Niagara Culinary Trail

How to Shop for a Crossfit Athlete

June 25, 2014 By Niagara Brown

We all have at least one person in our life that is a total fitness freak of nature like me. When the holidays roll around, it’s easy to get stumped when shopping for the fitness buff in your life. The whole sweat wicking t-shirt thing is appreciated, but it can be worn out if it’s the only gift you give five years in a row.

Fret no more! Below you will find an eclectic list of some of the top gifts every crossfit athlete would love to unwrap on Christmas morning. Some of these come with hefty price tag but they’re well worth—you’re likely to score a lot of points and have the favor returned with some of these as well.

Perfect Crossfit Gadgets

Garmin Forerunner 10. The Garmin Forerunner 10 is the ultimate sports watch for most any crossfitter. It’s light, it’s comfortable, and it comes equipped with built in GPS and the ability to track pace, distance, and calories burned during your workout.

GymBoss Interval Timer. This compact timer is the perfect addition to any gym bag and can be used as stopwatch to help users blast through workouts, or time intervals of high intensity training. Price: $20.

Crossfit Gear

ErgoBells are an upper body foam tool created to intensify strength training during a swim workout. They look a little goofy but they don’t get waterlogged and are small enough to store in your gym bag. Price: $25.

TriggerPoint Foam Roller. The TriggerPoint Foam Roller is the best gift you could ever give a crossfit runner. It’s lightweight, durable, and the varying widths and densities it is available in can provide you with a perfectly precise massage. These rollers are perfect for rolling out sore muscles, preventing injuries, and improving range of motion. Price: $40.

Joyus At Home Elliptical. ok so your probably thinking this is no good for crossfit workouts and your correct unless you use a full size machine on max!, however I have found this device to be perfect for a really good warm up before the crossfit training session haha your following me now. This is a nifty little machine—much smaller than the average elliptical—that’s guaranteed to keep you moving. Price: $125.

ROAM Folding Yoga Mat. For your Yoga on the go there’s nothing worse than having to lug their pain-in-the-butt mat around campus or to the session it’s an ideal workout mat. The ROAM mat folds into a neat 12 x 12 square that’s easy to carry and easy to store. Price: $24.

SKLZ AccuRoller. Akin to the foam roller, the AccuRoller comes with interchangeable balls used for targeting specific pressure points. This massage stick promotes recovery after a long trail cycling route or an intense crossfit workout—the fact that you can get a deep tissue massage out of it isn’t half bad either. Price: $40.

Gopher Sandbells are a magical cross between medicine balls, kettle bells, and dumbbells. They are sturdy, stretchy, soft, and so much fun to work out with. You can toss them, you can lift them, and do just about any other creative thing you can think of to get the sweat flowing. The price of a Gopher ranges from $10 to $95 dollars; it just depends on the weight.

Crossfit Clothing

Corey Vines Workout Socks are a brilliantly designed quick dry socks that offer optimal heel cushioning, chafing protection, and help prevent runner’s toe. If you have a runner in your life chances are they’ve proudly displayed this condition for you to view before; if you’re not familiar with what I’m referring to, runner’s toe is when your toes get all bruised and disgusting due to irritation from your shoes. It’s nasty. Do the runner in your life a favor and stuff a 3-pack in their stocking this Christmas. Price: $20.

Crossfit Shorts There are so many different options and choices when it comes to shorts however I personally love the Hayabusa range, to keep you up to date I found a site that provides an ongoing top 50 list so choosing any in the top 5 would be a winner click here

Columbia Gloves are soft, warm, and moisture wicking. The gloves even come equipped with a touch-screen compatible thumb that will make shuffling through your play list a breeze. Price: $40.

Cold Gear Under Armour Beanie. This beanie is a gift from the fitness gods when it comes to cold weather training. This fleece hat will keep every winter crossfit athlete warm and dry. Price: $30.

Crossfit Accessories

Action Wipes. Let’s face it, workouts make you stink. Unfortunately, there’s not always time to squeeze in a quick shower when you’re pressed for time. If you’re friends with a fitness buff I’m willing to bet you’ve noticed this problem at least once before. Action Wipes are all natural tea tree and eucalyptus scented moist wipes that are tough on dirt, grime, and body odor. Their safe for sensitive skin too so nobody has to miss out. Price: $25.

This concludes my list of crossfit gifts to give the fitness enthusiast a happy experience this year.

