Green Avocado & Spinach Smoothie

 

 

                                     Posted on www.comfortspringstation.com on 4/29/24

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  Before I discuss today's recipe, I'd like to do an update on the top 50 posts from Comfort Spring in 2025.  As of today, I have written & scheduled 45 of the 50 posts. I can easily do the other 5 in the next week. All top 50 will be shared before the end of 2026. Thanks for your patience.

Now for today's recipe:

When I first started blogging some years ago, I started the day with a smoothie almost every morning. A few years later, I just got tired of it. My smoothies had almost disappeared in my breakfast menu ideas. Oatmeal became the main morning dish for breakfast. Recently I have again made the choice to add smoothies as a healthy, delicious morning choice. I like to have one for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack.

Back in the early days of blogging (2016), I shared Start Your Day With A Spinach Smoothie. I think it was the first recipe I shared. Spinach is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat.  It is a super food loaded with tons of nutrients in a low-calorie package. Dark leafy greens like spinach are important for skin and hair, bone health, and provide protein, iron, vitamins and minerals. Just do a search for the word spinach and you will see pages of articles  on the health benefits of spinach. Just eating one serving of spinach a day can make your brain 11 years younger.  A diet rich in leafy green vegetables help prevent cognitive decline according to recent research.   It slows the aging process.

 

 Today’s recipe is a quick and delicious banana, avocado, and spinach smoothie that can be used as a breakfast or snack. It’s really a good basic recipe that can be adapted to diet or taste needs. For vegan, replace the honey with maple syrup or agave nectar. Can’t eat nuts? Choose a different milk. I choose vanilla almond milk for a nutty flavor with a touch of vanilla. Need more protein? Add a scoop of protein powder. Have ripe fruit you need to use? Chop and add. Remember to make it your own and vary with what’s in the refrigerator. This recipe makes 2 smoothies; put the second in a covered bottle or jar in the fridge for a snack in the afternoon.  Give it a shake or two and your snack is good to go.

 

 

 

Green Avocado & Spinach Smoothie

Use organic when available. Serves 2, Ready in 5 minutes for Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, & halved
• 1 ripe banana (try frozen for extra creamy)
• 1 tbsp honey or dark agave nectar
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk or milk of choice

Instructions

• Add all ingredients except ice to blender
• Blend 50 to 55 seconds
• Add ice cubes and blend again for 30-35 seconds.
• Serve immediately 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Book Review: Winter Blues: Everything You Need To Know About Seasonal Affective Disorder

 

 

 

                                          Published 9/23/16 on comfortspringstation.com

 

I first read Winter Blues by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal back in the 1980s when the first edition was printed. It quickly became a bestseller as people were hungry for information about this newly discovered diagnosis, Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some of us have trouble in the fall as the days shorten and the days become grayer. My mother used to phone me periodically with "the blues". She'd say, "I don't know why I'm so blue. There's no reason."  

As for my reaction to light, I always hated January & February as a young girl. I’d say it was because the holidays were over and it was cold, but I now know I too am sensitive to the loss of sunlight. Gray skies and empty trees are my image of winter when my energy diminished. In fall 1986, my mother became seriously ill. I was between jobs and moved from Miami to my sister’s home in Michigan to help care for Mamma. That first October, I almost went into the fetal position. It wasn’t the cold; it was the darkness.  In 31 days, there were 28 gray days. It was like a gray blanket covered the sky and the sun was extinguished.

When I read Winter Blues, I finally understood my mother and myself.  It explained why at the age of 27, I moved to Miami from Tennessee and absolutely loved the bright days.I have lived in Tennessee and Michigan, both beautiful states, but I cannot happily live there long-term.

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

 

• When the dark days of winter approach, do you feel sluggish and slow? Is it a struggle to get out of bed each morning? 

• Do you have difficulty focusing at work or in relationships, feel down in the dumps, or, worse still, get really depressed? 

• Does it get harder than ever to stick to a healthy diet and control your weight?

   

   

  If you or someone you know has these symptoms, you really need to read this book. Now in its 4th edition, Winter Blues is a perennial bestseller. When it was first released, it was declared a landmark book defining SAD and offering solutions. It is packed with information to help you evaluate your own seasonality and seek relief.

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