A Green Smoothie Kind of Sunday

This afternoon I had some fun with my blender. After hacking up a ripe honeydew melon, I decided to create another green monster! I love coming up with new smoothie concoctions. Not only are green smoothies healthy and refreshing (especially on a day like today, when temperatures neared 90*F), but it's just plain fun to play around with different taste and texture combos.

Today's smoothie was extra green. Not only did it incorporate spinach (the essential green ingredient in any green monster) but I of course had to throw in some freshly cut honeydew melon. Toss in a few more fruits and flavors, including even more green elements, and you have my Sunday lunch! I used some fresh stevia leaves to add a light sweetness, but feel free to substitute the stevia with your favorite sweetener.

GreenGreenGreen Monster

1 cup fresh spinach
1 banana, broken into pieces
1/2 whole lime, peel removed
3/4 cup honeydew melon, diced
4-5 freshly-picked stevia leaves

1/2 cup skim milk
1-2 handfuls ice cubes

Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, or the monster has reached your desired texture. Pour, drink, and feel the extra green-iness refresh you.

Serves 1.

This smoothie really did give me a second wind this afternoon. I was dragging big time -- almost more than my sister-in-law, who was quite rightfully tired after finishing a half-marathon this morning before I even left the house. But after I drank my green monster, sweet from the honeydew and tangy from the lime and super-energizing due to the spinach, I felt revved up! So much so that I set out on a glorious nearly 16 mile bike ride.

Not only did I knock out an incredible ride, but I conquered a huge inspiration of terror -- our hill. I wrote earlier this week about how I tried biking up the incredibly steep hill that the Best Husband Ever and I live near the top of -- and made it! Although the climb is fairly brutal, that's not the most challenging part for me. Instead, it's the downhill that strikes icy fear into my heart. Yesterday I tried biking down and had to hop off and walk a part of the way. Today, however, I made it the whole way down on my bike! Now I just have to work up to getting some speed and I'll be an unflappable bicycle commuter. And I don't know if I would have had the energy or guts to try it in the first place if I hadn't fueled up with the green monster. I guess Popeye knew what he was doing when it came to spinach!