Getting Back to Healthy

    We like to think of ourselves as being generally healthy people. Mostly I really do think we are. My husband and I rarely go to the doctor, we are not on any daily medications, and we take our vitamins. But this last year has been rough. Nothing really big, no surgeries, no lifelong illness or disease. Just generally rough. We have had recurring, possibly to the point of being chronic, sinus infections, and diarrhea. With 6 people in our house that can be rough.

    I'm not sure my sinus infection ever actually went away. Also a few years ago my sinuses started to drain out my eyes. That's right not just out my nose and down my throat, boogers come out my eyes. Not normal eye boogers you get when sleeping, no all day goop coming out my eyes. Contacts don't like that, and this stuff doesn't come off them very well either. I have had to cut down on how long I wear my contacts, I get about 3 instead of 4 weeks out of a pair.

    What are we going to do about this? Well as I said we are already taking vitamins, maybe we will remember to take them more often. Everyday would be ideal, we take them most days but do forget sometimes. Also getting more nutrients from our food. I like smoothies, I like making them, I like drinking them, i like that my 7 year old, Mia, likes to make them with me. I like that I can put vegetables in a berry smoothie and it still tastes mostly like berries. I like that they give me a boost of energy in the morning and I drink less coffee on days I have a smoothie.

    My husband likes V-8, I'm very glad he does. But I can not drink that stuff. I do not like the taste of tomatoes. If you like tomatoes please do not try to tell me it doesn't taste like tomatoes, it does. He has switched from original to the low sodium. Because let's face it most of us get enough sodium. Also they replace some of the sodium with potassium which many of us do not get enough of.

  We are adding some vegetarian meals into the mix. There are quite a few vegetarian meals we like. We make a delicious veggie curry and serve it with basmati rice. Basmati rice has a lovely nutty flavor that is very complimentary to the curry. My husband makes a great eggplant parmesan. There is an important trick to get that right, because I do not eat anything soggy. I will share some of our favorite veggie recipes soon.

    Today I will share my general smoothie.

    This smoothie Mia and I made this morning. It has spinach, a big handful it gets smushed by the other ingredients, frozen mixed berries and cherries, carrots, mushrooms, chia seeds, flax seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, quinoa and apple juice.

   Sometimes I use a different juice but apple works best if I am sharing with the kids. Some other juices make it too tangy for the kids taste. Sometimes I add yogurt or tofu for a smooth, creamy texture, and extra protein. Now and then I will add a little dark chocolate for a treat!

    What are your favorite smoothie recipes?