Contributed by Samantha Zeigler, Frugal Fitness Running Advisor, & Author of Running and Cupcakes
I love juice and I love smoothies. I also love being healthy. But really, who doesn’t? No one likes to be sick.
As a marathon runner I have to pay special attention to all of the signs when I feel like I’m getting sick. Any type of illness could put a damper on my training.
After fighting and fighting with a head cold, and finally visiting the doc last week, I realized what I should be doing.
I should be taking in more vitamins the natural way – through fruits and vegetables. But I can’t just sit and eat apples and bananas and handfuls of spinach all day, now can I?
Enter – Juice. And smoothies. I’ve been drinking my fruits and veggies every day for the past week – I kicked the cold, and I feel great!
I don’t know if the juice/smoothies and kicking the cold really go hand in hand, or if it was more of a coincidence – but what harm can eating drinking more fruits and veggies do?
Here are a couple of my favorite recipes for you to try! If you try them, I’d love to know what you think.
Sam’s Protein Smoothie (1 serving)
I drink this every day for breakfast. I also use it as a recovery beverage after a hard workout, if I’m home.
Ingredients
- 1 Scoop Protein Powder of your choice (I use Unflavored GNC Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein – it has no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, and no preservatives).
- 1 cup frozen fruit (Pineapple and cherry are my two favorites).
- 1 cup orange juice or milk (I use the oj – it gives it a nice fruity flavor. I buy OJ that’s fortified with calcium and vitamin D, so I don’t worry that it’s lacking essential vitamins. I just don’t like the milkshakey texture it has when made with milk).
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (Chobani for me, of course).
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
Place all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.
Looking for antioxidants? Try this:
Blueberry Immunity Booster (Approximately 2-3 16 oz. servings)
(Here’s a great article on the health benefits of Blueberries)
Ingredients
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1 apple or pear
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 cups orange juice
- 2 cups crushed ice
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
How you prepare this one is entirely up to you. I don’t own a juicer – so this comes out pretty pulpy. For this recipe I don’t mind – since it’s just like drinking juice with the pulp in it.
Either way – combine all the ingredients and either grind up in the blender until combined, or process all the ingredients through your juicer (If you use a juicer – either refrigerate, serve over ice, or blend with crushed ice before drinking.)
Coachy’s Carrot Juice (Approximately 3-4 16 oz. servings)
This recipe comes from Coachy. You definitely want to use a juicer for this recipe or somehow strain/press it after the ingredients are chopped up and blended. I drank it chunky and it was very, uh, fibrous. ![Winking smile](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s_p0tSzOnKeMOv05LPlg2EdLcaGf_Ao6vMm68yzv8iBJKIdq_EPUwCTld3FpesukVbASGYt6IWLDlUaZEiz6mwq-iJwkKWl2O8ziuWQA2rBAFUHrgri3dZEVlmYIzUBGN0Kqz76kiC7Kil-tsP0Awehp07RqIS92kyzg=s0-d)
Ingredients
- 2 apples
- A pile of carrots (Coachy’s words, verbatim. I think I used about 6 large carrots)
- 1/2 a lemon
- Shredded ginger (to taste)
Combine all the ingredients and either grind up in the blender until combined, or process all the ingredients
through your juicer. Don’t forget my warning above.![Smile with tongue out](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sWKVr3ZdfRRXs2rlUg6ZGBmhURoZ7GfayaLfbnoGx-LLFfa3Xreb1zR-53z_d4IAjp3g1OpEnTsVtJHVD3XFKgiHZsjEqIkcwyxjrfQSqOEyMDr9UZWwG7Unu8HTgDfjt_pO3wnxnDkzZuWSaNYlLhJ24KpPBMnwaEpBzx-HG6Hg=s0-d)
![2012-01-24_18-42-36_628 2012-01-24_18-42-36_628](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sbt1IGxrE3bxiS2O1m17SGO6hUZY-O6SBRq6Q4hCQ3eyqjN8hfNNK8EbgHL-EOofdnIn-zC-L8LmjpEd8DBhkE0Mhz_4ilP-amY23U9Gbm3ynAyUpnHHA7PpOeSquQJL9UfXUzJmSmAcjYJLXwAUwsFcgwnRnBPD2Zc1kHFuqh3tjD2srZLuk=s0-d)
through your juicer. Don’t forget my warning above.
Chunky carrot “juice”
Coachy’s Carrot Juice Smoothie (One serving)
Okay so the smoothie is actually my recipe, but I didn’t have a creative name for it. Since the base of the recipe is Coachy’s Carrot Juice, we’ll let him have some of the credit. ![Winking smile](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s_p0tSzOnKeMOv05LPlg2EdLcaGf_Ao6vMm68yzv8iBJKIdq_EPUwCTld3FpesukVbASGYt6IWLDlUaZEiz6mwq-iJwkKWl2O8ziuWQA2rBAFUHrgri3dZEVlmYIzUBGN0Kqz76kiC7Kil-tsP0Awehp07RqIS92kyzg=s0-d)
Ingredients
- 1 scoop Protein Powder of your choice
- 1 cup Coachy’s Carrot Juice
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- 1 cup crushed ice
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
I have been trying to drink at least a glass of one of the juices (the ones that are not my daily smoothie) every day. If not more. Especially now – I just ran my 18 miler and my 20 miler is this weekend. That’s a lot of time outside, on your feet, in the elements, running your body into the ground. Best be prepared, right? After New Orleans, I’ll be recovering for a couple of weeks, and then jumping right back into training for Cox Rhode Races. There’s only 9 full weeks between Rock N Roll New Orleans and Cox Rhode Races. No time to be unhealthy!
I hope you’ll give some of my recipes a try, and let me know what you think!
Do you have any juice recipes you’d like to share?
I hope you enjoyed this article about how to live healthier on a frugal budget and maximize your performance!
Interested in more articles about frugal fitness?
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