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smoothie challenge

Day 14 – September Smoothie Challenge – 7 pounds down so far!

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I’m down a total of 7 pound (4 last week, 3 this week) and I’m so happy. I would have been happy to just have 7 pounds down for the whole month so this smoothie challenge is really working for me.  I’ve found that I’m less winded when going up stairs and my size 14s are getting big.  I can tell that my face is looking less puffy and I find myself craving smoothies.  One of the best “Non-Scale” victories is that I haven’t had any desire for soda in 3 weeks.  I’m loving life right now.

How is our September Smoothie Challenge going for you?  Leave your comment below.

Today’s Recipes – Today I’m featuring some video demos of smoothies

Our Facebook buddy The Raw Mogulista™ prepares her Raspberry Mango Smoothie

Ginger Snap Smoothie

Frozen Mocha Protein Shake – Pre-Workout Smoothie with added caffeine

Day 13 – September Smoothie Challenge – Focused on my Intention

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On Day 13 of this month’s BWLW challenge, I made a list of my weight loss intentions.  I wanted to refocus on why I’m making all of these positive lifestyle changes to reach my weight and wellness goals.

  • I want to live my best life and make choices that best honor my body and spirit.
  • I want to be an inspiration to others, just as so many women have been bright lights showing me the way on my path to health and wellness.
  • I want to experience a life free from the diet cycle.  I don’t want to have the internal struggle of yo-yo dieting anymore.

What are your weight loss intentions, Ladies?

Today’s Recipes

Load of Berries Smoothie

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup frozen unsweetened pitted dark cherries
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 cup POM pomegranate juice (chill before using)
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup fresh blackberries
She’s Thick Smoothie
  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup raw walnuts
  • 1 frozen ripe banana
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 plum (optional)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of plain soy or almond milk
Melon Lime Smoothie
  • 2 cup cubed honeydew melon
  • 1 cup cubed cantalope
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries (optional)
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • Add 1/4 cup water if too thick to blend

Day 12 – September Smoothie Challenge – Consider Going Vegan

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Hey, Black Women Losing Weight Sistahood.  I hope you’re having a great day.  To recap day 12 for me, I continued to have 2 smoothies per day and fresh veggie juice at lease once per day as well.  As we are on our September Smoothie Challenge, I’m working to go VEGAN.  I’ve been a vegetarian or vegan in the past and I’ve found that it is the best for my body.  I think that more people should consider the vegan lifestyle in terms of eating or at least incorporate parts of the lifestyle (I still wear leather, eat honey, etc…I’m not a complete vegan).  I’ve also found that I don’t have to do as much exercise to maintain my weight loss when I’ve been vegan or vegetarian in the past.  I thought I’d give you a few reasons to consider going vegan or vegetarian since we are all incorporating more fruits and veggies into our diet, two pillars of these lifestyles.

  • Avoid toxins and chemicals that your body doesn’t identify as food.
  • Avoid antibiotics fed to animals.  Over exposure to antibiotics is causing a health issue for some people who’s bodies don’t react to them anymore.
  • Avoid exposure to hormones used to make animals mature faster so that they can fatten up quickly for market
  • Weight loss is typically seen when people adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet.   These lifestyle eliminate many unhealthy foods that tend to cause weight issues.   Sure, people still eat some fried food and un-complex carbs, but as a lifestyle many unhealthy foods are discouraged.
  • Being vegan saves more than 100 animals a year
  • The meat industry causes a lot of pollution in terms of animal waste.  You can help save the environment by eating less meat.
  • Eat less saturated fat that will clog up your arteries
  • Live Longer: Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat. ”People who consume saturated, four-legged fat have a shorter life span and more disability at the end of their lives. Animal products clog your arteries, zap your energy and slow down your immune system. Meat eaters also experience accelerated cognitive and sexual dysfunction at a younger age.”

Today’s Recipes

From Celeb Chef Marcus Samuelsson – Vegan Super Duper Green Kale Smoothie Recipe
  • small bunch of kale (approx 2 cups)
  • 1 kiwi
  • handful of frozen mixed berries
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • juice 1 lime
  • 1/2 cup acai berry juice
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar (or any vegan sweetener)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Simple Honeydew Smoothie

  • 2 cups chopped honeydew melon
  • 1 cup plain almond milk
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 ripe banana
  • honey to taste.
End of Summer Smoothie
  • 1 cup fresh ripe strawberries
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 ripe fresh peach or nectarine
  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Day 11 – September Smoothie Challenge – Busy Busy!

