😀 TGIF! 😀
I am pouting for a moment because I have to go in for a meeting today! Boo…!!!! 🙁
Most of you know I do bi-weekly taste tests for the employees at my work. Employees pay $1 to help cover the expense of groceries and I prepare a healthy recipe to taste along with a copy of the recipe to try at home. I went out on a limb this week and decided to make GREEN MONSTERS! Not gunna lie, I didn’t know how these would go over with our staff…
I used the Designer Whey Protein Powder I won from Heather’s giveaway!
Into the blender went:
pineapple
papaya
banana
blueberries
strawberries
spinach
honey
vanilla whey protein powder (good stuff!)
skim milk
Rainbow of delicious nutrition!
Green Monsters to taste!
Feedback from taste testers:
I had 2 that weren’t fans, but the other 14 were all pleasantly surprised! I think people REALLY enjoyed the green monsters and I think some will even go on to make them at home. I strongly encouraged employees to give the smoothies a shot, despite their “look” and I am really happy with their willingness to step outside the box!
Taste Test…………………….Success! 😀
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Today’s NNM Topic: Nonalcholic Fatty Liver (NAFL)
Simply put, nonalcholic fatty liver disease is the accumulation of fat in the liver in individuals who consume little to no alcohol. Excessive fat accumulation can cause scarring in the liver and lead to liver damage and cirrhosis. There are usually NO signs or symptoms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, but fatigue, weight loss, and abdominal pain may present. There are several risk factors for NAFL including obesity, gastric bypass, rapid weight loss, high cholesterol, certain medications, malnutrition, metabolic syndrome, pesticides, type 2 diabetes, malnutrition, and Wilson’s disease. As you can, NAFL is HIGHLY correlated to proper nutrition.
Ways to treat nonalcoholic fatty liver through nutrition include lowering carbohydrate intake (simple carbohydrates, specifically), limiting fats in the diet, specifically saturated and trans fat, weight loss, and a high plant intake including fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
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And lastly….my new favorite snack!!! I RARELY post my daily eats, so you must understand how FABULOUS this snack is!!
They look like roaches or chocolate turtles, don’t they!?
The large date is a Medjool and the smaller dates are Barhi — they are so sweet and creamy!! I’ve heard that they taste like caramel if you freeze them. Must try! So to snack on, just remove the pit and shove a walnut right in! YUMMM!
Question #1: What’s the last snack you ate? Don’t fib!! 🙂
Question #2: Do you like dates? How do you like to eat them? Any favorite varieties?
I looove dates! And Green Monsters! I’m sort of surprised too, everyone I’ve had try a GM likes it for the most part! I think they’re delicious!!
Green smoothies: 1, Vending machine snacks: 0.
Good for you for introducing your employees to new foods! That is awesome.
Those dates look delicious. I’m not really much of a snacker because I try not to keep snack food around, but the last one I had was dried unsweetened pineapple from Trader Joe’s. Delicious. The only problem is that the bag didn’t last very long!
Savoury Herb and Garlic Crackers and yes I do like dates.
2 green monsters a day for this shrinking boy.
I’m glad this taste test was a success! I think it’s amazing that people were willing to step out of their comfort zone for this. My last snack was popcorn. And I absolutey love dates! I’ll have to look for those smaller ones, I don’t think I’ve ever had them. Happy Friday, Nicole!
I’ve yet to make a green monster. And I feel kinda out of the loop because of it. Maybe there’s one in my future. I love dates. I like them plain as a dessert but the best? Stuff them with blue cheese and bake them. Oh my goodness…the salty, stinky cheese with the sweet date…so good!
Glad the green monsters went over so well! I love Medjool dates too — they are so sweet and creamy. My last snack was chocolate last night after dinner.
Sounds like such a good snack (and green monster too!) Yesterday I had an Amazing Grass chocolate peanut butter bar as a snack…yum 😉
So glad they liked the GMs! I love dates– they’re so good with a little smear of almond butter!
I love green monsters.
My last snack was a handful of pretzels and raisins last night…and I’ve never tried dates before, but I’ve been seeing them all over the blog world. Guess its time to try something new!
Have a great day!
So glad your Green Monsters were a success!!! You packed a ton of wonderful fruity flavors in there! 🙂
I’m always surprised at the number of my friends I can get to like green smoothies! I too have heard dates can taste like caramel when prepared different ways. I’m dying to try this because they have that same great chewy texture! Last snack I ate: Yesterday, animal crackers….yay for childhood memories
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I had animal crackers last night before I went to bed last night! Love those suckers!!
That is so awesome the Green Monster was a hit. When Mr. Famished saw me putting spinach in the blender for the first time he looked at me like I had 2 heads or he was going to commit me. I had my mom try it and after starring the Monster right in the eyes for about 2 minutes she tried it and was very impressed. I love my Green Monster. They have become my go to breakfast.
The last snack I ate is Kashi Go Lean. I have a bit of an addiction to this cereal and have it almost daily as a snack.
I LOVE green monsters! So good. My five year old niece who is SUCH a picky eater even likes them! They look scary, but they really taste like a fruit smoothie to me.
