Let Us Eat Lettuce: Green Smoothie Challenge

This past weekend was my friend's wedding shower at my place. It was a huge success :) Everyone commented on how they loved my basement and what a great space it is (I must say that I agree! It was 85 degrees on the main level of the house, but I bet the basement was 15 degrees cooler. It felt so nice!)

It was also fairly green. We only had to throw away napkins and waxed paper. I used my glasses and silverware; the pop bottles were recyclable (both glass bottles and plastic two liters). I had thrifted disposable wine glasses to use for the smoothies. I washed and kept them though (with the exception of one that broke and got thrown away). I also used the reusable burger baskets (lined with waxed paper) so there was no paper plates to throw away.

Here are some photos of the day:

The bride-to-be showing off the "french fry" cake I made

The divas... This outfit was definitely not flattering on me. I'm in need of losing weight (30 pounds, eek!) however I look even fatter than I actually am in this photo...

... which brings me to my next topic: losing weight.

I am taking the fourteen day Green Smoothie Challenge. It all began when I wanted to come up with a recipe to use up a little lettuce before it went bad. My husband's grandma loves to cook it in oil and eat it wilted. I don't think I can stomach that, so I called up my good buddy Google. He helped me find other ways to use up lettuce. Some people recommended blending it up and putting it in soup. That sounded good, however we have so many leftovers that I didn't want to make another main dish.

Next up: green smoothies. Sounds interesting. Just throw a bunch of raw veges in the blender, and voila, a good-for-you smoothie. I threw in the lettuce, some grapes that were a tad past their prime, three oranges, and milk.

(And a scoop of ice cream). Shhh, please don't tell on me.

It was a little pulpy. Ok, it was a lot pulpy. Jason had a sip and wouldn't drink it because it was so pulpy. It really doesn't taste too bad though, so I have thirteen more days to go. We'll see how much weight I lose. Today I weighed 175, just so you know. I still have to lose thirty pounds of baby weight to be down to a weight that looks good on me. (And just for reference, my son is 10 weeks old, and I've already lost 33 pounds. I doubt the next 30 pounds will be as easy to lose though!)

Wish me luck!

And just for fun, here's two photos of me... one before pregnancy, and one taken two weeks before Joel was born.