Sweatpants and Smoothies Juice Plus+ Party

Oh I think this was my favorite party yet, or do I say that every time? Either way it was so nice to be relaxed and enjoy each others company without the stress of looking good or being on our game. I guess I had to be on my game since I was presenting, but that is getting easier and easier. The information flows more smoothly for me now. I definitely don't know everything but I feel more comfortable with the information that we can either come up with an answer or I can look it up and figure it out. 

This time I had a small learning curve only because I couldn't get my presentation power point to work on the TV so I had to wing it with the books which actually are almost more helpful. Same information just presenting with a little bit more reading. Which I would like if someone was presenting to me, so that I could tune them out and in as needed and read the information. Not that my talk wasn't so riveting that people were on the edge of their seat! Hahaha I think everyone got some great information, loved the smoothies and energy bites and at the very least walked away with a new love for the green smoothie (yes I found the perfect recipe!)

PS that is not my handwriting above, although mine is pretty bad as well. My 10 year old Kiddo helped out with all the planning and placement of everything. 

We made three different smoothies; berry, peanut butter and chocolate, and green using the vanilla and chocolate Juice Plus Complete Proteins. The berry and chocolate were good, but nothing you couldn't figure out how to whip up in a second. But the GREEN smoothie was something to write home about. I have tried a million green smoothie recipes and ALL have been a bust for me, too earthy, too gross, too yucky! Half of them didn't even turn out green but more of a brown color, I was always left disappointed. I think you really have to be a fan of greens to like a green smoothie..and as much as I like veggies I am not a fan of drinking them. Well until Saturday when I found the perfect mix :) the key for me was the veggies...

Green Smoothie:

• 1 scoop Vanilla JP+ Complete protein
• 3-4 leaves of Kale (I used lacinato kale but I assume any kind would do the trick)
• 2 stalks of celery (I tried to stick with the inner parts since they aren't as stringy)
• 1/2 green apple, skin removed
• 1/2 cup frozen mango (have to have something frozen)
• 3 tbls of plain greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cup or more of apple juice

Throw it all into a blender and pulse, chop blend the heck out of it! You can add more apple juice if it needs to be thinned out a bit so I would wait to add that at the end. 

Simple and easy, I wont lie I believe it is all about the KALE for me. I have tried spinach, collard greens, coconut milk, avocado, everything! They all just tasted too green for me, and maybe my green smoothie doesn't have enough greens? But it was green enough for me and everyone loved it. The kids were very hesitant to try it because of its very bright color but once they took a little sip they were downing it like a milk shake. Yummy.

Since I had some delicious smoothies I thought people might want something more than fruit to eat, so I made a batch of energy bites. I basically adapted my original Chewy Granola Bar to a bite sized protein packed snack!

Chocolate Energy Bites:

• 1 scoop Dutch Chocolate JP+ Complete Protein
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tbls butter
• 1 good squirt of honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• handful or more of mini chocolate chips if desired

Put the first three ingredients together in a big bowl. Melt the sugars(butter, honey, brown) together in the microwave or on the stove and pour over top. Mix with a spatula since the sugar will be hot and make sure everything gets coated. Keep mixing and mixing and it will start to form a ball all on it's own. Once you get to this stage you can either roll it into bite sized balls or press it flat on a greased pan to cool. I usually refrigerate it for an hour to let it firm up. If you choose to press it flat then after it has firmed you can cut it into kid sized bites. A trick I read somewhere for cutting perfect squares is; cut it in half one way, then cut your halves in half the same way and so on and so forth then do the same thing the other direction. It really works!

These were also delicious and something a bit more filling to have on hand. I had to tell the kids that they couldn't eat them all in one sitting. So all in all, it was a great party. The more I learn about Juice Plus+ the more I am so glad that I started selling it. I was scared at first that I didn't want to be pushing some crazy pyramid scheme product and rope my friends and family into buying something that they don't want. But what has been so comforting is that one, I believe in the product. I have seen how it has helped my family to feel better and stay healthy. Two, the unconditional support my sponsor has been with all my ups and downs and waning excitement at times. Not just her but other higher up distributors of the JP+ product. I am currently having individual genuine conversations with doctors and health professionals like they are my friends and in fact I really feel like they are! And three, lastly, every time I talk with someone new about JP+ I see that I am not the only one out there looking for healthy alternatives for my family. That people in general are wanting to be healthier but like me struggle to find the balance. I feel good that I can share what I think has been a huge help to our family with others and maybe they want to sign up or maybe this info becomes a catalyst in their life to start eating healthier. 

At the end of the day that is what I hope everyone takes home. Our bodies are what we feed it! Eat more WHOLE foods and less processed ones.