Category Archives: Green Smoothie Challenge

 Unfortunately I’ve had to learn the hard way, but I know a thing or two about weight loss.

Favorite Smoothies: Apple Pie, Tropical Colada, Green Julius, Razzleberry Lemonade, Chocolate Covered Blues.

After Holiday overindulgence, I lost 5.1 pounds in one week on the Green Smoothie Challenge. Pretty fantastic considering I wasn’t ever hungry. Others did awesome as well.

Eli 5 lbs, Anna 8 lbs, Erika 5 lbs, Birgit 4 lbs (with cheats!), Aleese 5 lbs, Jacob 6 lbs, Donna 3 lbs (without exercising) Fran 5 lbs, Larry 12 lbs the first week. He’s still going and has lost over 16 lbs in less than 3 weeks.

These are only some of the results I’m aware of.

Favorite Salads: Lentil Tacos, Greek with Tofu Feta and Balsamic Vinaigrette, Goddess Salad, Cauliflower Tabbouleh Wraps, Black Bean Salad with Vegan Ranch.

Something amazing happens when you exercise every day and eat completely clean and plant based. Most people simply aren’t used to consuming this many vegetables and this much fiber. Some would say weight loss happens on this plan because of all the negative calorie foods. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I call it awesome. I entered all my information to a nutrition and fitness tracker for the week. The nutrition stats behind the tracking program says I shouldn’t have been able to lose more than a couple of pounds. But my body knew better.

The best part is that this is a safe weight loss method. You get every single bit of nutrition you need from the approved foods and none that you don’t.

Favorite Soups: Moroccan Lentil Soup, Vegan Hot and Sour Soup, Cozy Roasted Butternut Soup, Abe’s Hearty Lentil Soup, Cheezy Smoky Spicy Black Bean Soup.

Thanks for following along, even if you didn’t join the challenge. For those of you who have a significant amount of weight to lose, this plan can be followed until you reach your goal.

Love,
Somer

Dinner Tonight: Lentil Tacos

Sorry for the lateness of this post, my parents ended up paying us a (very welcome) surprise visit today, so I’m a bit behind schedule. So today is day 7 of the challenge. I’m down 4.8 lbs, 3% body fat and I’ve lost at least two inches off my waist. Pretty awesome. Final weigh in will be tomorrow morning.

Today was all about the lentils.

Lentil Taco Filling

• 1 C. dried brown/green lentils, rinsed and sorted
• 2 C. water
• 2 T. chili powder
• 1 T. ground cumin
• 2 t. dried oregano
• 1/4 C. tomato paste
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 C. chopped cilantro
• 1 large diced onion
• 1 diced carrot
• 2 T. nutritional yeast
• 2 T. Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 1 diced bell pepper (red or green)

Method: Put all the above ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Serve a couple spoonfuls of lentil mixture onto a lettuce leaf, top with shredded cabbage, tomato, fire roasted salsa and a drizzle of tahini cream. I had 3 tacos, you could eat as many as 6 if you like. This makes enough lentil taco filling to serve 4-6 people.

For smoothies today I had the Tropical Colada Smoothie and the Chocolate Covered Blues.

For lunch I made an adaptation of my brother Abe’s “Hearty Lentil Soup” out of our family cookbook. IT WAS AWESOME.

Abe’s Hearty Lentil Soup

If you’ve been searching for the perfect soup recipe for your brown lentils, look no further. If I wasn’t on the challenge, I would have added a couple of diced potatoes….

• 2 C. dry brown/green lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 2 diced onions
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 3 stalks diced celery
• 4 sliced carrots
• 4 diced roma tomatoes
• 2 T. nutritional yeast
• 1/4 C. Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 8 C. vegetable broth
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. dried dill
• 1/2 C. tomato paste (1 small can)
• 1/2 t. cumin
• 1 t. spike or other herb seasoning (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste (I added pepper, but didn’t need salt)

Method: Add everything to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover pot with a lid and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45-60 minutes until lentils are very tender. Pulse a few times with a stick blender if desired.

Stats for the day:

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1186

Carbohydrate under 245 g 232 g 72%

Protein under 53 g 44 g 14%

Fat under 23 g 20 g 14%

Water over 8 glasses 8-7/8 glasses

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 55 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 3 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodium over 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 94 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 2648 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 236 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1300 mg

Iron over 18 mg 19 mg

Click here to view The Green Smoothie Challenge Synopsis

Dinner Tonight: Vegan Hot and Sour Soup Saves the day

It’s the weekend and I’ve got things to do, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

Vegan Hot and Sour Soup

• 8 C. vegetable stock
• 1/4 C. bragg’s liquid amino’s
• generous dash cayenne pepper
• 2 C. fresh shitake mushrooms or 1 oz dried
• 1/2 bunch scallions, sliced on the diagonal
• 4 T. arrowroot or non GMO cornstarch
• 1 package light extra-firm tofu, drained pressed and cubed
• 4 T. grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/3 C. unsweetened rice vinegar
• 1 small can bamboo shoots julienned
• 1 t. toasted sesame oil (optional, since it’s not totally challenge approved)
• 1 t. raw agave

Method: Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Yup, it’s that easy.