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OMG!! I’ve been so busy at work this week but I’ve been making time for smoothies.  Some of my co-workers have noticed that my face looks slimmer and that I seem to have more energy.  I’ve got that smoothie glow.  LOL  I don’t have anything special to share today, so on to the recipes.

Today’s Recipes

Pear Blueberry Freeze Smoothie

  • 1 diced pear
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (you can also use a low sugar lemon yogurt)
  • 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
  • 1 cup of ice

 Romaine, Apple and Fiber Smoothie

  • 1 cup plain almond milk
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 golden delicious apple (chopped up)
  • 1 cup Romaine Lettuce (if loosely packed use 2 cups, cut in strips for easy blending)
  • 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • ½ cup dried Apricots (optional, soak for 2 hours before using)
  • 1 cup of uncooked steel cut oats

Topical Fiber Smoothie

  • 1 cup Fiber One Cereal
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/4 cup dried coconut (no sugar added)
  • 1/4 cup flax seed (or flax meal)
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 cup of water

Day 10 – September Smoothie Challenge – Add Juice

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I woke up bright and early on Day 10.  My mission: making fresh veggie juice. I’m combining my 2 smoothies a day with juicing to boost my weight loss efforts and increase my detox this month. I’m excited. I was really, really inspired after watching “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead“. It struck a cord with me.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s all about the power of juice fasting and eating nutrient rich foods.  You can watch it for Free online.  I had a smoothie with fresh carrot juice in it in the morning, fresh juice at work during the day and a smoothie for dinner.  I also had some healthy snacks.  I plan to add more juice this month.  Here are some recipes that incorporate fresh juice.

Today’s Recipes:

Green and Blue
Juice:  Put this in your juicer – This juice will be your base
6 carrots
6 celery stalks
2 apples
1 med to large cucumber

Smoothie ingredients:

  • fresh veggie/apple juice you just made
  • 2 bananas
  • 1/cup of frozen blueberries
  • 2 handfuls of cut, pre-washed kale
  • Add 1/4 to 1/2 cups of water if needed.

Orangey Punchy Smoothie

  • freshly squeezed orange juice,
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
  • 1 cup of water

Carrot, Pineapple, Mango Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
  • 1 cup plain soymilk
  • 1/2 of freshly made carrot juice
  • 1/2 cup of pineapple juice (no sugar added)
  • 1 tsp honey

Day 9 – September Smoothie Challenge – Protein Options

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For those of you who are concerned with getting enough protein in your smoothies to balance all the carbs, I want to give you some options.  I’m a recovering vegan (jumped off the vegan wagon a few years back and now I’m back) so I’ve been asked for years and years “What about protein?”.  I think the need for protein has been blown out of proportion.  But let me digress…I’ll post about that another time.

Protein sources you can use in your smoothies:

  • Plain Soy Milk
  • Greek Natural, Plain Yogurt
  • Plain Whey Protein Powder
  • Plain Yogurt – Look for brands with as little sugar as possible.  Stay away from artificial sweeteners.
  • Raw nuts and seeds like almonds and cashews (soak them first for 2 hours to 24 hours)
  • Soy Protein Powder
  • Tofu (Silken is the best for smoothies in my opinion)
  • Brown Rice Protein
  • Hemp Protein

Adding protein can help keep your blood sugar balanced.  Buy plain protein powder  that is as natural as possible.  You can bring in sweetness with other ingredients like fruit, cocoa powder, stevia and honey.

