Our eating patterns and attraction towards certain foods also shift with the seasons.
We tend to move away from the heartier meals like stews and soups and favor lighter dishes like salads. Eating seasonally and locally is a practice of one of The 8 Pillars to Living a Nutritious Life called LIVING CONSCIOUSLY!
Shopping for in-season foods at your local grocery store is not only cheaper, but fresher, tastier, and more nutritiously packed than shopping for produce that's out of season.
The reason being is that out-of-season produce is typically harvested before it's fully ripened in its environment in order to make it in time to get ripe while its shipped and displayed at the store.
You'll notice that green is everywhere in spring, which is where this simple, smoothie recipe comes from.
I wanted to share this recipe for a Green Smoothie that my clients and I have incorporated into the rotation that is refreshing, light, cleansing, and delicious!
1 handful of kale or spinach
1 handful of parsley
1 Persian cucumber
1-inch fresh ginger
juice of 1 small lemon
1 small green apple
1 TBS hemp seeds
1 cup water
Blend until smooth and enjoy!
Some of my clients LOVE this for their intermittent fasting days because they can sip it all day and "trickle" in the calories on an IF day and still get tons of nutrition.
If you're like most people who are looking to shave off prep-time in the morning, you can always pre-cut, portion, and store the ingredients for this recipe in mason jars, so that all you have to do is unscrew the lid, blend, and enjoy!
Smoothies Coming Out Brown? Here's What To Do
I always encourage my clients to adjust some recipes to suit their palette (as long as it's in line with their nutrition goals).
One of the problems people run into when they try to create their own green smoothie recipe is that their smoothie doesn't stay green, no matter how much spinach or kale they add to the blender.
If you're thinking of modifying this recipe, but want to keep that bright, fresh green here's what you have to remember — color theory.
The reason why your smoothie is likely turning an unappetizing grey or brown is that you're mixing in a contrasting color to the blend. For example, green and red make brown. Green and purple will also make a grey-brown color.
This is why I've opted for a green apple in this recipe, and you'll notice that all the ingredients are either green or yellow.
To avoid mixing up a muddy smoothie, stick to a similar color family of greens and yellows.
Simple Green Smoothie That Packs A Punch
The reason that this Green Smoothie recipe packs such a serious punch is that it nourishes your body with fiber for healthy digestion, essential vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and vitamin C (from the spinach, kale, and parsley) that are needed for nearly all our cellular function.
Ginger is an amazing ingredient that's main active ingredient is gingerol. Gingerol lends its spicy taste, but it's also a powerful ingredient to support healthy digestion as an anti-inflammatory, which is perfect to drink in the morning for priming your digestive system for the day.
Hemp seeds are an excellent source of plant-based protein that's readily absorbed by our bodies. It also contains high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids along with iron, vitamin E, manganese, b vitamins, and zinc. If you don't already have this in your pantry, add it to the list!
Why Our Bodies Love Spring
Spring is my favorite time of the year! We wake up earlier, stay up later, and tend to get more active as the weather warms up and the sun infuses our bodies with vitamin D and our levels of serotonin and dopamine increase.
But the BEST part of spring leading into summer is the seasonal summer fruits starting to show up in the markets! Our local produce market is famous for the mountain of blueberries that makes its first appearance in May.
This week, I brought home the first stone fruits of the season, a few yellow peaches and some white peaches. They are not at their peak yet, but the kids were super excited to have the first peaches and watermelon of the season and they were gone in about 1 day!
Let me know when you think of spring, what fruit or vegetable are you most excited about?
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