Have spinach, will smoothie

Oh the goodness of things that are not good for you. Am I right? Chocolate. Wendy's. (or whatever place you like.) Crispy chicken sandwiches with mayo, extra mayo! Chips. Ranch dressing. French fries dipped in ranch dressing! CHERRY PEPSI!! Man, if I listed everything I love that's not great for me, we'd be here all day. I don't have all day. So let me just say- my tastes are incredibly drawn to anything fatty, creamy, and sugary. Is that anyone else?

Obviously, I know my eating habits were a major factor in my weight problem. Quite honestly, I was addicted to those things. Addiction? To food? Yes. There is such a thing- but that's a topic for another day.

Anyway.

One of the very first things I decided to change at this decision to create a more healthy lifestyle was the type of food I was eating. I was NOT making good choices. My day consisted of  white bread (why it's not horrible, but not wonderful for you either, in another post at another time), sugars, chocolate, highly processed carbs, and any and all chocolate I could get my hands on. And mixed with my lack of physical activity, that became a deadly combination.

Let's start with breakfast. It's the first thing in the morning, and it's been proven that those who have something at the beginning of the day are more likely to eat less during the rest of the day. But how much do you need to have? How much is a good enough breakfast to tide you over? I don't know- every person is different and will require different things to sustain their bodies. For me, I have discovered something that works. It's a green smoothie.
It works for me because I like spinach. I would much rather have spinach than lettuce. So my tastes were already tuned to this smoothie. Plus, the thickness of it means that I am not going to eat it all in one sitting, it lasts me through out the morning to lunchtime.
 I pull out spinach, strawberries, a banana, an orange, and vanilla yogurt. Into the blender they go and out a surprisingly tasty smoothie comes.This is where I found the recipe: 

                                  Pinterest spinach smoothie 

(this will take you to my pin of the smoothie- the blog it originated from isn't found so I don't know who to credit for this specific recipe.) There are several green smoothie recipes online and SO MANY people have opinions about them. Read 'em, see what you think. I believe that for breakfast or lunch, a green smoothie works for me. Will it for everybody? Maybe not. But if you think it would work for you, I say go for it.

I do change it up by the fruit I use. The day I used a peach was my favorite smoothie day. SO GOOD. I used in place of the strawberries. Anyway, the point is to try it, see what works for you.

I've been having this for breakfast for the past week and I'm not tired of it yet. Nor has it done anything adverse to me. Which, hey, YAY!  =)

I've also had: vanilla yogurt with granola and fruit. I mix it all together- not in the blender but just regular, in a bowl. YUM. It's good stuff.
My husband often has a protein shake for breakfast, and that works for him.
My point is, find something that works for you. Replace what you are eating now -- if it needs replacing-- with something different, healthier each day until you find several things you like and rotate through them.
You have to start with something at some point, right? So start with the morning. Will it be a miraculous event that will inspire you to do more? Maybe, I can't say. But it IS a starting point.

Do you have something that you like and works for you? Please share!