5 of 111: Goal 14

Ah... it feels good to be breaking the blogging silence. I swear that if there were some prestigious award for the least consistent blogger ever, I'd at least be in the running.

It has been nearly a month since I last updated, and a lot has happened since then. I debated lumping everything together in one huge catchall post. However, I figured out that doing that would only further encourage my terribly inconsistent blogging habits. So I'll continue to take it one step at a time...

Meanwhile, though, I have definitely accomplished a goal or two from my 111 in 2011 in the last month! Some of these goals were one and done, while others have become a part of my everyday life. The goal I'm writing about today would definitely fall in the latter category...


You see, when I wrote out my goals for 2011, quite a few of them had to do with living a more healthy lifestyle. It's not that I want to lose weight or trim my figure or whatever people like to do when they're "getting healthy." Rather, I quickly realized over the last year or so how some of my unhealthy habits can negatively impact my life, even if the effects don't show in the weight gain department.

Anyway, in an attempt to be more healthy, one of my goals for the year is to eat 2 servings of fruits and veggies every day. I haven't completely succeeded in this, but I've found a way to make it a lot easier: smoothies. Lots and lots of smoothies.

You see, when I was a kid, I formed a pretty strong adversity toward anything green. I don't go near green-colored food because, frankly, it reminds me of grass and leaves - rabbit food, if you will. In my stubbornness as a child, I refused to eat like a rabbit - I wanted to eat like a man! So the only foods you would ever see entering my mouth were meats, breads, and starches. Life doesn't get any better than a steak with mashed potatoes and corn.

Unfortunately, when I got married, my wife informed me that my love for potatoes and corn doesn't count in the vegetable department. I still argue with her on this, but as any good, loving husband knows when arguing with his wife, victory tends to look an awful lot like defeat. But I digress...

So, like I said, my attempt at consuming more fruits and vegetables has been aided by a simple tool: smoothies. I made it a goal to make a GOOD fruit & vegetable smoothie, and I succeeded! Here's what I use in these concoctions:

One delicious banana

About half a cup of milk and a quarter-cup of apple juice

An overflowing cup of frozen fruit

1.5 cups of frozen kale (or spinach, both are cheap)

A dash of vanilla

A few squirts of honey (very precise, I know)

And there you have it! A delicious, healthy, beast of a smoothie. You can put pretty much anything in these smoothies, so sometimes I'll add some vitamins or protein powder, depending on when I drink it. The color you get is usually a crapshoot, but it's always delicious in the end!

I try to have one of these smoothies everyday. The best part is that they never taste exactly the same as the day before! So go ahead and try it out and let me know how it goes for you!