November is almost here and it’s time for another 30 Day Trial. In honor of my beloved high speed blender and a desire to consume more leafy greens, I’ve decided to create a green smoothie habit. The goal is to drink a green smoothie every day for 30 days.

It’s easier to succeed at a 30 Day Challenge if it has a clear and measurable goal. Vague challenges like Be Nice or Eat Healthy tend to fizzle out from lack of boundaries. So let’s take a moment to set some guidelines for this green smoothie challenge . . .

The green smoothie recipes must meet the following criteria:

The smoothie recipe must use a green vegetable.
The smoothie must have no added sugar, which also means no agave, no maple syrup, and no honey. Whole fruit is acceptable.
I must drink at least 8 oz of smoothie. So if I am experimenting with ingredients and the green smoothie tastes horrible, I just have to cowboy up and drink it.
The smoothie must be dairy free/vegan. Nut milks are encouraged!

I’m hoping that drinking an abundance of vegetable smoothies will reduce food cravings while increasing energy level and mood. It certainly won’t do any harm, and at the very least I’ll end up creating lots of new green smoothie recipes!

Green Smoothie 30 Day Challenge Results . . .

The 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge was awesome! I drank a green smoothie ever single day for a month, and I have no doubt that green smoothies increase energy levels. They also decrease cravings for food that would lower my energy, so drinking green smoothies also helped me eat less sugar.

This was a fairly easy 30 day challenge, but it did have a few tough moments. A couple weeks into this challenge I got into a bit of a green smoothie rut. It’s important to vary your ingredients so that you don’t suddenly develop a spinach aversion! So I picked up a copy of The Green Smoothie Bible, and this fabulous little book opened up a whole new realm of green smoothie possibilities. The recipes are simple yet the combinations are creative. This book helped me use a wider variety of fruit, vegetables, and spices, which improved the taste and nutritional profile of the green smoothies. And my high speed blender was super helpful for processing nuts, citrus, and seeds until they are smooth and creamy.

Another thing I learned during this challenge is to drink the green smoothie for breakfast or lunch. A few times the day got away from me and I ended up having to drink a green smoothie before bed! I noted that in the evening is not an optimal time for a green smoothie. The smoothies give me a burst of energy, which I find more useful earlier in the day. So although it’s great to clean your laundry room, generally in the evenings I prefer to unwind and relax.