Perspective

I have a protein shake every morning for breakfast. (I actually use the doTERRA Trim shake mix that doesn't have any added sugar or artificial sweetener.)  When I was in the first week of this new lifestyle, I asked an old wise woman (my sister, hahahaha! Love you Analee!) if she thought the protein shakes would still be OK.  She thought that they would probably be OK as long as I eat some fruit, or add fruit to it.  I chuckled to myself and PROUDLY told her that (on that particular day) I added strawberries (about 5-6), banana (1 whole), mango (1/2 cup chopped), and pineapple (about 1/4 of a whole) to my shake.  Along with a cup of milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/2 cup oats, 1 tablespoon chia seeds and a small container of Chobani Greek yogurt. (I like to add the yogurt for more protein instead of more protein powder.) She replied, "HOLY COW!!  That's a LOT of food!".  I didn't really get it.  It didn't seem like a lot of food to me because I was able to drink the entire lot. It only filled the glass 1 1/2 times, what was the big deal?  It was funny because I tried to justify it by stating that I only used 1 scoop of powder when 2 scoops are to be used with that much milk, "Well, I only put in one scoop of protein powder."  LOL!  She replied to me, "Sierra, if you were to actually EAT all that food, instead of blending it up, would you be able to finish it?"  The light went on in my head.  I had been making my protein shakes this way since I started drinking them at the beginning of this year. I would put all that fruit in because I wanted to make sure I was getting a good start on my day with my 5 fruits and vegetables.  My perception of how to get my fruits and vegetables in was completely WRONG!

She challenged me to actually cook the oats with the milk and put all that fruit and yogurt in the oats and see if I could eat it all.  The visual was enough. I pictured a salad bowl FILLED with all this food and me sitting there with this tiny spoon. I did cook the 1/2 cup of oats in the milk, but I only used half a banana and a mango (these one's were actually quite small).  I could barely finish the bowl. I was putting WAY to much fruit in my shakes! DANG!

For fun, I looked up how many oranges it would take to make a cup of juice, how many apples it would take, and how many grapes it would take to make a glass of wine (even though I don't drink wine, I was curious.)  Here are my results:

• 1-2 POUNDS, not separate fruit, POUNDS of oranges to make one glass of orange juice.
• 5-10 apples (depending on the size) to make ONE glass of apple juice.

And...

• 75-100 grapes to make ONE GLASS of wine.

Astounding!  I love orange juice as much as the next person, but I can't even imagine eating 1-2 pounds of oranges in one sitting.  And I would ALWAYS pour a second and sometimes third glass!  YIKES! I think it is safe to say that our perception of drinks that contain fruits and vegetables is completely off. We need to change our perspective. Needless to say that I have changed my perspective when it comes to my protein shakes.  They now have only half a banana, a cup of another fruit such as mango, peach, cherries, strawberries, etc. etc., a cup of milk, a yogurt, one scoop protein powder, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, and only 1/4 cup oats.  It has shrunk by half and it keeps me full till lunch. 

So, next time you have a glass of orange juice or apple juice or wine with your meal, just think about how much you would actually be eating if these things weren't juiced. Not to mention all the added sugar.