Apple Pie Green Smoothie for Breakfast. Love this smoothie!

Goddess Salad for Lunch

Razzleberry Lemonade Smoothie for my afternoon meal

Hummus and raw veggies for snackage

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1142

Carbohydrate under 245 g 223 g 68%

Protein under 53 g 54 g 16%

Fat under 23 g 22 g 15%

Water over 8 glasses 8-2/3 glasses

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 63 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 2 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodium over 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 79 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 30404 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 384 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1171 mg

Iron over 18 mg 21 mg

Click here to view Day 7 of the Challenge

Peppered Veggie Stir Fry: Because it’s too freaking cold out to eat another salad today.

So, it’s confession time. I’m down 3 lbs, 2% body fat and a pair of jeans that I haven’t been able to wear in a month fits again. Some of you are killing the challenge! Congrats to my friend Larry who is down 12 lbs, to his wife who is down 8 lbs and to Aleese who is down 5 lbs as of this morning!

View from my back deck. Frozen Wasteland. Much more snow expected today.

I have THREE new recipes for you today! Don’t want you to get bored! Anyone else craving chocolate as hard as I am? Here’s your solution:

Breakfast: Chocolate Covered Blues.

Inspired by Nick and his evil tempting ways at Frugal Feeding

Ingredients:

• 2 C. packed spinach or kale
• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 C. frozen blueberries
• 1 C. unsweetened almond milk (35 calorie variety)
• 1 C. water
• 2 T. raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
• 1 T. ground flax seeds
• 1 t. vanilla
• stevia to taste

Lunch: Peppered Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients for Stir Fry Sauce (this makes 2 servings):

• 1/4 C. Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 1/4 C. rice vinegar (unsweetened variety)
• 4 chopped dates
• 1/4-1 t. red chili flakes (depending on how much heat you like)
• 1/4-1 t. ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 inch piece of ginger, chopped (about 3 T.)
• 1 T. arrowroot

Method: Blend til completely smooth. Those without power blenders may need to soak your dates first

Ingredients for Veggie Stir Fry (makes 1 serving):

• 1/2 head roughly chopped cabbage
• 4 bok choy leaves or 2 C. baby spinach
• 1/2 C. shelled edamame
• 1/4 C. julliened carrots
• 2 stalks celery cut diagonally
• 2 C. frozen stir fry veggie mix (mine’s from Costco)

Method: Put all veggies and 1/2 of the sauce in a lidded frying pan. Cook over medium high heat for 5-10 minutes with lid on, stirring every minute or two so it doesn’t burn.

Disassembling a Pomegranate

I grew up eating pomegranates, one house we lived in even had a pomegranate tree. How come I never knew about this method before? I used to stain my hands and fling pomegranate seeds and juice everywhere every time I attempted to disassemble a pomegranate. Thanks Pinterest!

Method: Slice ends off pomegranate, slice pomegranate in half. Put pomegranate pieces in a big bowl of water. Pull apart. Seeds fall to the bottom and peel and clingy filmy stuff floats to the top.

Easy Peasy!

Afternoon Meal: Orange Pineapple Pomegranate Bliss

• 2 C. packed baby spinach or kale
• 1 banana
• 1 navel orange (use zest too! I forgot this round)
• 1/4 C. frozen pineapple
• 1/4 – 1/2 pomegranate arils
• 1 T. chia seeds
• 1 C. water
• 1 1/2 C. ice
• stevia to taste

I’ve increased calories today within my meals so I probably won’t be snacking and haven’t really needed too between meals. Add snacks for sure if you’re hungry!

I’ll be running 3 miles easy today, then doing interval hill/speed-work on the treadmill for my workout.  I decided to stop being a pansy and I ran for 60 minutes outside in 17°F while it was snowing. That’s what fleece lined running tights are made for.

I have Moroccan Lentil Soup bubbling away in my slow cooker right now for my dinner. Please ignore that delicious looking flat bread… recipe here

I want to know who the biggest loser is, let me know how much weight you’ve lost on the challenge so far!

love, -Somer

Stats for the day:

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1198

Carbohydrate under 245 g 241 g 74%

Protein under 53 g 53 g 16%

Fat under 23 g 14 g 10%

Water over 8 glasses 8-5/8 glasses

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 64 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 1 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodium over 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 95 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 5188 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 337 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1211 mg

Iron over 18 mg 22 mg

Click here to view Day 6 of the Challenge

Oh yeah baby: Cauliflower Tabbouleh

All recipes not included in this post can be found here

Note to Self: Stop pushing yourself like a maniac with your workouts, or else you might toss up your salads.

