How to Be Active in the Winter | Green Smoothie Without Kale

I’m going to be completely upfront with you here. I hate winter. In theory, I love the snow because it’s crisp and clean and pretty. In reality, I hate it. It’s cold and wet and slippery and not at all enjoyable unless I enjoy skiing, sledding or snowboarding, which I don’t. In the summer, there are tons of things I do outside to stay active. In the winter I’m limited but I’ve decided that learning how to be active in the winter is important for my overall health.

How to Be Active in the Winter | Green Smoothie Without Kale

If you’re one of those people who loves being outside participating in winter sports, you have already figured out a way to be active in the winter that works for you. For those of us, who don’t enjoy being outside in the winter, there are other ways to stay active.

• Walk inside. If you have stairs in your home, spend some time walking up and down the stairs each day. Take just 10 minutes, plug in some music and walk. You’d be surprised how much of a workout this can be. Want more of a challenge? Carry a basket of laundry when you do it.
• Go to the gym or use indoor exercise equipment. I have a stationary bike in the living room that I use in the winter. If you don’t have this option, head to the gym and use theirs.
• Shovel that snow. Yes, it’s tempting to send the kids out (or the husband) and have them do it, or even hire the teenager down the road. But, I bet you could shovel at least some of it yourself.
• Go somewhere snow free to walk. My dirt road is not walkable during most of the winter because it’s covered with snow. However, the local mall opens up an hour early every morning to allow people a free, open area to walk.

Learning how to be active in the winter is one step toward a healthier you. I’m also making other changes in my life to be as healthy as possible. Aging has brought on some concerns (like arthritis) that I’ve never had to deal with before so I know I need to start being proactive in taking care of myself. I’m trying to be more aware of remembering my vitamins and supplements and I’m making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables because I know I’m not getting the recommended amount.

I have a hard time taking vitamins and supplements because I don’t like swallowing large pills.  I have been taking Viactiv Calcium Chews for quite a while for just that reason. It’s much easier for me to have a calcium chew than swallow a huge calcium pill.  70% of adult women are calcium deficient and while it’s important to get try get calcium from the food you eat, I know I don’t generally do that. At 48, I need to get 1000mg to 2500mg of calcium per day. Visit Viactiv on Facebook.

Viactiv Calcium Chews are available in milk chocolate, sugar-free milk chocolate (which Marty uses because he’s diabetic) and caramel. Plus, they have a new product that I haven’t seen before: Viactiv Gummies in tropical strawberry, peach-mango and pineapple fruit flavors. Viactiv Gummies do not contain gluten or dairy. All of these supplements are calcium PLUS Vitamin D. You have to have the Vitamin D along with the calcium because your body needs it to absorb calcium. My personal favorite is the caramel. It has a smooth, creamy taste and is much easier for me to take than a huge calcium pill.

As far as the vegetables go, I’ve found that drinking a smoothie is a much more enjoyable way for me to get my daily serving of vegetables.  I’ve been been enjoying this Green Smoothie recipe and thought I’d share.  It’s fairly versatile because you can use coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk or dairy milk. You could probably even use rice milk if you enjoy it. To keep it paleo, choose unsweetened coconut or almond milk. If you share my dislike of kale, you’ll be pleased to learn that this is a green smoothie without kale.

Ellen Christian

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Green Smoothie Without Kale

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Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat
• 2 strawberries
• 2 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

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You can find Viactiv in stores like CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. For more information about Viactiv and to learn more about keeping bones strong, visit http://www.Viactiv.com  #BeActiv

This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Viactiv . The opinions and text are all mine.