Green Smoothies

I'm really excited to blog about a new passion in my life - Green Smoothies! I've been drinking them since Christmas and I absolutely love them. For the past year or so I've been feeling extra tired, draggy, stressed etc.. I just wasn't feeling the way I knew I should feel and the way I wanted to feel. I considered myself in farely good shape - I exercised regularly, I don'g binge on junk food and I'm at my correct weight. I couldn't figure out I why I always felt yucky??? So when I asked my friend Stephnie to teach me about Green Smoothies (for the past 6 months I have been in awe of the transformation that occured in Steph with her drinking Green Smoothies). I instantly knew this was what my body was needing. Lots and lots of vegetables and fruits And Green Smoothies were the way I could accomplish this!

This is the book that Steph told me to get - it explains in detail all about Green Smoothies, how to make them, what's the best ingredients etc.. To sum it up quickly, I have a blender that makes two quarts. Scott and I each drink a quart a day and I usually can get Jake and Court to drink about a cup a day. I put 2 1/2 cups of water in my blender, then I fill the entire blender with spinach and kale or collards etc.. Then I add about 4 fruits, my favorites are oranges, mixed berries and bananas. I also like pineapple, apples, mangos - you get the picture. Usually what ever I have in the house goes in my blender. And get this, it actually tastes pretty good. (I also add chia seeds, alo vera, lemon peels, flax oil, etc.. but you don't have to, it's just an extra step if you want to).

When Steph made me my very first green smoothie, I loved it instantly but I got a little depressed when I found out that the blender that I needed was a Vitamix and they are $400.00. (The Vitamix Blender can blend it down so much that you can drink your smoothie with a straw - amazing!!) Scott thought I was crazy when I approached him about getting this blender (The Blendtec blender is also really good). But after testing a neighbors out and watching demonstrations on You Tube I had him sold - but still, $400.oo is a lot of money especially for a blender. Thankfully Christmas was right around the corner and with my family and Scott's family giving me money I was able to buy one. (Not only does this blender make the best green smoothies but it can make soup, awesome shakes, I even have the recipe for Orange Julius, it's honestly the coolest blender ever.)

I can't express enough about how much I love my blender. I honestly use it at least once a day but usually two or three times a day. (The Vitamix Blender comes with a 7 year warranty).

After the shock of the price of the blender I also was worried that it would be expensive to buy all the fruits and vegetables but in all honesty it hasn't been. Every 2 weeks I buy a Bountiful Basket for $15.00 and it gives me enough fruit and vegetables to get me through 2 weeks. The only extra purchase I buy is Spinach from Cosco - a bag of spinach is $4.oo and it lasts me for one week. So I've only had to pay an extra $16.oo a month for spinach and then I also buy a large bag of mixed berries that lasts me a whole month. I've noticed that because Green Smoothies are so filling, Scott and I are actually eating less food so it seems to balance its self out. I'm also wasting less, as soon as my bananas start turning brown I peel them and put them in the freezer. Or a few weeks ago Winco had a huge box of oranges for sale- as soon as they started getting a little old I peeled them and stuck them in the freezer. In the summer it will get even more cheaper as I'll be able to grow almost all of the vegetables and then I'll freeze them to use throughout the year. So if any of you want to start drinking Green Smoothies please don't worry about the extra cost because there really isn't one.

So now it's been a month since I've started drinking my quart a day of Green Smoothies and I feel awesome. So far these are my results...

-I have more energy

-I hardly crave sugar, fats or carbs (this is crazy because I love carbs)

-My skin has become less oily

-My hair has grown a lot

-My stomach is sastisfied throughout the day - I'm no longer thinking of food all the time or feel hungry all the time

- I've lost 1 pounds (I'm not doing this diet to loose weight but they say that most people who drink Green Smoothies will lose weight) but mostly I feel like I've shrunk. My arms are smaller, my stomach is smaller -in all honesty I just feel better in my skin.

-I feel happier and I feel like I have more patients.

And, this is all in just one month, so I'm excited to see what the future holds for me. I do have to confess that the entire month I've been drinking Green Smoothies I've only exercised maybe 2 or 3 times. But starting this week I'm going to get back to exercising 4 times a week so I'm excited to see the results of exercise combined with Green Smoothies.

The lady on the left is the author of the Green Smoothie Diet. Her name is Robyn Openshaw but she goes by Green Smoothie Girl. She was recently in Ogden for a small seminar so my friends and I of course had to go and meet her. (She posted this picture on her blog).

As you can tell I'm super excited about Green Smoothies, I could go on and on and tell you so much more about them but don't worry, I won't. Lol!!! I just have to say that what I love most about Green Smoothies is that it's common sense - our bodies need vegatables and fruits. I think the Green Smoothie girls says it best - "It's a natural program for Extraordinary Health"!!!

*Thank you Steph - for everything.

New Years - 2011!

About five years ago I was a New Years Humbug. I didn't like New Years at all, I always felt like there was too much pressure to have fun and you could never live up to it. But everything changed when we started our annual New Years Party with the Cole's. It probably sounds boring to others- but it works for us and we have a blast. We put the kids to sleep upstairs and the rest of the night we eat food, play games and we laugh - a lot. This year Laura and Tyson joined us and this added to the fun!!

Can you say 'Yum'!!