I’ve never had a date before! 🙁 Well, except in Larabars. I’d love to try one, though!
Yay for successful green smoothies!! I’ve never tried one! How am I a blogger who isn’t on the green monster train? Haha.
I love that snack too!! What an awesome idea- the combo of crunch and chew is perfection!
The last snack I ate was a greek yogurt and an ezekiel english muffin with almond butter! Yummm
Have a wonderful Friday!!
Your co-workers are SO lucky to have you cooking for them! Such an awesome idea!! I love green smoothies – so cool that you introduced the folks at your work to them!
Dates are one of my favorite foods ever!!! I love them for dessert – I call them my favorite candy! 🙂 Hmmm, the last snack I ate was plain shredded wheat with skim milk – I was a good girl! 🙂
Yay for green monster success!!! I told my friend about them the other night because she was saying how she wants a new way to get her daughter to eat more veggies. She actually wants to try it. I hope she likes it!
I like dates a lot too. For some reason we haven’t gotten them in awhile. Hmmm….need to fix that!
My last snack was grapes. I haven’s tried dates, but I have heard good things. I should probably pick some up soon! Your GMs look great! I am going to be adding pineapple to mine soon- great idea!
No wonder your coworkers liked the GM’s! Putting a lot of fruit into the mix is they key. 😉
Last snack was kashi crackers.
I don’t like dates plain at all, but I think they taste great in granola bars.
Now, I wonder if the two who were not fans of green monsters would have liked it if they hadn’t seen what went into it or saw the color! We are sometimes swayed ahead of time. I know that I often make presumptions and I’m presently surprised with the results when I give it a chance.
I have never made a green monster. I have leftover spinach so I should give it a try.
Last snack I ate was later last night…spoonful of pb with a glass of milk. I swere, I always need to have some sort of dessert.
Enjoy your Friday!
I am probably the only food blogger who has yet to try a green monster!! Maybe some day 😀
Smoked almonds was my last snack – love them! Not too sure about dates – its not something I seek out, but I may have to give them a try again.
Happy Friday!!
Congratulations on the taste test!!! oh i’m sure i would have loved it. Some people just see the green and…they’re freaked out/opinion is formed, no changing them…
NO not roaches!! they’re really really good looking. 🙂 can i have a sample??? P.s. I’m having a glazed nut giveaway if you’d like to try some, please do enter!!
LOVE dates!!! I honestly like to dip them in almond butter! 🙂
Glad they went over well. I can’t believe how much stuff you managed to cram into that blender. nice work!
I didn’t know you did those taste tests! Cool!
The last snack I had was roasted chickpeas. Gosh, those things are AMAZING! Maybe I will post about it tomorrow… hmm…
YEAHHH GO GREEN MONSTERS!!!!!! my friends would never try that! they hate the green-ness! haha
Medjool dates & walnuts seem such a delicious combo!
I just bought a whole box of it to try it out. So far I’ve only been eating them plain like candy, but I will definitely try stuffing them with walnuts, and I bet Brazil nuts will work well too. (Just the thought of it makes my mouth water already!)
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Thanks for stopping by! Brazil nuts sound fabulous!!
YES i LOVE dates! stuffed with pb and then briefly microwaved is the besttttt. last snack i ate? i can’t remember, but i’m about to go spend way too much $ on a tub of pineapple from whole foods
Dates are my candy. I usually stuff them with a brazil nut for selenium.
Try them stuffed with a bit of goat cheese and a walnut. FANTASTIC.
yum, love dates, esp. Medjool! My last snack was part of a protein pancake, but right now my favorite snack is Cottage Cheese mixed with Nutritional Yeast 🙂
I love that you made green monsters for your coworkers!!! And I love dates 🙂
I think that once people get past the color of the green monsters, they usually end up liking them.
I just had a vitamuffin. And yes, I like figs. I just eat them plain.
I only tried a green monster once and it wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t have all the fruit that yours did!
My last snack? A cheese stick. Boring I know. . .
Shoot you were able to convince 16 people to try Green Monsters!?!?! that is amazing!!!! I am still trying to convince my mom and sister lol
That’s awesome! I think the best compliment I had about green monsters was the other night when some friends were over and I said something about making smoothies with spinach… and someone rolled their eyes, and my husband compared it to Jamba Juice. Woot!
My last snack was apple slices – but now it’s definitely time for some dinner.
I’ve been meaning to pick up dates for a while now. They do look strange with the walnuts in them, but I bet they are very yummy. I’ll try it this weekend!
Last snack? I had some cottage cheese and chickpeas this afternoon (borrowed the idea from Janetha).
Happy Weekend! 🙂
I want to be a part of this test : )
I hate delicious app once–delicious dates with turkey (kind of healthy) bacon around it…weird combo but amazing
I love that rainbow of delicious nutrition! I really need to try a green monster, thanks for sharing. I’m a dietetic intern, and we just went over NAFLD this week! ohh boy, I think I need a break from liver MNT! have a great weekend!
I mention green monsters to people and they just laugh. I’m glad it was a hit.
Glad your GM’s were a hit!! 🙂 I love putting almond butter or PB on my dates for a little snack!! 🙂