Smoothie Update

I meant to jump on here a few days ago and share an update about our challenge. Oops. Things have been really busy here the last couple days. But here we are, so a little bit about the smoothies and the week.

 

Things have gone really well! I have explored some new smoothie ingredients (no not the cabbage). But I kinda feel like doing the challenged pushed me to add new fruits and veggies to our fridge. It was really exciting to go shopping and have so much colour in the cart, and even more exciting in the morning opening the fridge and choosing what to mix up!

Something I found a big help for busy mornings was prepping the night before. I got the jars clean and ready, the blender out, and prepped some of the fruits and veggies so they were ready to pop in the blender in the morning. We started out the week with 3 smoothies a day, and some healthy snacks. As the week progressed we incorporated healthy meals and focused on including lots of veggies. There were a few moments of weakness, but overall we are pretty proud of the healthy eating choices!

Here is a list of a few ingredients I wouldn't have reached for a week ago, and am so glad I tried!

• spinach, blends well with little taste
• zucchini, blends well
• fresh ginger, grated, gives a refreshing zing
• sweet potato, baked, 1/3 of the potato adds some fibre and tastes creamy (to me)
• baked beets, sweet and provide a brilliant colour
• avocado, creamy, great fats
• hemp hearts, creamy, protein packed

And I will leave you with my favourite recipe from the week, which just happens to be a green smoothie and tastes divine!  

Sweet Green Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• small handful of spinach
• 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
• 1/4 cup of plain greek yougurt
• 1/3 cup frozen bluberries
• drizzle of raw local honey
• grate a little fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• Blend together, and add water to make the consistency you prefer

Happy Smoothie Making friends! What is your favourite recipe?
xox
Margot

DIY Natural Baby Wipes

I've been working recently to rid our home of toxins by replacing personal items we use every day, with homemade natural and healthy versions. I have been replacing items for quite a while, but for time sake I chose to go with natural and safe options available from reputable companies. In the case of baby wipes I really love the Honest Company, but ordering from them regularly was getting a little pricey, and as one of my main goals this year is to spend less I was looking for another option. My cousin mentioned that Wellness Mama had a great blog, with a super simple wipes recipe so I checked it out. I decided to try it myself and was super impressed! I have tweaked the recipe a little for our needs and what I already have in the house.

DIY Natural Baby Wipes Recipe

1 1/3 cup  boiled water, cooled slightly (or distilled if you have it)

2 tsp         Pure Witch Hazel Extract
2 tsp         Aloe Vera Juice

1 1/2 tsp   Castile Soap

12 drops   Essential Oils (I use Lavender, Melaluca, and Orange)

1 roll        Heavy Duty Paper Towels (cheap ones do not work well! :))

DIY Natural Baby Wipes Method

Using a sharp knife cut the paper towel in half. Then accordion fold one half of the paper towel roll and place into a clean and dry reused wipes container.

Combine all the ingredients listed above in a glass jar and mix gently. Then, gently pour the liquid over the paper towels in the wipe container. You may have to flip the pile of paper towels over part way through to ensure the bottom ones get soaked through.

Pull the end of the paper towel up through the hole in the wipes container and use as often as necessary!

This recipe took me only about 10minutes from start to finish. It is super simple and very cost effective. I also love that I know all of the ingredients that are added to the paper towels that will be going on my kids' skin. Wellness Mama has some great points about the scary ingredients that are included in conventional wipes brands, even the 'natural' versions.

Have you ventured into making your own personal care products? I'd love to hear what you make and which recipes you love!!!

Check back tomorrow for an update of our first day of the Smoothie Challenge!!
xox
Margot

Smoothie Challenge

Recently we watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix. We were interested by the idea of Rebooting your body from the inside out, allowing the body to heal itself, and incorporating more micronutrients in our diet. Since we don't have a juicer, we decided to challenge ourselves with smoothies instead of juices.

So here's the plan: 4 smoothies a day, 7 days in total. We will not cut out food completely, but will replace all snack foods with fresh fruits and veggies, and maybe some nuts or seeds for some added protein. We are hoping a the end of the week to feel more energetic, and have made regular habit of incorporating more micronutrients in our diet.

Here we go! Do you juice? Have you done any challenges to change your diet? I'd love to her about it!