Strawberry Ginger Green Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Today I woke up feeling very defeated. Tired, shaky, foggy, sad and on the verge of sickness. But it's my goal today to stay positive. We can't control everything that happens in our lives, but we can control our reactions. Step one in operation stay positive: focus on things that I am grateful for... my wonderful roommate, an awesome home, new friends, a job I enjoy with friendly co-workers, that it's sunny outside today and for coconut milk lattes from this place:

I am also so incredibly grateful  for the fact that Molly's brother had a small food processor and Magic Bullet that he never uses and said I could keep! I've been whining and complaining about my blender/ food processor-less life for a couple weeks now and these two appliances will be perfect to help me get by until I can afford a Vitamix. Thank you Spencer!

Another wonderful surprise yesterday was discovering I had $150 in my Paypal account left over from my Etsy days! Plus, Beanilla is having a sale on Madagascar vanilla beans 25 for $25! So I used money from my Paypal account to buy the beans so that I can make more vanilla extract since I'm running low! 

*Sigh* Feeling better already :-) Now, onto the smoothie!

Step two of operation stay positive was to make a smoothie. Smoothies are one of my happy foods and I loaded this one with Vitamin C and antioxidants to hopefully kick this oncoming cold in the butt. I also love drinking anything ginger when I'm feeling under the weather. Ginger has been used medicinally for centuries. It helps to settle upset stomachs, it's loaded with essential vitamins and minerals and the spiciness helps clear sinuses and relieve colds. This smoothie doesn't have the most appealing color, but it tastes great!

Strawberry Ginger Green Smoothie

• 1 Heaping Cup Strawberries
• 2 Mandarin Oranges or 1 Large Orange*
• 2 Handfuls of Spinach
• 1/2 Cup Almond Milk
• Approximately 1 inch of Ginger Root, peeled

*If you don't have a high powered blender, the oranges may not fully blend, if that texture bothers you, you can add 1/2 cup orange juice instead and omit the almond milk.

Place all the ingredients in the blender. I find leafy greens are blended more thoroughly when closest to the blades, so in most blenders add the spinach first, in Magic Bullets add it last. Also, if you are using a Magic Bullet you may need to add half the ingredients, blend and then add the rest and blend again to make it all fit. 

How do you make yourself feel better when you're having "one of those days"?