I used to have migraines - 3 to 4 day migraines at least twice every month.  They started when I was a teen and continued for many years.  Even after I knew the cause nothing seemed to cure them.  See, I experienced severe anemia during both of my pregnancies and once when I went to give blood they turned me away because my iron level wasn’t even on the chart.  It was after this that I finally realized the headaches seemed to follow a rhythm remarkably similar to my womanly cycle.

I started taking a multi-vitamin regularly and that helped for a month or so.  Then I guess my body re-adjusted because things went back to “normal.”  I added a B-12 supplement to the mix as well as a regular dose of Ferrous Sulfate (yuck! and the warnings? scary!)  Even that was only marginally successful.  Then I found mention of a chlorophyll supplement that supposedly tricked your body into thinking it had enough iron.  Hmm, that might work.  I ordered the supplement and found that over the course about six months (100mg daily) the migraines all but disappeared.  Cool.  Then I got a little cocky and let my supply run out.  The very next month the migraines came back in full force.  Not cool.

So I have a solution to my migraine dilemma but I don’t like it.  I don’t like it because I don’t like being dependent on a product that I can’t produce myself in some fashion.  What to do? What to do?  More research leads me here and here where it finally clicks.  Chlorophyll comes from plants.  I know this, of course.  I even tease about it telling people I drink plant blood for breakfast.  But finally, I actually “get” it.  I don’t need a supplement.  I need a salad.  But a really intense salad.  A 20 serving salad.   ……  Right.  Like that’s going to happen on a daily basis.  But can and it does in the form of a green smoothie.  I’ve been drinking one each day for a couple of weeks now and I feel great.  I’m still taking my supplements but I’m down to 50mg/day instead of 100 so that’s progress.

Anyway, I said all that to say this:  Happy Foody is hosting a 30 day Green Smoothie Challenge.  I’m in and I think you should be too.  It certainly can’t hurt to get more greens in your diet and who knows you might actually feel better at the end of it.

Don’t know how to make a green smoothie?  A quick google will yield some 183,000 results.  Or you could just do what I do.

 *Add about 4 oz of yogurt to the bottom of your blender.  That’s one of those single serving yogurt containers or a couple of large spoonfuls from a bulk container.  I use vanilla but berry blends also work well.

 * Add one long squeeze of agave nectar (or honey.)

 * Add two handfuls of washed baby spinach and one handful of washed and cut kale or turnip greens.  Don’t pack it down.

 (I don’t have a heavy duty blender so the order is important.  It may not be for you.)

* Flip the switch and let it blend until it looks something like this.

*Add a handful of wheat germ. (It should go without saying but … stop the motor first.)

*Add some frozen unsweetened berries to taste.  Mix and match blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc. or just use your favorite.

*Blend until very smooth.

*Pour and enjoy.

*This “recipe” if I may use that term for such loose instructions tends to yield about two cups or 16 oz of smoothie.

One last note - “green” smoothie describes the leafy content and most likely will not represent the actual color of your drink.  For this reason I only give my children smoothies with lids that hide the sludgy like appearance.   I’m just sayin’.