The Green Smoothie

A green smoothie toast to McKell for writing this up just in time for her baby to be born! Congratulations!

Have you ever tried filling all your daily requirements from every food group in one day? It can be hard to do! Especially in the fruit and vegetable category. Two cups fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables are the recommendations per day (for women) according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to "the green smoothie". I think I closed my eyes when I took my first gulp, but surprisingly, it wasn't bad. Actually, I liked it. When she told me how good it was for me I liked it even more! Four cups of green smoothie equals about 15 servings of fruits and vegetables!

My green smoothie is packed with insoluble plant fiber capable of carrying many times its own weight in toxins out of the body. Leafy greens have a powerhouse of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. Kale assists with weight loss! Spinach has tons of healthy protein. By blending the greens it helps to unlock all the nutrients so our bodies can easily digest and make use of all the good stuff. Have I convinced anyone yet?

I've continued drinking "green smoothies" ever since I was first introduced to it two years ago and I love it! Bridger (my two year old) and Devin (the husband) even like it! I try to have one large glass a day. I love how it can fill in the gaps of my diet; it tastes good, and makes me feel good!

The key ingredient to green smoothies is spinach. I’ll go through a 2.5 pound Costco bag of spinach in about a week. You can also add kale or chard to your smoothies, but they have a stronger taste, so I only add a little. Try taking your favorite smoothie recipe and adding some spinach. Give it a try!


Here is my favorite daily recipe:

2 cups water (can also substitute fruit juice)
1 Tlb Chia seeds (optional)
6 cups Spinach
sometimes I add 1/2 a carrot
…Blend well in a high powered blender

Add:
1 cup Fruit Mix or more or less to taste (I like the Sunshine Fruit Blend from Costco or Wegman’s bag of Mixed Fruit with strawberries, pineapple, peaches, and mango)
¼ cup OJ Concentrate
… Blend

(If you are scared of the green color, you can add raspberries, blackberries and blueberries which will turn it more purple in color. I like lime and a banana in my berry smoothies.)

**News Article Link: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=18916048&nid=1010&title=green-smoothies-going-green-never-tasted-so-good

This guy seems to enjoy it!

Visiting Teaching Conference this Sunday

In case you missed the news, our annual visiting teaching conference will be held this Sunday. To prepare, we've been encouraged to read an excerpt from "Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of the Relief Society." You can find that reading right here. See you on Sunday!

Resolution: Budgeting

I've heard that it is possible to spend too much money in December. And if one overspent in December, one might be ready to buckle down in January. Sound familiar? One goal my husband and I made this year is to budget better. In the past, one of us takes care of paying the bills and the other one takes care of worrying about money. We thought there might be a better way.

Our plan is to start each month by planning our budget. The next month, we will reconcile what we actually spent with our plan and see how we did. Then we'll set up the next month's budget. A typical budget might look like this:



There are a lot of free budgeting tools out there. It's an easy way for anyone of any income level to better track and control spending and saving. So are we the last ones to actually do this? Do you have any great budgeting tips to share? Feel free to comment on this post or contact me with any ideas.

Resolution: Study Scriptures

It seems like I often make goals to improve my scripture study. Whether it's making it more meaningful, more frequent, or improving our family study, there is always some aspect that needs work. Here are some things I've found helpful as I, once again, examine my own scripture study efforts.

Frequency- Establishing Daily Study
In a 2005 Ensign Q&A, Henry B. Eyring said, "The only way you can be sure that a busy schedule doesn't crowd out scripture study is to establish a regular time to study the scriptures." This corresponds with the old adage "when you fail to plan, you plan to fail." It seems like a no-brainer, but I think back on how many times I have determined to read the scriptures, only to leave it until I crawl into bed at the very end of the day- physically and mentally exhausted and not prepared for study. If we want to establish a real habit, we have to carve out the time and be consistent.

Making Scripture Study More Meaningful-
If my scripture study has been off course and I am trying to get back to it, sometimes it feels difficult to have meaningful study right away. The introduction to the Institute manuals have some tips on improving the quality of our reading. Among other things, it suggests not being afraid to stop in your reading- delving deeper until you understand what your are reading, asking questions as you read to further understand, and writing down impressions as you study. I've heard Elder Scott mention the importance of writing down spiritual impressions more than once, promising that if we do, not only will we have access to that knowledge in the future, but that we will open ourselves for more impressions.

We are often reminded that scripture study becomes more meaningful the more we do it. This feels especially true to me. As the words and language become more comfortable, I come to enjoy reading and am far more likely to learn and feel the Spirit.

Family Study-
With different families come different practices that work best for scripture study. We have tried a few different things with our young family and I suspect we will try plenty more things as our children grow and change. As with personal study, I suspect that consistency is key. Elder Eyring says "For me...family scripture study works well only if your children know that you love the scriptures and they also know as individuals that you love them. Then whatever pattern you have will work. If scripture study is forced for either them or you, it doesn't have as much power."

No matter how difficult the path to better scripture study may be, we are promised it will be well worth it. President Hinkley said, "As you read, your minds will be enlightened and your Spirits will be lifted. At first it may seem tedious, but that will change into a wondrous experience with thoughts and words of things divine."

A few resources from the tips page that may help in our scripture study goals:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.readthescriptures.com/
http://scriptures4kids.com/
http://sistersatthewell.org

And how could I forget! Our Relief Society has a scripture study group that meets every other week to share insight on an assigned set of readings. See the tab at the top of this page for the dates and reading!

Resolution: Read More

Book Club is coming up! On January 25th we'll discuss "The Glass Castle: A Memoir" by Jeannette Walls. Here is the description from Amazon:

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.

You still have over two weeks to read it. Hope to see you there!

A New Year

In recent months, some of you may (or may not) have noticed that 'More of a Good Thing' has been on hiatus. My apologies if you have noticed. But with the new year comes a renewed sense of responsibility and excitement for this blog.

Most of us feel a similar sense of responsibility and excitement for our lives as we ring in a new year. This past Sunday, some excellent speakers discussed how resolutions can help us in our ongoing pursuit of improvement. We heard that when we make resolutions and earnestly work to achieve them, we are essentially repenting of our past weaknesses and trying to change for the better. We heard some great tips on how to achieve our goals including; being realistic/flexible, making a plan that will work with our lives, being patient, and understanding that setbacks are not failures and that sometimes we will need help from others, including the Lord.

There are some fairly consistent themes in the New Year's resolutions we tend to make. For our bodies, we want to eat healthier, exercise more, and perhaps manage weight better. Financially, we seek to be better with money- to save more, spend less, or get out of debt. In the quest for self-improvement, some resolve to enhance their education or employment or to spend more time with family and preforming service for others. As church members we add a myriad of spiritual goals to the list, scripture study, temple attendance, and more. No matter the specific resolution the goal is the same- to be better.

So what are your resolutions this year? Could you use some help? Could you give some help? This blog is the perfect forum to help one another in our resolve to improve. In the coming weeks, we will seek to truly share "more of a good thing" here. If you have a tip that has worked for you, please post in the comments or contact me to contribute. Stay tuned!