Green monsters and chia seeds....delicious

I've been a terrible blogger. I've been swamped at work and by the time I get home, I cook dinner and go to sleep. I think about blogging a lot, but I haven't done it. I'm a chump. More blogging shall occur.

I follow a lot of health and fitness blogs. It is usually pretty awesome women who eat healthy and creatively and are fit as well. I really thank a lot of them for helping me branch out to try new foods. I've never been shy about trying new things, but reading what these women eats has allowed me to try a ton of new things. The first of those is a green monster smoothie. Green monster smoothies involve raw spinach in the mix of a normal smoothie. Don't freak, you can't taste it. It's delicious and an easy way to get in a serving of vegetables before 9 am. 

It is as delicious as it is weird looking.

I just made one after a long run and here's the recipe I used:

Tropical Green Monster Smoothie

By: Me!

• 2 handfuls of organic spinach
• 2 Tb of chia seeds (more on this later...)
• 1 champagne mango, chopped (any other mango would work)
• 3 frozen strawberries
• 5 frozen pineapple chunks
• 2 Tb shredded sweetened coconut
• 1.25 cups vanilla hemp milk (can substitute regular milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.)

Put the ingredients in the blender in that order (the lighter stuff goes in first so the heavy, frozen stuff weighs it down). Blend until smooth and enjoy!

It's that easy and it's so delicious. It is so easy to swap in and out items. It allows you to be creative and still get in some veggies. 

Okay, so you are probably reading that recipe and going, "What in the heck are chia seeds? You mean like the seeds from a Chia Pet?!" You are darn right I mean seeds from a chia pet. 

Who knew Obama had a green 'fro?!

Okay, so I'm not telling you to buy chia pet kits and use those, but they are the same seeds. Chia seeds are actually extremely healthy and easy to add into nearly every meal. I find myself throwing them into oatmeal and smoothies, but you can add them to salads, pastas, sandwiches, you name it! According to Wikipedia (which the boyfriend said is now actually more accurate than Encyclopedia Britanica, so I don't feel bad using it...), "In a one ounce (28 g) sample, chia seeds contain 9% of the Daily Value for protein, 13% oil (57% of which is ALA) and 42% dietary fiber, based on a daily intake of 2000 calories. The seeds also contain the essential minerals, phosphorus, manganese, calcium, potassium and sodium" (link). Did you just read that? Those stats are fab! 

Overall, I am enjoying the other bloggers teaching me about different and new foods. If you're interested, please check out my blogroll on here to find some of them. And don't forget to try new things, everyone! You never know how delicious they can be. :D