Good Hygiene During Crossfit Training

June 24, 2014 By Niagara Brown

Crossfit sessions are the best place to get fit… and sick. As the adrenaline rushes through your body and you jog towards burning those extra 50 calories, sanitation becomes the last thing on your mind. But while you’re sweating it out on the equipment, your clothes becomes a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria.

Like most of us, germs love warm and cozy places. Crossfit gym facilities, including saunas, locker rooms and swimming pools, are the perfect venues for these bugs to thrive. They are most commonly found lurking on handles, dumbbells and bike seats, crawling all over the shower floor and hiding inside your clothing.

So have you ever wondered where that ringworm came from? Or why you keep getting an Athlete’s Foot? Lack of good gym hygiene practices can lead to regular fungal infections, not to mention aggressive colds and the seasonal flu.

Getting into the habit of the following good hygiene procedures doesn’t entail much effort, but it will certainly earn you the respect of your fellow crossfit friends.

Use Towels

Most crossfit gyms provide members with clean towels at the start of their workout. If not, always take two towels with you. Use one of the towels as a shield against germ-populated surfaces, particularly seats, handles and mats. Don’t use the same towel to wipe down equipment if paper towels happen to be at your disposal. You will need the towel to wipe off your own sweat instead.

Never share towels with a friend. Take a second towel with you if you plan to have a shower after the workout.

Wipe and Sanitize

Wipe down equipment with disinfectant gel and wipes before AND after use. You’ll be doing yourself, and the person who uses the machine after you, a huge favor. Skin infections are easily transmitted through direct contact with a contaminated surface. The worst areas are the handles of some of the most commonly used machines – tread mills, bikes and cross-trainers. Ideally you should also rub your hands in an alcohol-based sanitizer before moving on to another machine.

Cover any cuts or breaks in the skin with a bandage. Do not use saunas and swimming pools if you’ve got open wounds, skin infections, or cold sores. It will make you more susceptible to contracting skin infections from contaminated water.

Watch this video on how to do it correctly

Shower Hygiene is Vital

Who wouldn’t want to indulge in a long cold shower after a sweat-breaking workout? It’s that moment we all look forward to as we push ourselves over the limit on that final machine.

Always wear rubber flip-flops when having a shower – or even if you’re heading to the pool area. Athlete’s Foot is highly contagious if you’re walking around barefoot in warm, humid places. Using an antifungal powder or cream as a prevention won’t hurt.

Use a clean towel to dry yourself thoroughly, especially your feet and between your toes. Do not wear the same socks after a shower. Fungi and bacteria flourish in sweaty shoes and socks. Pack a change of clothes and spare shoes before heading to the gym.

Once you get home, throw all your gym wear, including towels and swimsuits, straight into the washer. Wipe the insoles of your sneakers with a disinfectant. Occasionally wash your shower sandals or flip flops in a bleach solution. You might also want to soak your gym bag in hot water.

Follow Basic Personal Hygiene

Even the most obvious sanitary practices tend to be left out. Here are some other gym hygiene tips:

Don’t go to the gym if you’re not feeling well at all. Your blood might be pumping for some exercise, but you must be considerate of others.
Wash your hands regularly and properly, and even more frequently if you’re visiting the gym during influenza season.
Do not share or borrow personal care products, like brushes, body creams, deodorant, soap, combs and razors.
Don’t leave any sweaty gym wear in your bag. It’s true that the least thing you feel like doing after an exhausting workout is washing your dirty tracksuit, but you wouldn’t want your gym bag to become a petri dish for germs either.
Avoid touching your face while you’re working out.
If you’re drinking from a plastic bottle, do not reuse without first rinsing it in hot water. Bacteria build up in unwashed plastic bottles, particularly around the rim and the mouth. Preferably you should use stainless steel bottles.
Choose the right crossfit gym. It’s always a good idea to visit the gym and observe its level of cleanliness before applying for a membership.
Above all, do not hesitate to approach the gym management if you need to report poor hygiene practices at the facilities.

Crossfit and Healthy Food Planning

June 23, 2014 By Niagara Brown

Everything I have spoken about so far has been about food and nutrition these are excellent ways to get started when it comes to changing your life around and loosing weight if that’s you goal, however another big part of my life is fitness I love a wide range of sporting activity’s that include: football, soft ball, swimming and cycling.

