This month’s What I Ate Wednesday theme is Going Green!

What is it about green vegetables that gives them such a bad reputation? Ask a group of children (even teenagers) if they enjoy eating Brussels sprouts, asparagus, collard greens, or peas, and the majority would tell you they despise them. I cringed at the sight of anything green (other than lettuce, green beans, and raw broccoli) as a child, but thankfully, in my adulthood, I realized that green = the color of life.

Green is beautiful, vibrant, and clean. My bridesmaids’ dresses were a light green, and my green bedroom walls are incredibly relaxing. One of my favorite aspects of living in the South is the abundance of verdant trees and plants.

Green also represents sustainability and environmental stewardship. By living green, I try to create less waste and reduce my carbon footprint in the following ways:

• recycling (& reusing items)
• drinking from a BPA-free water bottle & carrying my lunch in reusable snack bags
• growing my own herbs and vegetables (attempting to, at least)
• turning off appliances and lights when they’re not in use
• making scrap notebooks from unused printouts
• limiting my consumption of meat
• opening windows for fresh air when the weather is right
• buying local when possible

These actions are just a drop in the bucket (I could certainly do much more), but small efforts can collectively yield big results.

And now it’s time to get down to the food.

My breakfast is usually void of green foods. Yesterday, however, I used a nearly-empty almond butter jar for overnight oats. That’s a different kind of green, right?

After my attempt at a 1.5 mile run this past Saturday (it was freezing and windy!), I did refuel with a nourishing green smoothie.

Ingredients

• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• half a small banana
• ⅓ cup canned pumpkin
• ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• cinnamon & nutmeg (to taste)
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• milk, to thin the mixture

I think I may pick up some kiwi, green grapes, or pears this weekend for next week’s breakfasts.

Though I didn’t take a picture, yesterday’s lunch included a tasty Asian-inspired salad with cucumber, green pepper, onion, and carrots topped with a dressing of rice wine vinegar, olive oil, ginger, red pepper flakes, dill, a pinch of sugar, salt, and sesame seeds.

Saturday’s black bean and onion quesadilla received a dose of green with sliced avocado.

Dinner last night consisted of 2 slices of Mellow Mushroom pizza: one piece of House Specialty (there are green peppers on there, I promise) and one slice of “Kosmic Karma,” which was loaded with pesto and spinach. I love MM’s pizza!

I’m sure there will be much more green veggies making an appearance in my meals next week. Kermit could learn a thing or two; I haven’t lived his life, but I do know that it’s easy eating green!