January Challenge ~ Green Smoothies + No Sugar.

Now that the holiday season is wrapping up, it’s time to get back to a regular schedule and stop any over-indulgence that happened over the month of December. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying this time of year – I’ll be the first to admit I love everything about the holiday season, including the desserts and special treats {like my family’s vertical glass Christmas tree filled with red and green M&Ms, and Norwegian potato lefse spread with butter, sprinkled with white sugar, and rolled up into a few delicious bites}.

No matter what, I tend to over-indulge every year during the holidays and need a re-set in the beginning weeks of the new year. Last year, my 2014 re-set involved many healthy soups using new kitchen gadgets that K and I received as wedding gifts. I experimented with a variety of vegetable combinations, and settled on Roasted Carrot & Cauliflower Soup as a favorite.

In 2015, my re-set will involve daily green smoothies {with spinach or kale} and a commitment to avoid added sugars for the month of January. To me, “added sugars” means anything with extra sugar added – desserts, granola bars, commercial coffee creamer, you name it. K is joining me on this challenge, and I’ll be checking in every Monday with a new smoothie recipe. We are committed to drinking an average of five green smoothies every week. Mostly for breakfast, but snack green smoothies count too. For the no-sugar part of the challenge, we still plan to eat fruit and other naturally sweet foods, like dates and figs.

The challenge starts this Thursday, January 1. Leave a comment if you want to join us on a re-set of your own this January!

Here are a few smoothies to get you started:
Green Peach Smoothie
Mango-Banana Green Smoothie
Green Tropics Smoothie
Green Smoothie Base Recipe
Cherry Chocolate Protein Smoothie
“Green” Banana Cherry Smoothie
Five Runner-Friendly Smoothie Recipes

Have a great Monday!