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The idea came to me out of the blue. Since I don’t drink much alcohol (how boring! ;)) and can’t participate in Dry July, why not start my own version and see if anyone else wanted to take part? The result was Green July!

So what exactly is it?

We all know that eating greens is good for us, so this July, we’re going to drink them. Every day! I will be aiming to have 1 green smoothie every day of July in order to boost my health and happiness, and I’d love you to join me. I’ve previously done a week long challenge which resulted in me feeling absolutely incredible, so I want to continue on and see what happens.

I couldn’t be happier with the response so far – over 280 people have signed up to drink a months worth of green smoothies, yippie! To help us out, I’ve created the Wellness WA Green Smoothie Database with all the recipes we’ve posted on here to date, and we will also be posting green smoothie recipes throughout the month – as well as bringing on some special guest bloggers!

Sign up here if you’re ready to watch your health & wellness SKYROCKET with me! 🙂

If you have any questions please leave them below, or on the event page!

I cannot wait to get started and I really hope you will join in the fun x

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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♥ A Basic Green Smoothie Recipe – if you’re new to green smoothies, let this be your introduction! Apple juice (not too much, and as high quality as you can afford), baby spinach, banana, frozen fruit (berries or mango).

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♥ Magnificent Energising Morning Smoothie – frozen banana, blueberries, apple, spinach, pepitas, vitamin b.

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♥ Stuart Watkin’s Green Smoothie – Spirulina powder, chlorella powder, protein powder, himalayan crystal salt, maca, cayenne pepper, ayurvedic herbs (a unique smoothie for experienced smoothie makers!)

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♥ Avocado, Apple & Berry Smoothie – avocado, apple, frozen berries (any kind but I used mixed), flaxseed oil.

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♥ Green Smoothies – A New Kind of Beauty Therapy – article on green smoothies for skin health as well as a recipe: pear, apple, avocado, grated ginger, spinach.

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♥ Double Whammy Banana and Blueberry Smoothie – vanilla soy milk, bananas, frozen blueberries, spinach, wheatgerm.

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♥Friday Night Smoothie Delight – Chocolate soy milk, banana, frozen blueberries, wheatgerm. Note: spinach not in original recipe but can be added and still be delish! 🙂

♥ Blueberry, Banana and Cashew Butter Smoothie – bananas, frozen blueberries, organic cashew butter. Note: my original recipe doesn’t mention spinach, however a handful or more of baby spinach or greens thrown into this would be a great idea!

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♥ Mango/Raspberry and Spinach Smoothie – Frozen mango or raspberries (not both, though it could work, let me know if you try it!), spinach, banana, apple & pear juice, wheatgerm.

♥ Q & A: Green smoothies on the go AKA How long will my green smoothie last? – a question we get asked a lot here, check out how to make the most of your smoothies throughout the day!

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1. 7 day green smoothie challenge

This past week I undertook a challenge to see what difference (if any) drinking a green smoothie each day for one week would make to my life. UNFORTUNATELY! I fell off the wagon a few days in, I’m definitely not perfect and nor do I claim to be 🙂 I did however drink a lot more of them than I usually would (4-5) in one week, and I have to be honest I’m feeling pretty darn good. I recently found out about the necessity of rotating your greens when making these type of smoothies, and I have to say I am amazed that nature is so clever. Click that link and read all about why it’s best to rotate… I’m sure it will amaze you as it did me!

In light of that I’ve been flirting with cos (romaine) lettuce in lieu of spinach and kale this week, and LOVING it!

Cos lettuce, blueberry & cashew smoothie.

1 x cup of frozen blueberries
4-6 x medium sized washed cos lettuce leaves
1/2 x cup of raw cashews
2 x cups of water
Optional: 1 x banana

Blend for 1-2 minutes. Will make enough for 2-3 big cups. I find this smoothie incredibly refreshing and it’s absolutely my new favourite, mmmm! Recommended!

2. Echolife Clay Cleansers

I lurrrrve the way this clay makes my face feel. It’s very different to cleansers I’ve gotten used to, being that it’s a lump of wiggly clay in a glass jar, but I take a 10c piece sized amount, rub it into my hands with water and then massage all over my face. It’s perfect for my skin type which is combination – few dry bits, few oily bits, few pimply bits – I’m certainly not blessed in that department. After only a few days of using this I’m already addicted and I love that it’s so natural, I’m really getting back to basics with skincare at the moment, so after cleansing I press a few drops of rosehip or jojoba oil into my face while it’s still damp, for a double hit of natural goodness!

There is also another version I like to use, that contains castor oil, for when my skin is feeling a bit drier (hello winter!).

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3. Toasted cereal topping

This stuff. What can I say? It has transformed my breakfasts in the morning. I put a teaspoon of this wonder-mix, which contains organic raw linseed, sesame seeds, buckwheat, sunflower kernels, almonds and cinnamon. It’s gluten free, no added oils, sugar or salt, GMO free.

I stumbled across it one day at Farmer Jacks, Subiaco and haven’t looked back since. It gives an awesome nutty crunch and texture to my porridge in the morning and it just feels so -good- knowing that I’m getting that extra bit of easy nutrition to start my morning off the right way. I also sprinkle it into my smoothies and it gives it a really interesting flavour kick.

There are heaps of other rad products by the brand, Real Good Food, such as mixes with goji and blueberries, rice porridges, delicious looking trail mixes and MORE! Ps. I’m not getting paid to promote these! I just found them randomly and LOVE the prods, so want to share my joy!

Me at yoga… hah! Nah, it’s number one yogini babe, Kathryn Budig. Crushin’.

4. Sunday Yoga

A couple of weeks ago I took part in a generally unheard of activity… exercise, on a Sunday.

It was amazing! Admittedly, I felt a little smug as I was doing sun salutation after sun salutation when many people would still be in bed nursing a hangover from the night before. I quickly got over that and realised I was doing it for ME, not trying to be better than anyone else. It was a great note to end the week on, and I’m looking forward to it again soon.

The Yoga Company near the Subi train station (across from the road from Wagamama) do Sunday classes, if anyone knows anywhere else that does Sunday yoga, please leave a comment!

Just a couple of links for you this week… we’ve been too busy organising some excellent new competitions to browse too many other websites, but do let us know if you’ve come across anything interesting on your travels! 😉

Linkies:

♥ Foods that promote collagen production
♥ Foods that can help relieve stress

Past week n a bit:

♥ We checked out some superfoods that go ON your body, not just in!
♥ Green Smoothies: A new kind of beauty therapy – one of our most popular articles of all time!
♥ Beauty and wellbeing routine: Ashlea Ingham, Model & Miss Universe Australia Contestant!
♥ Planet Eve Organics – another ab-fab Aussie organic brand, LOVE!
♥ Say bye bye to cranky winter skin!
♥ We reviewed Bikram Yoga in Scarborough to see if we’d survive…
♥ Beauty and wellbeing routine: Lauren, Beauty on the Grove this lass is only 26 and already owns her own salon. What a go getter!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo
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