Good Deeds that can help you

This article is in conjunction with my podcast episode: HelpYourself by Helping Others:

Here is a list of good deeds that can be easy to do and can really enrich the lives of those around us. Apologies if there are repeats.

Good deeds 

•  Make a double-batch of something delicious and freezable and give it to a neighbour
• Buy a bag of good groceries, things you’d normally buy for yourself – and donate it to your local food bank or shelter.
• Cut an armload of fresh flowers from your garden and bring them to your local nursing home
• Bring your well-behaved dog for a visit at a local nursing home.
• Hold the door for people behind you
• Volunteer at a local breakfast program.
• Bring someone a plant or some fresh flowers.
• Make soup for a friend recovering from surgery or an illness.
• Take your sibling's/friend’s kids out for the day
• Put together a basket of treats for a friend who had a death in the family. Deliver it after the funeral has taken place, when most friends have gone back to their day-to-day lives.
• Drive your grandparents, elderly parents and their friends to church, doctor's appointments or the movies.
• Volunteer for a charity.
• Offer to take care of a neighbour's pet when they go away on a small vacation.
• Make dinner for friends with a newborn baby
• Pay for the person behind you at the drive-thru.
• Help someone who looks lost with directions.
• Donate your used clothes and housewares to charity.
• Help an elderly person off the bus or cross the road by offering to take their arm or carry their packages.
• Bring your old magazines to a hospital waiting room
• Write a letter or e-mail to a good friend or family member to let them know how much you value them.
• Volunteer yourself to walk an elderly neighbour's dog once a week.
• Pass on your books after you've read them for someone else to enjoy. Take them to a local shelter or give them to friends.
• If you've discovered a great little restaurant or store, spread the word and write reviews.
• Surprise your unsuspecting spouse with breakfast in bed.
• When you come across a two for one deal, donate your free product to a local shelter.
• Allot yourself a set amount of compliments to dole out a day.
• Volunteer to do your parents/grandparents' grocery shopping for them every few weeks
• Feed parking metres that you notice are about to expire.
• Next time you do your grocery shopping, pick up a large bag of cat or dog food to donate to a local animal shelter.
• Help a friend in need. Volunteer for an hour at an organization of your choice.
• Save electricity by unplugging your devices when not in use.
• Buy a gift for your mother or grandmother – just because.
• Allow a fellow driver to merge into your lane.
• Write a thank-you note to someone who won’t expect it.
• Find unneeded items in your house and donate them to a charitable organization.
• Plant a tree.
• Think of something you do well, and use your talent to benefit others – for example performing magic tricks at a children’s hospital or playing music at a nursing home.
• Teach an elderly person to use a computer to surf the Internet or write e-mails.
• Organize a family meal and appreciate being together.
• Collect stuffed animals or toys from family members, friends, and neighbors and donate them to an organization that helps children.
• When you are outside, stop and look around you. Take time to appreciate nature.
• Find a piece of winter clothing that you haven’t worn all season, and donate it to a charity.
• Donate an old cell phone.
• Use both sides of the paper before throwing it away.
• Offer to cook or clean for the family of someone who has recently given birth.
• Think of at least three things you should be thankful for in your life.
• Plant a vegetable garden and donate the vegetables to a food pantry.
• Collect duffle bags, overnight bags, and suitcases from friends and donate them to organizations who help children in foster care.
• Donate blood.
• Save articles about people performing acts of kindness as a source of inspiration and motivation for you and your family.
• Decide to make one change in yourself that will make you a better person.
• Swallow your pride and apologize for something you’ve done – whether big or small.
• Take part in a literacy program, to help children or adults learn to read.