Today’s Recipes

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie – (Add a few ice cubes if you want a cool version)

  • 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter, no sugar added
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 scoop plain protein powder of your choice

PinaCo Protein Smoothie

  • 1 1/2 cups pineapple (frozen or fresh)
  • 1 apple
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 scoop of plain protein powder (half of what would be a normal scoop)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 orange

Tofu Strawberry Smoothie

  • 1/2 box soft/silken tofu
  • 2 cups frozen strawberries
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • 1 cup ice

Day 8 – September Smoothie Challenge – Traveling with Smoothies

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Saturday was a very busy day so I had to take my smoothie with me.  We went to ComicCon in Baltimore.  Maybe, when I reach my weight loss goals, I can go in costume next year.  I could be Storm!  LOL.  If you want to travel with your smoothies, here are some tips:

  • A glass bottle or container is the best way to store your smoothie.  A mason jar will do.  Don’t use stainless steel.
  • Smoothies can leave a good deal of gunk that you’ll have to clean out when the leftover smoothie dries on the inside of the container.  Pick a container that is simple and will be easy to clean.
  • Keep the oxygen out.  Pick a container with a tight seal and fill it as close to the top as you can.
  • Keep it cool.  Use an insulated lunch bag with an ice pack.  You can also substitute ice in your recipe for water you would normally use and use frozen fruit to keep the drink cool longer.

Today’s Recipes:

Mango Strawberry Orange Smoothie – 2 servings

  • 1 orange (peeled)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1 cup ice or 1 cup of water

Cucumber Berry Smoothie

  • Juice from one whole cucumber (med to large)
  • Juice from 3 pieces of celery
  • 1 cup of frozen blueberries
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1/2 cup water

Pineapple Berry Smoothie

  • 1/2 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
  • 1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
  • 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple
  • 1 cup soy milk or 1% milk ( you can also substitute plain greek yogurt and 1/2 cup of water)

Day 6 – BWLW September Smoothie Challenge – I took my own advice

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This post is a bit late because work has been…Crazy as a [beep].  Better late than never.  I’ve got 3 new smoothies recipes for you below.  Check out the previous days posts for other recipes.

I took my own advice from earlier in the week and added 1/2 cup of raw cashews to 2 bananas, water, and 2 cups of strawberries on Thursday morning to make this smoothie.  Yummy and creamy.  In the Nutribullet the cashews were completely broken down, but there were some chunks of frozen strawberry.  I’ll let it blend a little longer next time.

strawberry cashew banana smoothie
Strawberry Cashew Banana Smoothie

Today’s Recipes:

Peach and Avocado Dream

  • 1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
  • 1 pitted peach
  • 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 9 ice cubes

Mango Parsley Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/2 pear
  • 1/4-1/2 cup parsley
  • 1 teaspoon of agave nectar
  • 1 big kale leaf (optional – little extra green)
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Green Energy Smoothie

  • 12 oz of brewed green tea
  • 4 large pieces of kale
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup blueberries, frozen
  • 1/4 cup regular rolled oats
  • 1 handful of almonds
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 Tablespoon wheatgrass powder (optional)
  • 2 Medjool dates, pitted (you can substitute 1 tablespoon of agave nectar)

Day 5 – BWLW September Smoothie Challenge

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Today I’d like to share a short list of benefits that can come from drinking smoothies.

Hydration

If you’ve been drinking at lot of soda and coffee, you may not have been as hydrated as you think.  Most smoothies contain water, ice, dairy or nut milk.  This gives added hydration.  Also, since you’re not eating dry food, your body doesn’t have to pull water out of your system to rehydrate the food to digest it.  Not a replacement for water alone, but much better than processed drinks.

Calcium and Probiotics

If you are adding yogurt to your smoothies, you will not only get smooth goodness, but also calcium and probiotics.  Leafy green veggies like spinach are also a great vegan source of calcium in green smoothies.

Less Excuses for Eating Healthy

Smoothies are so easy to make that you don’t have an excuse for not trying them (unless you have a health issue or food allergy).

  • You don’t have to buy special powders or mixes.
  • You can get great, healthy ingredients at your local supermarket.
  • You can drink them on the go.
  • You can get a mini blender and use it at work.
  • You can combine the foods you like and leave out what you don’t like.

There is no good excuse for not giving it a try.

You Can Get Added Nutrition with Oils and Nuts

Just as many people are surprised that they can add leafy greens and veggies like broccoli to their smoothies, you may be surprised that with a powerful blender you can also add nuts (raw cashews, almonds, macadamia) and oils.  Fats from oils and nuts added to the carbohydrates you already have in your smoothies will make them more balanced in terms of nutrition.  You can also add oils like flax seed oil or olive oil.  A teaspoon or 2 will do.  I suggest cod liver oil or coconut oil as well.  Nuts and Oils are also great ways to add calories to your smoothies in a healthy way.