Over the past 3 years I have taken part in a workout or fitness activity called crossfit and to say it has taken my fitness ability to a new level is an understatement, crossfit training is any and every workout, sport and exercise combined into one tough training session the idea is instead of just running or only weightlifting, playing soccer or only ever doing swimming you do a mixture of anything and everything making you better, stronger and defiantly a lot fitter.

In this post I want to talk about crossfit and food in fact this entire site is going to be about food and crossfit so if a video exists that I think is relevant to either one I will most likely post it, if there is a cool article with helpful info I will make sure you can find it and I am also here to help so if you have any questions about crossfit and healthy food please message me.

Ok a very cool video example I found yesterday during a search of the you tube demonstrating how to get organised when it comes to your weekly shop. check out the video below and I will give me opinion shortly afterwords.

Ok so we see at the start this is a mission of some kind and I do very much like there approach, so if you want to give this a try you will need:

1. a shopping list for a weeks worth of food

2. transport

3. money

That’s it you are good to go however you may want to think about what you are buying before rushing off spending money like a crazy fool.

In the video are two crossfit members, there mission is to do this process quickly but the main aim here is to ensure they are eating the correct foods for the workouts they are doing.
If you are working out at the same level then go for the list they put together however please be careful especially if you are not training as their diet is designed for them.

The meats are giving them a stack of protein everything else is what I call healthy food, you really can’t go wrong with fruits and vegetables it makes up 95% of my diet and I also do crossfit training.

The idea of chopping up vegetables is an excellent way to get ahead of your self and makes cooking easy for during the week as long as all the food is stored correctly i.e bags in the fridge I can’t see a problem with this method.

I like the fruit idea as a lot of people have other kinds of snacks around the house mainly full of salt and sugar, fruit is the perfect replacement as it contains natural sugar stopping you from resorting to the bad snacks.

I hope this little video has helped you plan a little better for the future and I would love to know your opinion or your own helpful tips for eating healthy.

7 Reasons to Stay Away From The Fad Diets

May 30, 2014 By Niagara Brown

Fad diets have been around for years, and there is always a new fad diet that promises weight loss. People want to follow the crowd, and so they get involved with these fad diets, but there are some serious risks to taking part in these fad diets. Plus they never work. You might lose some weight in the beginning, but once you stop the diet, you gain all the weight back, plus some.

These fad diets aren’t meant to be long term health solutions, which is why they call them fad diets. They are a quick fix, and a quick fix never helps the problem at hand. The people and companies who come up with these fad diets don’t care about helping, they just want to make their money. They market to those that are desperate and trusting, and unfortunately those people then think they aren’t able to lose weight, when in fact if they knew how to eat right and exercise correctly, they could lose the weight and feel a lot better in the process without having to spend a lot of money.

The Fad Diets

There are hundreds of fad diets, but here are some popular ones that you should stay away from

- The Atkins Diet

- The low Carb diet

- South Beach Diet

- The Zone

- Hollywood Diet

- Cabbage Soup Diet

These diets are meant for you to lose weight quickly, but they aren’t the solution to long term weight loss and real health. You can lose some weight, but again, you will quickly gain it all back and most times even more weight. These fad diets put stress on the body, and cause the body to go into healing crisis, which means it will store fat.

7 Reasons to Stay Away Fad Diets

1. Any diet that wants you to eat a ton of animal meat for protein. First of all, our bodies don’t require that much protein in order to stay healthy. A mother’s breast milk is only six percent protein, and that is the most important developmental stage for humans. If we only need six percent then, then we don’t need any more than that now to stay healthy. The second reason to stay away from a diet full of meat is because meat has not water or fiber in it, which is two ingredients necessary for weight loss and health. Those people on the Atkins diet are severely backed up.

2. Any diet that claims you can lose weight without exercising. Exercise is important no matter what you eat. Exercise keeps your body fit and healthy, I like to do a fitness called crossfit it can be difficult most exercise should be to a certain level but I would suggest finding an exercise or a combination of exercises like crossfit that will keep you in shape.

3. Any diet that has a photo shopped picture of a before and after for their advertising campaign. This is a huge red flag. Even if the photo is real, you don’t know how these people got fit in the first place, but it definitely wasn’t from the fad diet.

4. Any diet that claims pills or processed drinks full of sugar will make you skinny. These pill and energy weight loss drinks are so bad for your body, and they make you crash after the caffeine buzz wears off. They want for you to crash so that you need to go buy more of their product. In the long run you will wind up with adrenal fatigue and all sorts of weight problems from the refined sugar.

