I Love My Body – Green
[Guest Post by Arlene Pellicane] – It was a breakfast appointment with an unexpected blessing. A green blessing!
My husband James and I were at a business breakfast a few weeks ago with a group of realtors–my husband is a realtor–in fact, he sold Renee and Marc their house! Across from me, there was a fit, thin, and very energetic realtor wife.
She happened to be a fitness instructor and as we begin to chat, her enthusiasm for the color green came out!
“In the morning, I take a cup of spinach, a cup of kale, and a cup of collard greens, mix that up with a few grapes for flavor. I drink my green smoothie every morning and I KNOW I’ve had my good veggies for the day. I have so much energy all day long!”
And boy, did she ever!
She was full of energy that morning, talking a mile a minute, with her eyes dancing, and I have a feeling she’s like that ALL. DAY. LONG.
Well, my husband James and I are pretty healthy eaters in comparison to the average American. But these days, that’s not saying a whole lot.
If we were to compare ourselves to Mrs. Green, we would be pathetic little posers!
We have put a little green in our smoothies before–a piece of broccoli to be exact. When you put broccoli in a smoothie, it puts little green dots in the smoothie. If your kids buy that it’s confetti, it works pretty well. Otherwise the little green dots blow your cover.
After talking to our energetic new friend, James and I decided that we should love our body green.
The next day I bought a big bag of spinach from Costco. It’s really inexpensive but we’ve never bought it because who can finish that big bag before it goes bad? James put a few cups of spinach in our smoothie the next morning. Unlike Mrs. Green, we use a lot of fruit to mask, I mean enhance the taste. We use a few grapes PLUS an orange, a banana, and maybe a few strawberries.
We have three kids, ages 2, 5 and 8. The first time they saw the green smoothie, they freaked out.
“That looks gross,” the older kids said.
“Gross,” echoed copycat 2-year-old Lucy.
But they had to drink it up to the last drop and after trying it, they realized it tasted a whole lot better than it looked.
So I’m happy to report that today the green smoothie has become a staple in our household!
Every year, when I see the kids’ pediatrician, I always have the same action step: eat more vegetables.
Now I’m doing a bit better in this arena.
At least we are drinking more vegetables.
After drinking my green smoothie, I do have more energy and feel more satisfied in the morning.
Isn’t it neat how you can meet someone, have a God ordained conversation, and experience life change as a result? Thank you Mrs. Green for being such an enthusiastic health nut at breakfast. Because she actually got James and me to change our behavior and get some more green in our diet.
That not only helps us; it helps our kids.
When you take steps to get more green in your diet, it doesn’t only help you. It helps the loved ones around you to eat healthier too.
Green is a beautiful color–what are you going to have that’s green today? (Sorry, mint chip ice cream doesn’t count…)
Arlene Pellicane has been featured on The Hour of Power, The 700 Club, Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah, Better, and TLC’s Home Made Simple. She is the author of 31 Days to a Happy Husband and 31 Days to a Younger You. Arlene lives in San Diego with her husband James and three children, Ethan, Noelle, and Lucy.