• Return a phone call you have been putting off.
• Answer the phone in a cheerful voice.
• Hold a charity day at work. Encourage your colleagues and supervisors to bring in non-perishable items to be donated to a worthy cause.
• Turn the tap off when you’re shaving, brushing your teeth, or scrubbing the dishes.
• Adopt a shelter animal.
• Switch your light bulbs to the energy-efficient variety.
• Ask a loved one about their day.
• Praise a colleague’s good work.
• Leave some extra money in a vending machine.
• Write a thank you letter to your parents.
• Compliment a stranger.
• Ask someone “How are you?” and listen.
• Hug a loved one for no particular reason.
• Make breakfast for your partner or housemate.
• Offer someone your seat on public transport.
• Stop and have a conversation with a homeless person.
• Buy an inspiring book for a friend.
• Leave your favorite book in a public place with a note.
• Donate books to your local library.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
• Pay for the person behind you at the drive thru.
• Pay for a complete stranger’s meal at a restaurant.
• Leave a $5 note on a random petrol pump.
• Buy flowers for the cashier at the grocery store.
• Send anonymous flowers to a colleague.
• Leave a funny or kind note in an unexpected place.
• Invite a friend over for a home cooked meal.
• Let someone jump ahead of you in line.
• Give a lottery ticket to a stranger.
• Run an errand for someone.
• Send a random person in your phone contacts a small gift.
• Send your sibling a small gift.
• Introduce yourself to someone new.
• Tell a loved one how much you appreciate them.
• Hold the door for someone.
• Treat a friend to a movie or concert.
• Walk a friend’s dog.
• Call a friend you haven’t called in a while.
• Donate to a local charity or event.
• Spend quality time with family and friends.
• Thank the cooks and staff personally.
• Put a tip in a street musician’s jar.
• Distract a random screaming baby by pulling random funny faces (smiles count).
• Clean your neighbour’s yard
• Thank the salesperson who helped you
• Buy an extra can of food to donate to a food drive or food bank
• Help someone find a lost pet
• Bring flowers to patients in the hospital or to the nurses' station
• Weed a community garden
• Prepare food for firemen or policemen who have to work on a holiday.
• Put out a bird feeder for the winter birds
• Put an encouraging note in your child’s or partners' lunch bag.
• Be the designated driver and make sure your friends celebrate safely
• Smile at a random stranger – smiles are contagious
• Ask someone to give a donation in your name instead of a gift
• Pick up trash in a park or at the beach
• Donate your hair to Locks of Love
• Donate to your local school to help a child pay for their school trip
• Put your change in a donation box when you shop
• Donate blood or join the bone marrow registry
• Buy a meal for a homeless person
• Bring a cake or treats to work
• Take public transportation or carpool instead of driving to work
• Tell the manager about an employee who gave great customer service
• Donate school supplies for children in homeless shelters
• Volunteer at a senior center or nursing home
• Hold the door open for the person behind you especially if they are carrying bags.
• Sign up for a CPR course, you never know when you might need it
• Bring a meal over to someone who just left the hospital
• Donate clothing to goodwill or a clothing drive.
• Give up your seat on the subway or bus to someone who needs it
• Sign up to be an organ donor
• Go to an animal shelter and play with the animals
• Donate period products to a shelter for abused women
• Offer to babysit for a new parent
• Donate old eyeglasses to an organization that will reuse them
• Recycle plastic bottles, paper and whatever else is collectible
• Help a friend move - even if there are stairs
• Shovel out your neighbour's walkway or mow their lawn
• Save the mini shampoo bottles and soaps from a hotel stay and donate them to a shelter
• Walk or run for a cause
• Bring a welcoming gift to a new neighbour
• Turn the lights off anytime you leave the room to save energy
• Help someone change a flat tire
• Return shopping carts at the grocery store and leave the quarter in it for the next person
• Give books to a street library
• Leave a server a generous tip before a holiday