Yup, yesterday I was feeling awesome, so I kept pushing myself harder and harder during my workout. Afterwards I felt great for a bit, then nausea set in and I couldn’t eat my dinner for fear of tossing it up. Today, I’m going to go a little easier. The good news? I have no muscle soreness despite pushing myself to the limit with my workouts. GO PLANTS!

I have two new recipes for you to add to the challenge today that I think you’ll love!

Apple Pie Green Smoothie!

Ingredients:

• 2 C. packed organic baby spinach
• 2 small apples
• 1 banana
• 1 T. organic apple butter
• 1 T. ground flax seed
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 C. water
• 1 1/2 C. ice cubes
• stevia to taste

Now for lunch today! Super excited to share the Cauliflower Tabbouleh recipe with you! Who says you need grains to make tabbouleh? Oh, and I’ve since made this recipe with parsnips instead of cauliflower, I liked it even MORE

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

• 1 small head cauliflower
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 diced roma tomatoes
• 1/2 C. diced english cucumber
• 1/2 bunch chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 T. nutritional yeast
• 2 T. chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 C. lemon juice
• 1 T. braggs liquid aminos
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: Pulse cauliflower in food processor until fine, you may need to stop and stir it a few times. Spread cauliflower bits on a clean kitchen towel to absorb excess liquid. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Makes 2 servings (make half of this recipe if you’re doing the challenge by yourself, leftovers don’t store well).

I made tabbouleh wraps for my lunch: 5 romaine lettuce leaves spread with 1 T. of hummus each. Top with 1/2 C. of cauliflower tabbouleh and a drizzle of the tahini cream. Roll each leaf and fillings up like a burrito. Enjoy!

Workout today: going for 1 hour easy on the elliptical

I heart this spotted peach smoothie, add chia seeds after blending for the spotty bit.

Snackage: 2 C. steamed spinach drizzled with some braggs liquid aminos

Dinner Tonight: Cheezy Smoky Spicy Black Bean Soup

This is just flat out delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Stats for today:

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1273

Carbohydrate under 245 g 238 g 66%

Protein under 53 g 75 g 21%

Fat under 23 g 22 g 14%

Water over 8 glasses 8-7/8 glasses

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 73 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 2 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodiumunder 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 73 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 30425 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 683 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1069 mg

Iron over 18 mg 27 mg

To answer the question to all those who want to know where vegans get their protein? PLANTS. 75 grams of protein today!

Click here to view Day 5 of the Challenge

Breakfast: Tropical Colada Green Smoothie

Okay, the Tropical Colada Smoothie is the BEST one yet. SO delicious! Drinking this doesn’t feel like a diet, at all!

Thanks everyone for helping to make this a success, the Vedged Out 2013 Green Smoothie Printable Plan has been viewed by more than 6,000 readers all around the world since Friday. If you want to join us, you can find all the recipes at that link.

Favorite Comments So Far:

“Thank you Somer for posting your treadmill photo to encourage me. and thank you Erika for teaching me that the first two miles are the hardest. First two miles in two years. And I didn’t stop once. (there is a huge grin on my face right right now and I’m going to hurt tomorrow.”

“Everything I’ve made tastes so good!”

“Your food looks so delicious!”

“I’m down 6.8lbs, 4.2 lbs, 3 lbs….(various readers)”

“Just made my Berry Breakfast Shake- Thanks for this Challenge!”

“My refrigerator is stocked with the most glorious produce! I even got my kids to eat more vegetables.”

“Can I pay you to prep my meals?”

Lunch Today: Goddess Salad with 5 cups torn romaine, artichoke hearts, cucumber, carrot, kidney beans and oil free Goddess Dressing.

Today’s exercise is one hour of stairs. Nope, not on the stair stepper. I have a 15 step flight in my own home. Up and down over and over again. Wish my quads luck. And yes, my dog joins me

Mango Madness, pure yummy afternoon snack

I’ll be doing steamed oriental veggies for snackage today and sprinkling them with a bit of Bragg’s liquid aminos. Unsweetened herbal tea is keeping me warm throughout the day.

Can’t wait for the Cozy Roasted Butternut Soup tonight, and yes, that’s Tahini Cream on top.

All recipes in this post can be found here.

Rock on, I’ll see you tomorrow.

-Somer

Stats for today:

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1137

Carbohydrate under 245 g 237 g 72%

Protein under 53 g 42 g 13%

Fat under 23 g 22 g 15%

Water over 8 glasses 8-3/5 glasses

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 55 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 4 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodium under 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 102 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 31593 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 532 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1294 mg

Iron over 18 mg 20 mg

Click here to view Day 4 of the Challenge.