5. Any diet that limits you to their processed food. Anything processed is going to be bad for your health. These companies get people to believe that somehow their “healthy” brownies and pizza are good, just because of the packaging that they are in. Stay away from it; they put something in it that isn’t good for you in the long run.

6. Any diet that says to drink their sugar milk drinks in order to lose weight. This is one of the worst things you can do to lose weight. Milk not only causes mucus in the body, but it also is full of fat and calories. Skim milk is just milk with water added to it, that doesn’t make it any healthier.

The real problem is that most people don’t know how to eat right, but it isn’t our fault. We grow up eating what our parents make for us, and then when we realize that we need to make some changes, we are thrown in to a huge amount of information that tells us everything under the sun. What is important is that you learn to start eating more naturally, and things that works for your body.

There will always be a new fad diet until we learn to take our health in to our hands, and begin to eat the right way. There is no magic pill, and there is no miracle cure for being overweight. The reason that people gain weight is because of what they eat, if you eat unhealthy foods, you will gain weight. On the other hand, if you eat healthy, natural foods, then you will become your natural healthy size and weight, and feel great in the process

5 Reasons Why What You Eat Is Important To Your Health

May 30, 2014 By Niagara Brown

Eating has become such a social aspect of our lives that most of us don’t ever take a step back to really notice what we are ingesting in to our bodies. It’s no wonder that our sociality has become over weight and disease ridden, and the only thing most people know to do is what we were taught as a child, and that is to go to the doctor when you don’t feel well.

We tell the doctor how we are feeling, and he or she might run some tests or just going by your symptoms, tell you what they think you might “have”. Then they prescribe you a drug that costs you money, and tells you either that this will be a short term drug you have to take, or that you will have to take it forever.

Now you go and get your prescription drugs (the drug should raise some alarms in people’s heads), but since we trust our doctors, we take them anyway. The symptoms usually will seem to get better for a little bit, but since you are still eating the same diet as you were, that relief doesn’t last long, and soon you will have new symptoms rising up. You return to the doctor and the cycle continues. It is explained to us that what we are experiencing is the “aging process”.

what you eat is important to your health

Let me first say that doctors are great, and they do help save many lives, but what I want to stress in this article is that we need to begin taking our heath into our own hands, and begin using doctors as a guide, and not the end all to your health problems. Being on a cocktail of prescription drugs is not healthy, and eventually, it will kill you.

What we all need to begin doing, is to first take a look at your diet, and what you eat on a daily basis. If it’s not all that healthy, then the second thing is we need begin to choose a more natural diet. Secondly, you must find a doctor that is willing to work with you on finding solutions to whatever aliments you might have, and thirdly, you must begin to look into holistic ways of healing. If you look around you will find that Mother Nature has given us so many healing plants, herbs and foods. It’s just a matter of finding which one is right for you. What is most important is that we first realize why what we eat is the first step in feeling better and healing our bodies.

Top 5 list to keep eating healthy

1. You are what you eat – We literally become what we ingest into our bodies on a daily basis. If you eat processed foods, sugary drinks, over eat meat and dairy products, or worse yet, eat fast food every day, then you will become that. Those foods have no nutritional value to them, and they create no nutritional value for our bodies. Without proper nutrition, our bodies begin to die from the inside out. Disease and pain are formed as a warning sign from your body.

2. Food either heals us or it kills us – Food is either going to heal us and keep us strong and healthy, or it is going to kill us. Yes eventually we are all going to die, but wouldn’t you rather live out your life feeling the best you can?
I love to take part in as much sporting activity as possible in my next set of articles I am going to talk about crossfit training you may or may not have been told about crossfit but to sum it up quickly crossfit is a combination of all sports taken to the highest level you can physically do I hope the teachings of my own personal crossfit training and my education in healthy eating will set you on a new found path.
When we eat highly nutritional foods, we are feeding our bodies life. On the other hand, when we eat processed and chemically laden foods, that have no nutritional value, and are foreign to our bodies, then the only thing the body can do is fight it and try to get rid of it as fast as it can, and if it can’t get rid of it fast enough, it will create fat in the body to store it in. All of that creates a toxic atmosphere in the body, and eventually things are going to start popping up in the body, like pain and disease.

