I’m an incredibly stubborn person.  At times my strong will serves me well, but often it gets in my way.  Take green drinks, for example. They’re nothing new, right?  People have been juicing and drinking and boasting about their benefits for years, right?  Perhaps it has something to do with living in Marin County, California and subsequently being surrounded by both health and fitness conscious people- but I’ve noticed that practically everyone and their brother seems to be drinking green these days.

Oh, VJB!  I just had the best green smoothie at Whole Foods.  You have to try it!

Oh, VJB!  I just made the best green drink in my Vitamix.  You have to get one!

Oh VJB!  I just juiced my entire dinner.  I may never chew food again!

Blah… blah… blah…

And because of this static, I had vowed to never juice a meal… EVER.

It’s funny that I’m so put off by nutritional trendiness at this point in my life.  After all, I was a vegetarian for 18 years and vegan for 5 of those.  When I lived in suburban Massachusetts, I owned a juicer called The Juice by OJ (yes it was named after Mr. Simpson and yes it was before he murdered his wife) which I religiously used until I killed it with a particularly tough batch of carrots. I’ve also Master Cleansed more than a couple of times and even tried being Macrobiotic.  I shop at farmer’s markets, have a local produce box delivered to my home and buy farm-raised/hormone free meat.  Obviously, I’m not opposed to the idea of thoughtful consumption.  But this green drink thing had really gotten under my skin until…

I took a good long look at myself in my mirror (while I was putting on make-up…it takes a while, I’m pretty old) and decided I needed to tweak a few things in my life, one of them being my diet.  While I eat healthfully most of the time, I do have quite a few vices in which I’ve been indulging less moderately than is good for me.  Also, I’ve learned over the past few months that one cannot eat like she is marathon training if she is not in fact training for a marathon.  Since I’m a glutton for punishment, confronting my nemesis seemed like a good place to start.  I loaded up my Ninja NOT Vitamix Blender with spinach, kale, mango, cucumber, protein powder and water and TA DA- my new favorite post-workout meal.  The best part is I can blend it a lot if I’m too lazy to chew, and just a little if I’m feeling that my jaws and teeth are up for a challenge.  So if you’re like me and have avoided jumping on the GREEN DRINK TRAIN, I implore you to quit your sneering and grab a purple umbrella straw.  You have to try it!

If you’d like to comment on any of my posts (I’d love feedback) please click on the entry title and you will be taken away from the home page, but will still be able to read the text. There will then be a comment section following the post content. Thanks!