Along with our huge pizza we had chicken wings, chips and dip, cookies, apple dip, etc.. you get the picture. A party isn't a party unless you have a ton of food!!! And we did!

The majority of the night we played the Kinect - it's a blast using your body as the controler and it's a great work out!

As you can tell we laughed - a lot!!

Our favorite was the Dance off - who would of thought we were all such awesome dancers!

After midnight Elise passed out on the floor - like literaly fell asleep like this. We couldn't stop laughing.

Happy New Years!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

I can't believe it's almost the middle of January and I'm now posting about our Christmas. Sadly I don't have an excuse other then I haven't felt like posting. I don't know if you call it the Christmas blues, my sister Laura going home blues or just the blues in general??? What ever I've been feeling lately hasn't been much fun but thankfully I've started to feel better. Yesterday I finally took down Christmas (I've never, ever left it up this late)!!! Today my goal is to catch up on my Christmas Posts. So here we go...

The morning before Christmas Eve we went to the Crest Wood Care Center where all of the kids in Scott's family put on the Nativity for the elderly. This is our 2nd year doing this and it's become one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I'm hoping that even when Scott's Mom is released from her calling we will still be able to find away to continue this tradition. I can't think of a better way to begin Christmas then to serve and bring joy to these amazing elderly people.

Courtney was given the part of the Star and she took it very seriously. Even when all of the Angels had wandered off or had sat down she continued to stand holding her Gold Star high in the air. She was darling.

Jake and Tyty were the Shephards and they too did a fantastic job.

Here's our little Star.

Christmas Eve

We started off Christmas Eve with our family tradition of breakfast at Jeremiahs. Yum!! We then went and saw the movie 'Tangled' with all of my family, arriving home from the movie we got the best Christmas Eve present ever - My sister Laura, Tyson & Lydia - all the way from Oklahoma!!!

This year we celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents house - Along with my Mom & Dad and my two sisters and their families we also had my Aunt Gayla & Uncle Terry who are from Canada but serving an LDS mission on Temple Square. We had my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jim and the Osenbach family. My sister Heather invited one of her friends to join us and Justin invited one of his friends - so we definitely had a full house but it was a blast!

Scott relieved to have his favorite Brother in-law back (if only for a few days)!!!

Family Fun!!!

Playing Christmas Eve Games!!!

Hyper Jake & Logan

Our annual Christmas Eve concert. Courtney singing 'You Better Watch Out'.

Heather and Justin singing a medley of Christmas carols.

I can't remember what Lydia sang but I do remember it was darling.

The kids putting on the Nativity for the adults.

New Pajama Picture

Jake and Coco with Santa's cookies.

Christmas Day

Jake woke up at 7am Christmas morning and Scott made the not so great decission to wake up Courtney (thankfully she took a nap later in the day).

Our kids are at such a fun stage. Jake believes 100% and Courtney's learning and figuring out the whole Christmas thing. It was magical watching them come down the stairs and seeing their presents.

Jake with his presents.

For the entire month of December when anyone asked Courtney what she wanted for Christmas she would rattle off a list of about 15 or more things she wanted. Each time it was always the same so I have to admit I was a little worried what she would do when she realized that she didn't get everything on her list. As usual my worrying was for nothing because she did nothing and said nothing. She was just so excited over what she did get. Silly me.

Jake asked Santa for Indiana Jones II X-box game. Jake also received a motorized scooter, Uno Atack, cars, a sports water bottle, clothes, How To Train A Dragon DVD, etc...

Courtney asked Santa for Crowns, necklaces and bracelets. She also received a doll, stroller, barbie priness, barbie princess movie, new clothes, make up, a doll bath, doll bed. (I love garage sales!!! lol!)

Scott loves to buy one big surprise gift all by himself, this year he bought us the Kinect. For my Aunts who probably have never heard of it, it's like the Wii but without the controls. The computer scans your body and what ever you do the person in the game will do. It's really quite fascinating to see how far technology has come. Jake was so surprised and so excited. The best part is when your kid is playing video games he's not sitting on the couch he's running, jumping and always moving. Some of the games are seriously a work out. My favorite game is the Dance Revolution. So much fun!!! (but that's a whole other post).

After opening presents at our house we headed to my parents house to open more presents.

I love this cute picture of my Mom & Dad.

Christmas Fun! On the top right hand side is a picture of my Christmas present. A Vitamix Blender!! (see future post)

Logan also received a scooter. I can't believe how beautiful and warm Christmas Day was!

My Aunt Beverly sent us these Canadian Mittens. They are the exact mittens that were used at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver Canada. Thank you Aunt Bev, they are so awesome!!!

I'm sad to say that I didn't take a single picture of Christmas at the Coles. After a yummy lunch at my Mom's house we went to Scott's parents house where we spent the rest of the day and evening with Scott's family. I guess I had gotten so use to Laura taking all of the pictures that honestly it didn't even cross my mind to get my camera out. How pathetic eh!!

Anyway, we had a fabulous Christmas with the Coles. Like always it was noisy, crowded and hectic but the food was delicious and it too was a blast!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Fun Christmas Pictures

These are some fun pictures that Laura took while she was visiting. The kids had so much fun with Laura and of course with their cute and aroable little Lydia. She is defintely a doll. We miss them so much but we're very grateful for the week and a half we were able to spend with them.