An Over-Burdened Mom-Brain in the COVID Era

Life is busy. That’s just how it goes. But the type of things you are busy with change over the years. I often think about the many things that run through my brain in the span of a day and how a human brain is able to cope with that level of activity. After becoming a mom, the number of issues spinning around in my brain has significantly increased and it shows no signs of slowing down. The COVID era came with even more things to worry about. My twin boys are almost 3 and it seems I have to worry about something new every day that pertains to them. In an effort to understand myself and to give my brain a much-needed organization, I decided to write out a list of my daily thoughts as they stand now. Turns out there were so many different types of worries that I had to categorize them for my own brain to handle.

Kids:

• ·         Are my kids waking up later than they should be? But also, why are they not sleeping more?
• ·         Are the kids learning to brush their teeth properly? Am I doing a good job cleaning their teeth?
• ·         What is my kid eating? Why are they not eating more? And more variety? Why are they so picky?
• ·         Am I giving my kid enough opportunities to be active? Also, how do I give them outdoor time when it is soooo hot outside?
• ·         Why can’t my kids feed themselves? But also, they eat so less when they eat by themselves. And they will only eat junk food. How will they ever grow?
• ·         Is it okay that my child is still taking a bottle? They are getting issues with teeth. But I am not ready to fight with them about the bottle. But teeth!
• ·         Is the car seat installed properly? But why is their head falling in that weird angle? Should I pull over and fix them?
• ·         Allergies…
• ·         Potty training…no explanation needed
• ·         Dressing kids according to the weather
• ·         Are my kids going to hurt themselves? Badly? Should I protect them or let them get hurt and learn?
• ·         Are kids learning my language, culture, and religion?
• ·         How do I talk to the kids so they can learn to talk more?
• ·         Are they learning to share and be kind?
• ·         How will they do when they are back in daycare? Will they be safe?
• ·         How can I make them more independent so they are ready next year to begin school? Next year??? Really???

Housekeeping:

• ·         When is garbage day? Is all the garbage being thrown out? What about kitty litter? Garden litter? Food scraps into organic? DIAPERS!!!!
• ·         When was the last time I cleaned the bathroom? What is that gross stain in the corner??
• ·         Can I turn the dishwasher on yet? It’s not full but I really want those things cleaned. But that’s a waste of water and electricity.
• ·         When was the last time I opened the windows in the house and let fresh air through?
• ·         When did I change our bedsheets last? Do I need to clean the kids' bed stuff and their stuffies?
• ·         Those veggies I bought a week ago are going bad and need to be eaten. But there is leftovers.
• ·         The floors need to be cleaned since the kids eat off the floor but what is safe to use?
• ·         Did the kids pee there? Did I get a chance to clean it up yet?
• ·         Kids are outgrowing their clothes. I need to find time to go through their stuff and donate items.
• ·         I need to clean out the vacuum cleaner. It’s so gross and full!
• ·         Make a list of what I need to buy or else I will forget when I am in the store.

Garden

• ·         Oh no! The garden needs water twice a day in this heat. But that’s a waste of water!
• ·         The grass is burnt and I don’t want to waste water watering grass. But the kids are running on it and getting splinters from the dry grass ☹
• ·         What other things do I need to plant in order to feed my family healthy nutritious stuff? What will make the house look prettier?
• ·         Oh no, bugs pests and diseases in the plants I have been so caring towards! When do I find time to deal with this? What is safe to use?
• ·         I have to harvest the stuff that is ready before they go bad but there is too much to eat. I can give it to people I know but I don’t have time to get to them…plus COVID
• ·         Fertilize garden!

Career

• ·         Kids are home so work takes a second priority. Barely getting to it.
• ·         Work is piling up and no one else will do it. My boss will fire me any day.
• ·         But do I even want this job?
• ·         Am I using all the skills I have gained over the years?
• ·         My parents have paid for me to get this far. Is this going to make them proud?
• ·         Will pursuing my career have an impact on my spouse’s work? Or my kids?

Self-care and spirituality

• ·         Not enough sleep
• ·         Sleep not restful due to kids waking up too often
• ·         No time to destress at the end of the day because of too many things to do
• ·         No time/energy/motivation for the gym or working out
• ·         No time to pray or pray with full ease because my brain is running a mile a minute
• ·         Headache…sneezing…COVID?? Don’t have time to worry about that now!

Extended Family and Friends

• ·         Who do I need to call and reach out to?
• ·         Haven’t spoken to my mom in 24 hours. She will freak out
• ·         Haven’t sent any new pictures of the kids to the family
• ·         Haven’t returned that text from a friend
• ·         Need to buy a birthday gift/card
• ·         Why is that person mad at me? I have no clue. Should I apologize? But I did nothing wrong.

So there, I tried to organize my thoughts. Seems like a lot. I am fairly certain I go through all or most of these thoughts in the run of a day. At the end of the day, it’s important to take a breath and remember that you are human and whatever you were able to accomplish is amazing. Whatever you didn’t get to will still be there tomorrow. I am trying to remind myself of that every day. It’s not easy, but it is the only way to get to tomorrow. I have no solutions on how to overcome these thoughts or stop having them so I have some amount of mental space available for myself. But I recognize that this is part of me. And perhaps a part of many folks out there. We are not alone, and for that, I am only slightly grateful. Let’s get through each day together.

