So the holidays are over (*takes deep breath*), which is always a little bittersweet because while I love spending time with family, eating good food and pounding wine, after two weeks straight of it, your body will start to reject you. I swear I think it took me a full two more weeks to start to feel like a normal human again. Assuming that this struggle is not just related to me, I figured I’d share me and Andrew’s go to smoothie recipe to help everyone reset after the holidays.
So we actually have this for breakfast every morning and have for about 3 straight years now but don’t get too impressed, it’s one of the few things Andrew and I do for our own health on a consistent basis. That being said, it is a really good start to the day and all in one swoop knocks out a bunch of servings of fruits and veggies and has the added bonus of healthy fat from the flaxseed. I used to put hemp seeds in there as well but I’ve been rather short on funds lately and trying to cut back to $12.00 packs of seeds.
There’s another plus side for you guys that comes with the fact that I’ve been doing this for 3 years, this recipe has been rather perfected to taste really really good as well. The apples and pineapple add a sweetness without being overwhelming and the pineapples add a creaminess. The ginger and cayenne give it a kick and the lemon adds a freshness. Don’t sleep on the ice either, it’s best when it’s really cold.
So let’s get back to talking about the holidays for a bit because I always get a little bit sad after the holidays. I think it’s because my seasonal depression just hits full force after the holidays are over, in my humble opinion they just come too early in the year and then you’re just left with 3 more months of snow and cold and darkness. This year has been particularly difficult for me because I had to work remote through the holidays which was stressful.
Basically though, I didn’t get any true relaxation over the holidays almost at all. So I wanted to talk about three things that help me reset without actual time off when I start to feel like my life is spinning.
The first is clean my house, it might seem counter intuitive to clean up to help you relax, but there’s seriously nothing that helps me feel back to normal like having my laundry done, clean sheets and a floor I can actually see. I doesn’t have to be perfect either, I’m not saying go through and de-clutter. I just do the dishes, clean the counters, do the laundry AND put it away, that last step is the most important in my personal life.
Second is, I like to make a list on Friday before I leave the office of everything I have to do the following week and put stars next to what’s most important. Then I leave it at the office, get in my car and blast rap music all the way home. Knowing that I did a full evaluation of the week ahead helps me literally leave all that shit at the office until Monday.
Third, I set a minimum of 4 hours aside on Sunday to do something that I personally love. For me, at the end of Sunday I like to shower, meditate for about 15 minutes, make a drink and watch about 2-3 hours of good tv. Not office or always sunny re-runs like I do all week, usually something I haven’t seen before though admittedly I am currently rewatching Game of Thrones as we all should be, April 14th baby! This one could look different for you, maybe you read, maybe you drink tea, work out, or just go to bed mad early.
I’m not an expert on life advice, I spend most my time stumbling through trying to figure out what works and after 30 years I still don’t have it. But I hope that this helps you even a little, and if it doesn’t , at least you have this rad smoothie recipe.
Lots of Love,
Jackie
- 1 packed cup kale, washed and sliced
- 1 packed cup baby spinach
- ½ cup water
- 1 apple
- ½ cucumber, seeded
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and diced
- 2 tbps flax seed meal
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- ½ lemon- juice
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 5 ice cubes
- Add the kale and the spinach to the bottom of a high speed blender. Pour the water over the greens. Then add in the apples, cucumber, ginger, and flax seed meal.
- Top with the frozen pineapple and ice cubs and then squeeze in the lemon juice and sprinkle the cayenne if using. Blend on high until smooth. You may need to run it a few times. If you have a mid-grade blender, blend the greens with the water first, then add in the remaining ingredients.