3. Foods are either acidic or alkaline – The foods we eat are either going to have an alkalizing effect on the body, which is good, or an acidic effect on the body, which is bad. Acidic conditions create stored fat in the body, and alkaline conditions create a clean body. Highly processed, chemical, meats, dairy and refined sugars create acidic conditions in the body, while fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds create and alkaline state in the body.

4. Food either makes you fat or keeps you thin – If you are continuously filing your body will acidic foods, then it won’t be able to expel them quick enough and in order to keep you alive, the body will form fat in the body in order to store the acid. That is why when people first start to cleanse or detox, they can feel worse before they can feel better. It is because the acid that is in the fat in the body is finally able to be released. It gets released into the blood stream first before being expelled from the body, causing the feeling of sickness, tiredness and headaches. Once the acidic condition is taken care of, there is no need for the body to hold onto the fat anymore.

5. There is always a cause and effect – For everything you do and every choice you make, there is some kind of effect it brings. Whether it is the food you eat, the exercise or lack of exercise you do, or the choice of people you hang around, there is always going to be an effect from it that is wither good or bad. If you choose to eat heath foods, then the effect is going to be health and vitality, on the other hand, if you choose to eat poorly, then the effect is going to be heath problems.

Becoming more aware of what we eat is so important, especially if we want to live happy, healthy and full lives. There is just no way around this concept. You cannot eat fried foods all day long and keep your health intact for years to come.

3 Nutrients That Make You Look Younger

May 30, 2014 By Niagara Brown

Forget about high priced beauty products that promise to make your skin look younger. They are over processed, and full of chemical ingredients. Even if you do notice some results, in the long term, they are going to do more harm than good to your skin. Another thing to think about is that our skin is the largest organ on our body, and it absorbs everything that we put onto it, so do you really want to put something onto your body that you couldn’t eat?

There are many new companies popping up that have more natural products that can be a little better for your skin, but just because it says natural on the package doesn’t mean that every ingredient is natural. Labels can be misleading to say the least.

So what do we do about the signs of aging and the effects it has on our skin? Well first of all we need to begin looking at what goes into our bodies, and how these foods and drinks are affecting our skin. It is important to realize that what goes into our bodies will eventually be shown on the outside appearance. It is evident when you look at a 60 year old woman who took good care of herself through her life time; she ate healthy foods and drank lots of water, she exercised and limited her sun exposure. Now her skin looks even toned, and has less wrinkles and lines.

On the other hand, look at a woman the same age, but ate lots of red meat, processed foods, and refined sugars. She laid in the sun a lot and never worked out. Now she has more skin issues to deal with like wrinkles, age spots and lines. Too much sun can even make the skin more leather looking as we age. To counteract these problems, most women run out and buy creams and lotions that are designed to “fix” the problems, without even realizing that they could have prevented it by making changes in there over all diet.

Raw whole foods in their natural state have more healthy skin benefits than any food that could be made by humans or machinery. Mother Nature has given us everything we need to keep us looking young and healthy.

Below are 3 nutrients that will help keep you looking and feeling younger.

Antioxidants – Oxidation in the body creates free radicals. Free radicals are what cause the cells to become damaged or die, which creates aging in the body. Antioxidants stop the free radicals by inhibiting the oxidation, so that free radical damage cannot occur. Eating foods rich in antioxidants is going to help reduce the amount of oxidation that occurs in the body. Some foods to eat that have antioxidants are beans, fruit, vegetables, nuts and potatoes Foods with the most intense colors have the highest amount of antioxidants, like dark green vegetables, blackberries, cherries and beets.

Vitamin C – We all know that vitamin C in a facial cleanser means that the cleanser is meant to brighten your skin and even the tone. Vitamin C is more than just a skin clarifier (which it can lighten the skin if taken internally as well), it is also an immune booster, wrinkle reducer, and is good for preventing cardiovascular and eye disease. Foods that contain vitamin C include; citrus fruits, red and green peppers, broccoli, kiwi, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Most fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C.

Omega fatty acids – Omega fatty acids are essential for good health and longevity. There are omega 3 and omega 6 acids that both pay an important role in brain health and function, mood, skin health and help keep the blood sugar level low. Foods that contain omega 3 are cold water fish, walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, brussel sprouts, kale, parsley, spinach and watercress. Some foods that contain omega 6 are grains, cereals, cold pressed vegetable oils like almond, olive or avocado, and supplements. Omega fatty acids play a huge role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. They also help to keep the skin elasticity and firmness, therefore keeping the skin from wrinkles and lines.

