My Morning Routine

I hesitated to write this blog. I felt people will think I am crazy. I decided to go ahead, because I made the choice when I started this blog, to give it my all. Even if that meant opening myself up for judgement. I feel it is important to share what I do and why I think it is important because someone else might be interested.

With that said, here goes.

I wrote about my morning smoothie last winter and have since made some updates. I will share those with you, but first off I want to say, this truly works for me! I try very hard to take care of myself and make healthy choices, so can’t say it is all because of these particular choices. I can tell you I can’t recall the last time I was physically ill. Honestly, way too long ago for me to remember. I know for a fact, I have been in my current position at work for two years and have not been sick once since then and probably longer than that. So what am I doing?

Check out my blog from last winter to see what my starting point was. Why did I decide to change anything? The more I have read and learned, I just knew there was more I could do to better fill me up and continue to give me health benefits. So, this past May, I made some changes. Here is my ‘recipe’ I now am following. I never measure, usually just eyeball in the blender. I tried really hard to make one and measure what I feel I do on a typical morning.

Morning Smoothie

Ingredient	Benefit
Frozen Fruit ½ c	Nutrient Packed Antioxidants
Plain Greek Yogurt ⅓ c	Probiotic Dairy/Calcium Protein
Oats ¼ c	Fiber
Ground Flaxseed 1 T	Fiber Omega 3 (6 x what is in fish) - good for poor memory, cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis
Aloe Vera ⅓ c	Healing properties (75 nutrients and 200 active healing compounds) Helps with constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, heartburn, ulcers, kills germs and fights disease
Green Superfood Powder 1 T	Green food blend (wheatgrass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, spinach, chlorella, broccoli) Antioxidant blend (acai, maca, carrot, beet, raspberry, rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry) Fiber blend (flax seed powder, pectin fiber) Digestive enzyme/active culture and probiotic blend (l. acidophilus, alpha/beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase) Other ingredients - peppermint, silica, Siberian eleuthero root
Protein Powder ⅛ c	Protein
Agave Nectar 1 tsp	Raw sweetener

 A few more details.

• You can buy flax seeds, but the true benefits come from the ground version. I started with seeds, because that is what I had at home and they do grind some with the blender, but the true powder works best.

• The aloe vera probably scares some people. When I first bought this I bought a brand that was pretty well known and I couldn’t even finish my first smoothie. It was awful. I talked to some different people and was recommended George’s. It is perfect. It has no taste at all. I know you probably don’t believe me, but it really just acts like water in my smoothie.
• For the green powder, I have found adding just under what the recommended scoop is makes a huge difference in the consistency of the smoothie. I can’t even taste it is there now.
• Since I get my smoothie started (adding the fruit and yogurt to my blender) the night before, I lose that icy consistency. I just add some crushed ice to bring me back to that cold true smoothie temperature the morning of. 
• I still stick with my handy Hamilton Beach personal one cup blender to make my smoothies. This blender really does help make this a successful part of my work day.

I would like to say that is all I do, but I do one other thing each morning.

Prior to my smoothie, I actually drink about 5 oz of Kombucha. What is heck is Kombucha? Kombucha is a carbonated, fermented tea drink. It is full of antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes and probiotics. Its most well known health benefits are it is detoxifying, metabolic balancing, aids in digestion, and immune enhancing qualities. If you decide to try this drink, it is important to do your research. Everything I read said to start slow so your body can adjust. You can then eventually work your way up to multiple ounces, multiple times a day.  

You can buy Kombucha in pre-mixed bottles similar to soda, juice, sports drinks, etc but Zach and I purchase ours from kegs at Whole Foods. They work with a local company and you purchase a growler (64 oz) the first time and then just pay for a refill the following visits. Each week they have two flavors to choose from, such as red berry, papaya, elderberry grape, ginger, strawberry lavender, grape, original, etc.  

I am not this adventurous, nor do I have the time, but one blogger I follow has made her own. Check that out here.

Do you think I am crazy yet?

So to summarize, I start out my morning with a lot of liquids. I sometimes feel like the cup lady. Five ounces of kombucha and a twelve ounce smoothie. I usually fit a coffee in and then move to water for the rest of the day - and I mean a lot of water!!

I am not perfect. I struggle daily with stress management and balance in my life, and to me those are active components of a healthy lifestyle, so please understand I am not trying to say how perfectly healthy I am!

What healthy choices do you make to start your day?

Update: I now use maple syrup or honey instead of agave nectar and have stopped the protein powder.

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~Ashley