Drinking My Veggies

I like to make sure I get a minimum number of vegetables in every day.

One way I do this is to drink a shake made of fruit and veggies.

Here is perhaps the ultimate breakfast shake:


I don't go nearly this far, but I do drink a blender bomb every morning containing:

- 1/2 banana
- 1-2 cups of frozen kale
- 1-2 cups of frozen spinach
- mint leaves
- kelp powder
- a variety of spices (cinnamon, tumeric, parsley, mustard seeds, and more)
- a scoop of vegan protein powder
- a scoop of creatine
- ginger (if I'm being masochistic, because then it tastes only like ginger)
- a scoop of a greens powder (usually Amazing Grass Chocolate Greens powder or Amazing Trio)
- and a few other ingredients to fill it out (for example, a half-cup of pumpkin puree in the Fall)

As part of my breakfast, I'm getting around 3-4 cups of veggies (never less, sometimes more) and half a banana, plus a lot of micronutrient-loaded powdered veggies, plus a lot of equally micronutrient loaded spices. I occasionally swap up the veggies - collard greens and turnip greens have made appearances. So have carrot tops and bok choy. I don't recommend celery, though, because the taste is very strong and overwhelms everything. You end up drinking cold celery soup, basically.

The protein is just so I can get to the ratio of carbs/protein/fats I want for a meal, and it helps keep me full and energetic all morning.

Really, though, it's about the fruit and veggies. I get enough in to start the day, it's easy, and it's tasty enough. I really recommend getting a good blender and trying some pureed homemade vegetable and fruit blender bomb like Dr. Patrick's or mine. Or one of your own devising. It's probably healthier to sit and chew and eat your veggies, but getting a lot in this way is easy. And once you get into the habit of doing it, making the drink and then having it becomes a simple routine. Anything that makes it easier to consume more veggies without making them less healthy is a win in my book.