Minerals – Minerals play a very important role in beauty and youth. They are the building stones for healthy skin, bones, hair, organs and cells. Just some of the minerals include potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and sulfur. Foods that contain minerals include; fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, sprouts, soy beans, seafood and grains.

You want to make sure that you eat as much fruits and vegetables in their raw natural state, and that if you do choose to cook your food, you either steam or bake it. Frying causes the foods to change their chemistry and become a foreign object in our bodies that the white blood cells try to protect the body from. Fried foods are junk and age the body quickly, it’s best to stay away from them altogether.

5 Easy Breakfast Smoothie Recipes before Crossfit Training

May 30, 2014 By Niagara Brown

I’m sure you have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but are you following that advice? Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day especially if you are planning to do a crossfit session at some point during the day, and that is because it is the first thing we put into our bodies, which will determine how we feel for the rest of the day. It also determines what we eat for the rest of the day. If you start off with a crappy breakfast, I guarantee you will eat and feel crappy the rest of the day even if you don’t do a workout.

Most people know that eating pancakes for breakfast isn’t the healthiest thing we can put into our bodies, yet most of us give that to our children before they go to school. Then they wind up being cranky and irritable the rest of the day, not to mention that they only crave more sugar. That is the same thing that happens with adults when they eat a high sugar breakfast. On the other hand, there are people who think that eating eggs and bacon for breakfast is a good meal, but it’s really not. Eating all the fat and protein for breakfast is just as bad as eating refined sugar for breakfast, it will make you feel tired, and heavy all day long.

So eating a healthy breakfast means eating something that will fill you up and not weigh you down, and will keep you feeling great all day. The best foods to eat for breakfast are fruits and green leafy vegetables. Fruits are high in natural sugar, fiber, water and calories. They will fill you up, keep you full longer, and give you lasting energy to get you through your morning and afternoon without a crash at 3pm. Green leafy vegetables are a great source of minerals and chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a blood builder and minerals help to keep your body and brain functioning at peak performance. Chlorophyll gives you energy that lasts, and will keep you feeling great all day long.

The only problem with green leafy vegetables is that they don’t supply enough calories to get you through your morning. Another thing about green leafy vegetables is that unless you chew them up completely, they won’t properly digest in your body and you won’t get all the nutrients from them. Bending them up in a blender is a great way to get all the nutrients from them, but they are too strong to drink by themselves.

So the best solution is to mix both of the best breakfast foods together in a bender to make a heath green breakfast smoothie that will keep you feeling great, and keep you feeling full all day. The sweetness from the fruit covers up the bitterness of the greens, and you won’t even know that you are drinking greens, besides the green color your smoothie will be. When you eat a healthier breakfast, then you will make better food choices throughout the day. Plus drinking smoothies helps to naturally detox your body and keeps your skin looking great.

Here are 5 healthy green breakfast smoothies for you to try out now:

1. Simple Banana Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 bananas

2 handfuls spinach

1 cup water

Directions:

Place the bananas in the blender first, then add in the spinach and water. Blend until smooth.

2. Beautifying Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 banana

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 handful spinach

1 handful kale

1 cup water

Directions:

Put the banana, apple and celery in the blender first. Then add in the spinach, kale and water and bend until smooth.

3. Orange Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 large oranges

3 tangerines

1 banana

2 handfuls spinach

1 cup water

Directions:

Place oranges, tangerines and banana in blender first, then add in the spinach and water, and blend until smooth.

4. Mango Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 large mango, cut up

1 large orange

1 handful spinach

1 cup water

Directions:

Add the mango and orange to the bender first, then add in the spinach and water, and blend until smooth.

5. Pineapple Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

¼ pineapple chopped

1 banana

½ head romaine lettuce

1 cup water

Directions:

Add the pineapple and banana to the blender first, then add in the spinach and water, blend until smooth.

Smoothies are a great way to get your daily vitamins, minerals and nutrients. They are super easy to prepare and they are easy to clean up. You can make a pitcher of smoothies and clean up in less than 10 minutes. You can always add more water to make your smoothie less thick, or you can add less to make it thicker. Try your own smoothie creations. Experiment with fruits and greens that you like, and you will come up with your own creations that you will want to drink every day.