Things people should do while they are still alive

I read an awesome blog post today.
65 travel experiences to have while you’re alive and breathing

I loved reading this because I love travelling and exploring new places. But as I read this, I thought to myself, no one ever makes a list of things people should do before they die. Not places to visit or adventures to have. But things that make us good happy human beings and give us appreciation for life. I feel like those type of experiences would do so much more for our souls than travelling the entire world would. Granted, travelling can bring you face to face with some of the experiences I am talking about, but these can be done even during your ordinary day. So here it is. My first list of things everyone should do while they are still alive. I might do a part 2 in the future.

1. Wake up after your first alarm...no snoozing
2. Smile at the thought of starting a new day
3. Spend a day, or even an hour, with a homeless person
4. Speak up when someone near you is getting bullied
5. Speak up when you hear a racist/sexist/ageist/ableist etc. comment
6. Give money to charity
7. Tell your parents you love and appreciate them
8. Have a pet and love it unconditionally
9. If you are religious, find out why you believe. If you are not, find out why you don't believe
10. Learn the way your government works
11. Learn the history of your country
12. Vote
13. Volunteer regularly and get your family involved too
14. Learn a foreign language
15. Learn about a different culture
16. Get to know your neighbours
17. Reflect on your day/week/year/life
18. Learn a new skill 
19. Take a class just because it seems fun
20. Put money away for retirement, even if that means living cheap

Feel free to leave comments with other things you think should be on the list and I will include them in the second part.

Discover the Nature of Ontario

So here is the deal. I absolutely love to see new places. It doesn't have to be far enough to need to fly to. It just needs to be new. Also, I love nature. And living in Toronto, it’s sometimes hard to enjoy nature. You get into the lull of life and do what you do every day and forget to take the time out of your busy schedule to explore wilderness. In Canada, we are blessed with amazing sceneries and gorgeous landscape. It’s all waiting to be discovered by us.

Since we've reached out quota of yearly travel this year, I wanted to take some time over the weekends and such to explore Ontario, and more importantly, around the GTA. Places I can get to either by public transit or a short drive. I also wanted to make sure I was getting in touch with nature. So I limited my search to only areas of hiking and sightseeing. I came up with an amazing list. I was so excited about the prospects of new adventures, I just had to share it with the world. I will continue adding to this list as I keep at my research but I think this is a pretty good list to start with.

I might not get through them all but I am hoping, during however long time I remain in Toronto, I would like to get to a large number of these sites. I have already experienced some of these but added them to the list for completeness.

Please let me know if there are other gems around Toronto that can be explored and share your experiences with some of these that you have seen. The list is not organized in any fashion, although I did add all the Hamilton Falls under the same heading. 

Places in and around Toronto to explore

African Lion Safari: 1386 Cooper Road, Hamilton,  http://www.lionsafari.com/home

Balls Falls, Jordan,ON: http://ballsfalls.ca/

Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto: http://www.blackcreek.ca/

Bluffer’s Park/Beach: http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2012/07/toronto_beaches_bluffers_park/

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park: http://www.thehillsofheadwaters.com/forks-of-the-credit-provincial-park-2/

Kortright Centre for Conservation, Maple, ON: http://kortright.org/

Warsaw Caves, Peterborough : http://www.warsawcaves.com/

Toronto Centre Island: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=34e9dada600f0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

Riverdale Farms: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=a4f8dada600f0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

Tobermory: http://tobermory.com/

Bruce Trails, tobermory: http://brucetrail.org/

Trails around Toronto: http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2012/06/hiking_trails_in_and_around_toronto/

Morningside trail (ellesmere and morningside): http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails/view/morningside-park-trail

Rouge Park- Cedar Trail (Meadowvale and Old-Finch): http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails/view/rouge-park---cedar-trail

Falls in Hamilton:

Webster Falls, http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/websters_falls.html

Baby Websters Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/baby_websters_falls.html

Albion Falls, http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/albionfalls.html

Ancaster Heights Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/ancaster_heights_falls.html

Billy Green Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/billy_green_falls.html

Borers Falls (& Lower Borers Falls): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/borers_falls.htm

Buttermilk Falls (close to Albion Falls): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/buttermilk_falls.html

