Defining the word diet

About a year ago, my husband Jeff was applying for summer internships through his school BYU.  He applied to one in Seattle, which is where he served his LDS mission and was excited to see that living in Seattle for the summer was an option.  A few months later, he heard from Boeing and was offered an internship.  We accepted and were able to go to Seattle this past summer.  While we were living there, we discovered some things about the way we eat.

We lived with a family who are very health conscious.  Their entire backyard is a garden.  They grow everything they possibly can; blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, collard greens, squash, any herb you can think of and much more!  They introduced us to a whole new way of eating.

Google defines "diet" as the kind of food a person, animal or community habitually eats.   My husband and I were on a diet that was making us fat and sick.   We were eating pasta, chicken, ground beef, ice cream, candy, lots and lots of milk as well as bread and some more sugar.  This summer we decided to make some major changes in the way we eat.  We did some extensive research (including watching a bunch of documentaries on Netflix; Hungry for Change, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead are just a few examples).  The conclusion of our research was that we needed to buy a nice, fancy blender.  We saved our pennies for about 4 months and in August (for my birthday!) we bought a Vitamix blender.   To say we LOVE it is an understatement.  We have used it for about a month now and have used it 3-4 times a day.

Buying a blender has increased our vegetable and fruit intake by 10-fold.  Our favorite smoothie recipe is:
Frozen pineapple
A whole orange (peeled)
Organic apple juice
2 handfuls of spinach or kale
about 6 ice cubes
a teaspoon of flax seed

We drink this every morning!  After about 3 days of drinking this smoothie in the morning, my husband said he was feeling more alive and had more energy!  I completely agree with him!  Starting the morning with this nutrient filled smoothie gives us a boost and helps us make smart food choices for the rest of the day.

Check out the Vitamix at www.vitamix.com.