a smoothie I haven't been able to finish. I have been playing around with some desert ones like the milkshake I made with berries, coconut milk and nobu which was awesome or one I made tonight I made one with strawberries, kiwi and a fruit tea. It turned out great like a delicious slushee without all the weird chemicals.Maybe in time I'll get bored of it but for now I am all kinds of excited and looking forward to trying new things even if my food shop does go up a little. Sure I'll only be glowing in a few weeks. It's a sure sign or adulthood when you have to trick yourself into eating vegetables or maybe not but surely I get points for trying. 

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