Chedoke Falls (& Lower Chedole Falls): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/chedoke_falls.html

Cliffview Falls, near chedoke): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/cliffview_falls.html

Devil’s Punchbowl (& Lower Punch bowl): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/devil_punchbowl.html

Darnley Cascade: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/darnley_cascade.html

Felkers Fall: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/felkers_falls.html

Great Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/great_falls.html

Hunter Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/hunter_falls.html

Upper & Lower Mills Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/lower_mill_falls.html

Upper & Lower Princess Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/lower_princess_falls.html

Upper, Middle & Lower Sydenham Falls:  http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/middle_sydenham_falls.html

Progreston Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/progreston_falls.html

Sherman Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/sherman_falls.html

Spring Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/spring_falls.html

Stephanie Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/stephanie_falls.html

Sugar Shack falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/Sugar_Shack_Falls.html

Tiffany Falls: http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/tiffany_falls.html

Tews Falls (& Lower Tews Falls): http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/tews_falls.html

Last Week of 30 Day Squat Challenge

So I am on the last week of this challenge and I just finished my 220 squats for day 25. I wanted to discuss some unwanted but definitely expected side affects to these squats.

Positive 1: As expected, squatting has gotten way easier and the pain has gotten less. I can manage to do 50 squats at a time before stopping now I started with being able to do maybe 10 with immense difficulty. Also, the pain that develops while doing the squats pretty much vanishes as soon as I stop. So I do 50, stop for a couple of minutes while I stretch and continue moving and then resume another 50, until my number is reached for the day.

Positive 2: I finally notice changes on my body. My pants don't necessarily feel loose and I don't feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but when I look in the mirror, I see some change. The exact change will only be known on the last day of the month. But it does a whole lot for my motivation.

Positive 3: I have only 4 more days of squatting to do. That's just awesomeness on a different level!

Negative 1: After doing 100 squats, I seem to develop a certain kind of pain in my leg. It's been happening a while and it took me this long to figure out what's happening. Initially, it felt like pain in the bone in the joint between torso and thigh. Then it seemed to be coming from my ball joint. I even thought it was a pinched nerve. Wherever it was coming from, the pain made me walk like I had something stuck where the sun didn't shine and made me moan and groan in ways even I didn't wanna hear! I think I've finally figured out that it's my adductor muscles spasming! Terrible feeling of weirdness but not quite painful. Anyway, it makes me useless for a while after my squats. By morning I am usually fine and ready for another day of squatting. No pain, no gain right???

Negative 2: Guess what? There is none!

This squat challenge has been one of the best decisions this past month. Very little discomfort, barely any time taken out of your day, and I am seeing results in 3 weeks!!! How amazing is that?!


What kind of pains and gains have you experienced with squatting? Leave comments below.

Happy New Year

It seems to be a trend that people reflect on their past year when a new year arrives. I think this is a very good practice and should be done more often. The more we reflect, the more we learn and advance. So here is me reflecting on my year 2013:

The year started beautifully in Vegas with my dear husband. We spent 9 days there and did so many fun things. We rang in 2013 on the strip with thousands and thousands of people from all over.

A few days after that, I started my current job and have loved every single day of it. I think I am good at my job and I have an amazing boss who never shies away from imparting knowledge from her brain that is so full of magnificent information. I've made many new friends in this place and call it my second home and we even got a new BBQ at work this year :D

I became a Canadian this year and am so proud of it. Many years of struggles went into achieving this. I still hold my Bangladeshi citizenship which I am also proud of. But I had to work to get this one. Makes it a different kind of a feeling.

We moved to our current home. We had to buy furniture for the whole house and we got to decorate and accessorize in any way we liked. I am so thankful for having such a beautiful place to call home.

I also graced the home of my in-laws for the first time this year...in Italy! God blessed us enough to be able to make such a wonderful trip to see my new parents, my new sister, and my niece. It was 2 weeks of fun and exploration. We went all over Rome, and even got to see my cousin and her family in Bolognia. We saw David's statue in Florence, and spent a night in Venice. I instantly fell in love with Venice and it is still my favourite spot in Italy.

Education and continuous learning is an extremely important part of my life. Therefore, starting my Masters was a huge thing for me. I've finished one semester so far and I've loved every single class. I look forward to finishing this stage of my life, no matter how hard it is to balance school, work, social, and domestic life.