Today’s Recipes:

Strawberry & Almond (adapted from the NY Times)

  • 1 heaping cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon almond powder (also known as almond flour) or finely ground almonds – (grind them in a food processor first if they are whole)
  • 1 drop almond extract
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup buttermilk (you can substitute a cup of plain yogurt)
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Add ice if desired.  Drink right away.   330 calories; 6 grams fat; 6 grams of fiber

Green Coconut Goodness

  • 1 frozen banana (you can make this with 2 if you like)
  • 2 cups kale (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp flax seed meal (optional)
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (optional)
  • 1/4 cup milk (optional)
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Cashew Kale Shake from Cadry’s Kitchen – Makes 2 servings

  • 4-5 leaves of any variety of kale (without center rib) – about 3 ½ cups
  • 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk  (Can be replaced with any non-dairy milk or water)
  • 1/3 heaping cup raw cashews
  • 2 Tbsp flax seed
  • 3 ripe bananas, broken into chunks and frozen
  • 6 ice cubes

Day 4 – BWLW September Smoothie Challenge – Dealing with Detox

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It’s Day 4!  You’re doing it, Lady!!!  I’m so proud of everyone!  I’m going to share some info about detoxing symptoms today, but first let me give you our new recipes.

Today’s Recipes:  Today’s recipes come from LifeWithNature.com

Flat Tummy  “Rich in digestion supporting ingredients, this smoothie will help prevent bloating and digestive stress that can sabotage your tummy flattening efforts.”

  • 3/4 c. papaya
  • 3/4 c. sliced peaches
  • 1/2 pear, sliced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger
  • 2 mint leaves
  • Water to thin

Skin Saver – “Antioxidants in berries are known to help to fight wrinkles and other skin ageing signs.  Berries are also a great way to control blood sugar that can sabotage your complexion.  This smoothie also contains Omega 3, to fight inflammation, as well as vitamins E and C, both renown to help the skin.”

  • 3/4 c blueberries
  • 3/4 c pitted cherries
  • 5   strawberries
  • 1/4 avocado, peeled and pitted
  • 2 tsp wheat germ (optional)
  • 2 tsp ground flaxseed
  • Water, to thin

Peanut Butter Energy Booster – “This protein-rich and minerals-filled smoothie will give you long-lasting energy.  Cinnamon will help to control your blood sugar so your energy level won’t crash too quickly.”

  • 1 big banana
  • 1 scoop of natural hemp protein powder
  • 2 tsp of natural peanut butter
  • 1 handful of fresh baby spinach
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  • Water, to thin

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Detoxing

A few ladies have expressed concern about not feeling well during the smoothie challenge.  Are you dealing with any of the following symptoms?

  • Sleep issues
  • Skin breakouts
  • Bloating, stomach pains
  • Headaches (common if you’ve been drinking coffee or soda regularly)
  • Strange Food cravings
  • Loose stool and constipation
  • Fatigue
  • Irritable or Emotional
  • Stuffiness and Congestion
  • Flu like symptoms

All of these issues can be signs that your body is detoxing due to all of the fruits, veggies, and clean ingredients that you are eating.  Don’t worry.  This is natural. When you eliminate or cut back on certain foods, especially processed foods, your body is able to switch from processing chemicals and work on the accumulated toxins in your body. Your body use your liver, colon, skin, etc to get the toxins out.  This is great.  You will not only be shedding pounds, you will be shedding toxins.

As the toxins and garbage move out of your body this is what is causing you not to feel well.  Once 3-7 days pass you should start feeling better.  You can slow down the detox if it gets too bad by eating a slice of bread or white rice.  If you have really bad symptoms for more than 7 days, you may want to discontinue the challenge.

As a side note: I must repeat that because of how bodies dealing with illness deal with detox and extreme diet changes, people with diabetes, low blood sugar, kidney disease, liver disease, lupus,  impaired immune function, ulcerative colitis, terminal illness, epilepsy, or other serious health conditions should consult their doctor before going on any type of smoothie challenge, juice fast, etc.