Green Julius for Breakfast

All recipes for the Green Smoothie Challenge are here in this Printable Document

Guess who’s down 1 pound this morning? That’s right, me. Even cooler? One reader is down 5 lbs and another 2.5 lbs! How are you faring?

Comments on facebook are mostly positive. One reader said she was starving and tired, but she had only consumed the smoothies and the salad. You need the soups and veggies people! If you’re eating much less than 1,200 calories on this plan you’re going to bonk, so eat your veg!

Lunch, Garbanzo Greek Salad 1/2 head red leaf lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, garbanzos, tomato, carrot, red onion, cucumber and tofu feta.

Tofu Feta: press 1 block extra firm tofu for several hours or overnight. Crumble into a container. Drizzle with 3 T. lemon juice and sprinkle with 1/2 t. sea salt then stir. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Afternoon Meal: Blueberry Vanilla Smoothie

For snackage today I’ll be steaming some spinach (1 C. steamed) drizzle with a bit of bragg’s liquid aminos and a few grinds of black pepper if you want to copy me

Planned Cardio Exercise for today: 60 minutes on the keister busting Spin Bike

Don’t forget to rock out while you work out! It makes it a million times more awesome.

Dinner Tonight: Quinoa Minestrone bubbling away in the slow cooker now.

Target: Planned:

Calories under 1,400 1168

Carbohydrate over 245 g 817 g 90%

Protein under 60 g 51 g 6%

Fat under 20 g 20 g 5%

Water over 8 glasses 8-5/8 glasses

Target: Planned:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 57 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 1 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodiumunder 1,500 mg

Target: Planned:

Sugars under 100 g 75 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 24610 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 374 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 1725 mg

Iron over 18 mg 20 mg

Click here to view Day  3 of the Challenge

Traditional Green Smoothie

All recipes in this post can be found here in the printable 2013 Vedged Out Green Smoothie Challenge

If you missed the intro, read it here

Have you guys started yet!?! So many people are doing this. My intro post on Friday had the most traffic that I’ve seen on this site EVER. Looks like we all want to get healthy!

One thing I didn’t mention in the printable plan. If you want to track your weight, weigh yourself before you start. The best time to do that is in the morning, after you go to the bathroom (1&2) and before you shower, preferably unclothed. This is your resting body weight. You don’t need to weigh yourself everyday, but if you want to see how well you do, at least weigh yourself at the beginning and end of the challenge.

 Breakfast of Champions!

Snackage for the day, 1/2 C. Hummus with raw vegetables. I forgot to add 1/4 C. lemon juice in the recipe on the printable plan. It’s updated now. If you don’t have a power blender, you may need to make this recipe in your food processor.

Vegan Ranch and Fire Roasted Salsa for my Salad today.

Fire roasted Salsa:  (not in printable plan) 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 small can fire roasted diced green chilies, 1/2 small onion diced, 2 T. lemon juice, 1 t. sea salt, 1 t. sriracha, 1/2 C. chopped cilantro. Pulse until combined.

Black Bean Salad for Lunch

Black Bean Salad:  1/2 head chopped romaine lettuce (you can use a full head if you can eat it all!) 1 C. cooked or sprouted black beans, julienned carrots, sliced red bell pepper, 1/4 C. vegan ranch and 1/4 C. fire roasted salsa.

Afternoon Meal: Razzleberry Lemonade, you may need more stevia for this one, it’s powerful.

You can make all your meals in the morning so you’re not blending all day.

Dinner tonight: Smoky Vegan Split Pea Soup

I have this simmering in the slow cooker right now, it’ll be ready tonight, I’ll update the photo to one without bread then so you don’t get tempted to cheat

Don’t forget to fit in an hour of cardio at some point today. I’ll be running on the treadmill for 30 minutes and doing hill intervals for another 30 minutes since it’s 12°F and there’s over a foot of snow outside.

Target: Eaten:

Calories under 1,400 1247

Carbohydrate over 245 g 245 g 73%

Protein under 60 g 57 g 17%

Fat under 20 g 14 g 10%

Water over 8 glasses s

Target: Eaten:

Dietary Fiber over 25 g 73 g

Saturated Fat under 16 g 1 g

Trans Fat under 2 g 0 g

Cholesterol under 300 mg 0 mg

Sodiumunder 1,500 mg

Target: Eaten:

Sugars under 100 g 83 g

Vitamin A over 2,333 IU 3540 IU

Vitamin C over 75 mg 467 mg

Calcium over 1,000 mg 877 mg

Iron over 18 mg 18 mg

Did anyone else notice the 73 Grams of Dietary Fiber?!?

Don’t forget to drink plenty of lemon water and unsweetened herbal teas!

Click here to view Day 2 of the Challenge