Many special people in our lives got hitched this year. It was an incredible year full of weddings and engagements. Happy memories that I was so thankful to be able to partake in.

Being able to see friends who have moved away, or who I moved away from has also been a blessing this year. I've had friends come and visit from Whitehorse, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Arizona, and hopefully soon I will see a friend who lives in South Korea. I am thankful for such amazing friends and value their friendships.

Near the end of this year, my city got hot by the ice storm that left over a million people without power. It was an extremely difficult time but it brought people together. Friends and family gave shelter to those left without heat in their homes or the ability to cook. It helped me realize how reliant we are on things we don't really control. We can't even warm up or cook food without electricity. I am thankful that nothing too serious happened, despite such dangerous circumstances. It was also a beautiful time and admiring nature was easy.

So that's my reflection on 2013. It's been an eventful year. It hasn't been perfect, but I choose not to dwell on things that didn't work out like I wanted them to. Instead I am focusing on all the wonderful and happy memories I created with those I love and thanking God for making them possible.

Here is to wishing each and every one of you a very Happy New Year and hope you get all your wishes come true and get to keep all your resolutions. Think happy thoughts and rejoice in the moments that are given to us so that we can keep regret away.

Half way through the Challenge

I just finished Day 15 of my 30 day challenge. It's getting tough but it feels great that I've come this far. I know the next 15 days are going to be very difficult. But I am going to try my best to go on for as long as I can and hope I can finish. I watched this very inspirational video today that I hope you will find useful: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=189270451271770&set=vb.177839555748193&type=2&theater

Anyway, since eating well is such an important part of getting healthy, I wanted to talk about smoothies, a healthy and amazingly tasty addition to your daily meals. I am not going to talk about the nutritional benefits of each specific item but I have researched most of them and found them to be useful. Perhaps in another post I will add the benefits.

I am not an advanced juicer so I don't put a huge amount of veggies in my smoothies. I have smoothies for breakfast on weekdays so we can drink them on our way to work.They are simple, easy, filling, and yummy! Here is what I normally do:

Base: Milk or juice. If you prefer a milkshake flavour then milk is a better base. I interchange because I like the fruity sour taste and my husband like the milkshake taste. Also, variety is great. But milk gets frothy when blended, so keep that in mind.

Fruits: It's good to balance the flavours of the fruits so you don't get too much of one kind in there. Oranges, cranberries, pineapples, kiwis, and mangoes are all citrusy. Apples, bananas, pears are more mellow. Then there are strawberries, raspberries, blackberries which is kind of in the middle. A mixture of the different levels will give you a good flavour. I normally buy fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and kiwis when they are on sale. I clean them and put them in little sandwich baggies for the amount i want in each blending session. Sometimes I only get a couple of them at a time and when I get other ones, I just add it in to what I have. The rest I buy fresh and keep in the fridge. I don't like freezing all the fruits because it gets to watery somehow once it's made. I cut up a few apples, pears, mangoes and keep them in a bowl and thrown them into the blender with my frozen stuff as the week goes by.

Veggies: I have added cucumbers and lettuce to the mix and you can't really tell they are there. I tried carrots but they don't blend as well unless you have a juicer, which I don't. So I gave up on that. But flavour wise, it's not bad at all. I tried celery but didn't like the earthy smell it left behind. Lettuce is definitely the safest choice, in my opinion, if you are just starting.

Additional stuff: Yoghurt: It gives a creamy texture that helps things go down smooth. Try sticking to unsweetened Greek yoghurt to keep artificial sugars to a minimum. Chia seeds: Just throw a spoonful of these and they tend to keep things flowing well internally. Awesome nutritional sources. 1 spoonful of Protein whey or Spirulina. A small amount of honey gives it a nice sweet touch without needing sugar. Raw sugar or cane sugar are also okay if you want.

Making the smoothie: First add frozen fruits of strawberries, blueberries etc., and 2 or 3 ice cubes. Then add the fresh fruits cut up into pieces. Then add yoghurt, chia seeds, and spirulina. Then top it off with milk or juice. It takes a few tries before you know how much to add for the consistency you like. Blend well, even after it looks like it's all done, unless you like it chunky.

And Walah! Smoothie!

Eat well folks!