I Drank Kimberly Snyder’s Famous Glowing Green Smoothie Every Day for Two Weeks. Here’s What Happened.

A big part of our job is keeping up with cool new wellness trends. Some of the new ones rock and become an everyday staple. Some - eh - we could take or leave (sorry cryotherapy, my teeth chattered far too long after that session to make me run back for more).

But with all the cool new things to try - sometimes we lose sight of the basics. A few weeks ago, we hosted Kimberly Snyder for the Philly stop of her Radical Beauty tour. While Jess has been a superfan of KS since her debut on the wellness scene in 2011, I, admittedly, knew pretty much nothing about her work.

The night of the event - you could FEEL the loyalty in the room. While a few attendees were newbies to KS like me, most were die hard fans. Kimberly’s teachings had truly changed a lot of these lives. And I could see why. Her smile was infectious, her skin seriously did glow, and she spoke to the room with a relatable energy that made you really WANT to listen.

Of everything she spoke about that night, one thing really stuck with me. KS starts every. single. day. with her Glowing Green Smoothie - a generously sized blend of filtered water, lots of greens, veggies & fruit (without any added fat or protein). Ok - a green smoothie in the morning is not THAT different from my regular routine (I usually have some variation of greens/nut milk/fruit/nut butter) but what was super cool about the GG is that it doesn’t really count as your breakfast. Chug this baby, wait 25-30 mins, and then you’re free to eat an additional breakfast that includes protein/fat. The point of the GG is to flood your body first thing with easily digestible nutrients - with an extra promise of being just what you need to feel energized all day. So two breakfasts can be a thing? Sign me up.

For this experiment, I took the GG and adapted it slightly to fit me. You can find the OG version <<here>>.

B+YND’S MORNING GREEN

16 OZ FILTERED WATER

½ HEAD ROMAINE LETTUCE

3 CUPS SPINACH

3 STALKS CELERY, ROUGHLY CHOPPED

½ LARGE CUCUMBER, ROUGHLY SLICED (OR A WHOLE ONE, IF ITS SMALL!)

1 PEAR, CORED AND ROUGHLY CHOPPED

½ FROZEN BANANA

HANDFUL OF HERBS (CILANTRO, PARSLEY, BASIL - WHATEVER I HAVE)

JUICE FROM 1 LEMON

THROW EVERYTHINGGGG IN A HIGH SPEED BLENDER UNTIL SMOOTH.

DAY 1

Thoughts at the grocery store: “Holy crap. This is a lot of produce. Can I afford to do this every morning? Damn, organic produce is expensive. I hate celery. What am I going to do with all this celery?” I felt better about everything (except the excess celery) once I actually made the smoothie. It was A LOT - almost 40oz. KS recommends starting with 16oz a day, and says you can make a batch and keep it sealed in an airtight container in the fridge for two days. Cool. And it honestly tastes pretty good. A little thick, but I’ll know to blend longer next time.

DAY 2

Actually looking forward to the smoothie. Plus, it’s already made, which makes things easy. Even after the GG, I’m feeling a little sluggish today so can’t totally vouch for the energy promise yet.

DAY 3

If nothing else, this routine is making me super tuned into what I’m eating. Since I know I have to eat this first, and then wait at least 30 minutes until breakfast #2, I find myself planning my meals better and making better food decisions overall. Also - with all this produce in the house, a lot more of my meals are becoming salads by default. I’m liking this.

DAY 4

I workout before the GG most days, and today, I come home just plain HUNGRY. Plus, I’m out and have to make the whole concoction again. Wah. I’m feeling cranky and want to just bag it and eat something else - but I stick to it and realize after drinking my portion that the crazy hunger pangs are gone. Today, I wait a few hours until eating again cause I’m just plain full.

DAY 5 & 6

Noticed these mornings that I woke up super easily (I’m usually a “snooze” til the last second person). I’m awake and starting my day an hour before I normally do. One day, I drink my leftover GG in bed while banging out emails (I know, I shouldn’t work in bed, but I live in a studio - there’s really nowhere else to go!) and feel like a champ.

DAY 7

About to hop on a plane to LA with the team. I make a mini version of the GG with the rest of the produce I have on hand. I’m so happy to be drinking this before getting on a plane - I feel like my digestive system is thanking me. My usual routine on planes is to snuggle up and catch up on sleep, but I work through the whole flight. I feel ALERT. Not sure how I’m going to keep this up while traveling, but I figure if there is any city to need to drink a specific green smoothie every morning, it’s LA.

DAY 7-10

Even in the land of healthy food, it’s not easy to keep this up while traveling. Definitely not impossible, though. You can walk into pretty much any smoothie bar and ask them to make this concoction - my three day failure was more because I REALLLYYY wanted to try all the cool new combos at every juice bar. I definitely drank a green juice (or two) every day of the trip, so I’ll call that a win.

DAY 10-14

Back home and back at it. I was craving it when I landed. Not as thrilled about running to the grocery store at 7am when I remembered I was ingredient-less, but I was determined. I made a batch for the next two days and settled back into my normal routine, liking the burst of morning nutrients even more each day.

THE VERDICT

By the end of two weeks (more like 2 and half, since I wanted to make up for my 3 day hiatus) I’m HOOKED. I have more energy, I feel fuller during the day, and my digestive system is ON POINT. I even got the fiance intrigued, and now have him guzzling down 12 oz every morning.

So KS- thank you. We’ll be sticking to this one for a while.

xo, 

Jen