31 Day Smoothie Challenge Update (and a New Look!)

Hey, hey! Do things look differently around here? If they don’t, you might have to refresh your page or clear your browser’s cache. I’ve been planning this little site refresh for a long time, and I’m so happy it’s finally ready. I’d love to hear what you think.

Just for fun, I thought we should look at how Happy Healthy Mama has looked through the years. The funny thing is, it’s been around for six years, yet this is only my third design change. I’m not sure what that says about me. I don’t like change? Probably more like I am slow to make changes because changes take time and money. Ha!

Here’s what my design looked like from September 2010-May 2012

I designed this header myself. (You mean you can tell it’s not professional?!) I took a picture of orange slices on a green napkin and added the font that came with the free WordPress theme I was using at the time. (I don’t remember what it was called.)

Although I tweaked this one a few times, this is what my site looked like from May 2012-this weekend. This is the Foodie Pro theme running on the Genesis framework. The header and buttons were done by Designs by Tracy and I really liked the design. Until I felt like my site kind of outgrew the look and I wanted something fresher and more modern looking.

For the design you see now, I used Julie at The Blogger Boutique. I love her work! I chose Julie for the new design because she has a lot of experience customizing the Foodie Pro theme. As much as I would have loved a completely custom design, that just wasn’t in the budget. Maybe someday? It’ll probably be another 4-5 years before any more changes happen around here, so don’t hold your breath! 😉

Now for a Smoothie Challenge Update. Some of these challenges are easier to give updates than others. (Hint—>if you want to look back at some of the other challenges, look under the Healthy Year Challenge category.)

For this update, I wanted to give you some information on the ingredients from last week’s smoothies. When I developed these recipes, I put a lot of thought into choosing a variety of ingredients that would fuel our bodies well. I wanted the smoothies to be all vegan, so I relied a lot on seeds like hulled hemp seeds and chia seeds to provide protein. While these seeds can be a little pricey, they are just as expensive (and healthier) as protein powders. I much prefer getting my protein from a whole food source than a processed protein powder. Let’s look at some of the ingredients from the smoothies and why I chose them:

Bananas:  Bananas naturally sweeten smoothies and even with their sugar content have a low glycemic index rating. They act as a prebiotic and aid digestion, are rich in vitamins and minerals. Their high potassium content and low salt content makes them a food that helps lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease and stroke.

Apples: Rich in antioxidants and high in fiber.

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk: Low in calories with no added sugar and the vanilla adds flavor and a touch of extra sweetness.

Cinnamon: High in antioxidants and it helps keep blood sugar levels even. It also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Dates: A natural way to add sweetness to a smoothie while adding fiber, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Cucumber: Keeps you hydrated, flushes out toxins, rich in B vitamins, and adds fiber.

Mango: Rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, and iron.

Spinach and Kale: Greens are the most nutrient-rich vegetables out there. Each week, I introduce new greens to add to your smoothies.

Hemp Seeds: Hemp Seeds are a perfect and natural blend of easily digested proteins, essential fats (Omega 3 & 6), antioxidants, amino acids, and fiber. They also provide iron, zinc, carotene, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, chlorophyll, calcium,magnesium, and more.

Chia Seeds: These have a similar nutritional profile to hemp seeds, but with less protein.

Week #2 introduces a new variety of plant foods. Did you get the recipes? If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, you need to do that to get the recipes. Click on the button below to sign up for my weekly newsletter and you’ll get instant access to Week #1 and Week #2 shopping lists and recipes.
Click Here to Subscribe, Join the Challenge, and Get the Smoothie Recipes

Did you notice some smoothies made a large smoothie and others made smaller smoothies? That’s because I really paid attention to the calories of the smoothies. The smaller smoothies were made with more calorie-dense ingredients. A cucumber, for example, will really bulk up a smoothie but adds less than 50 calories. So in case you were wondering about the amount of smoothie the recipes makes, that is why.

Replacing a meal with a smoothie has been great to help me become more aware of how much I eat versus how much I need to eat. Overeating is so easy to do!

I have also loved having my breakfasts planned for me already and it’s great knowing I’m getting a variety of different fruits and vegetables in my first meal of the day. (One day I felt like oatmeal, so I had my smoothie for lunch, but most days I’m having the smoothie for breakfast.) I’m finding it is a great springboard for the rest of the day and helps me want to continue to eat well and make good food choices. Believe it or not, I make bad food choices just like everybody else. This Smoothie Challenge is helping me think about those choices more.

I hope you’re enjoying the Smoothie Challenge, too. Feel free to let me know how it’s going in the comments!