“Smuicing,” Brunching, & My Coachella Clean-Up
So… Coachella is exactly 15 days away.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, then you know that getting bikini-ready for the three-day music festival is high-priority for me every year.
Last year, I did a smoothie diet for a few days prior. This year though, I’ve decided to simply “clean-up” my usual diet by adding in a bunch of veggies by way of a new technique that I’ve dubbed “Smuicing.”
A “Smuice” (rhymes with juice or moose) is basically a smoothie-juice hybrid. It has loads of veggies, a tiny bit of fruit, and optional healthy fat and vegan protein powder.
It’s not a juice because I use whole vegetables with all of the fab things that come with the pulp, like fiber and extra vitamins/nutrients.
It’s not really a smoothie, because most smoothies contain large amounts of fruit and milk.
Hence: The Smuice.
Each Smuice I make is different, depending on my needs at the time. If it’s post workout, I’ll amp up the protein powder. If it’s as a snack, I might leave out the protein and just add in a little fat from an avocado.
My favorite version is the one I’ll share today though, a pineapple kale Smuice.
The Ultimate Smuice
Ingredients:
1 Large Handful of Kale
1 Large Handful of Spinach
4 Stalks of Celery
1 Whole Cucumber
1 Chunk of Pineapple
5 Large Strawberries
1/4 of an Avocado
1/2 Scoop of Vega Vanilla Protein Powder
1 C. Water
Large Handful of Ice
Directions:
1. Toss everything in a large blender or Vitamix and go to town.
If you don’t have a high powdered blender, make sure to chop up the veggies before adding them to the blender.
Enjoy!
Total Calories: about 200*
*Note: This is for the entire contents of the blender (which has about 2 more refills in there), not just the one glass pictured.
Now you may be wondering, how is “smuicing” going to help me tighten-up for Coachella?
Well, the key to smuicing is to use them as a snack to carry me over from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner.
My biggest dietary problem is snacking.
While I’m not snacking on Doritos and Snickers bars, even healthy calories add up. A peanut butter-banana here, an almond butter sandy there (notice the nut butter/carb trend), and I quickly end up over-eating.
One smuice comes out to about four cups of wholesome goodness, and it’s the perfect thing to keep me full between meals so that I don’t fill up on a bunch of carb-heavy snacks. It also keeps me incredibly hydrated and bursting with vitamin-induced energy.
For example, I’ll give you a rundown of how I worked smuicing into my diet this Sunday.
I started the day off with a Banana Mugcake to give me a little sustenance pre-workout.
Then I hit up my fav studio Sweat Garage for a hardcore cardio sesh and refueled post-burn with half of the aforementioned, refreshing Smuice.
For lunch — or I should say Brunch (it doesn’t matter what time it is, on Sunday in LA, it’s always called Brunch) — my friend Gigi and I headed to Areal in Santa Monica for the SoCal Blogger Society and LA Brunchers Spring Fling Fête.
While I won’t be drinking alcohol during the more serious two-week phase of my Coachella Clean-Up, on Sunday I indulged and enjoyed a mimosa with my meal.
Since most of the gals at the party are fashion bloggers, everyone had their #OOTD (outfit of the day) shots taken.
What do you think, do I seem nonchalant?
Zara Printed Trousers (similar here) / Chloe Capucine Sunglasses / Rebecca Minkoff Rose Gold Cross Body (similar here) / BCBG Blazer (similar here) / Stella + Dot Rebel Pendant
There were several delicious dishes to choose from, including an insanely awesome looking waffle stack, but I decided to stay “clean” and go with a quinoa and poached egg salad.
Major thanks to Leah and Alex for throwing this fun fete and for the fab gift bags.
After brunch, I headed home and finished off the other half of my smuice.
A little later the BF and his sister (who was visiting from D.C.) arrived home with a bag full of treats from their mom, which included my Cranberry Chia Seed Cookies.
While this is exactly the type of snacking I’m going to try to avoid over the next two weeks, I just had to have one two of my beloved treats. Ya know, just to make sure she got the recipe right (she did).
We rounded out the day with the usual Sunday Special: a slice of D’ Amores 166-calorie Pizza and a lightened-up Rainbow Roll from Echi Sushi.
As you can see, smuicing is not a way to deprive yourself of calories like typical juice cleanses, but a way to facilitate healthy eating throughout the day and keep your belly full and happy, so you can avoid unnecessary snackiness.
The plan for the next two weeks is to continue to eat three full meals a day, consisting of lean protein, veggies, and complex carbs (except at dinner) at about 300-400 calories each.
Then between breakfast and lunch I’ll have my smuice, switching it up depending on how much fat and protein I think I need at each time.
Be sure to come back next Wednesday to see how closely I end up sticking to it!
Update: This post previously had “Smuice” spelled as “Smoothice.” It’s been changed due to phonetic problems pointed out by my crack legal team (aka my very keen-eyed BF & his co-clerk).
*This post is linked to What I Ate Wednesday on Peas and Crayons and Real Food Wednesday on Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
Becky @ Olives n Wine says:
Your outfit of the day is AMAZING! I love everything yellow and those pants <3 I've never heard of this smoothicing thang but it intrigues me. I am a huge snacker as well and it's always the bane of my "diet" existence!
Whitney English says:
Thanks Becky!! Yellow just makes me feel so happy and Springy! And I do acknowledge that Springy is not really a word…at least not in this context.
Camille @ Challenge Mantra says:
Great outfit! Snacking between meals is definitely a challenge for me, too. Smoothices sound like a great idea, Whitney!
Whitney English says:
Thanks Camille! Hope this helps you too.
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat says:
Smoothices!?! Well, that’s a totally new concept to me, but I’m intrigued! I’m kind of loving it! And, love that outfit. The yellow really pops!
Whitney English says:
Thanks Holly! Hope you’ll try them out :)
Jana @ Happy Wife Healthy Life says:
That ‘smoothice’ sounds delish! :) love the idea because I don’t have a juicer, but would still love to get all the benefits of the veggie + fruit combo!
Love your outfit too girl! And if you ask me, you are already more than bikini ready for Coachella! I need your fitness tricks!
Whitney English says:
Aw you’re so sweet! Thanks Jana :)
Taylor says:
Smoothices sounds amazing!! For me when the weather gets warmer (actually moving to LA soon) I tend to eat more fresh foods, but I too struggle with snacks.
I absolutely love you #ootd, I would love more of your daily wears :)
Ashley @ Brocblog says:
I have a serious snacking problem, maybe Ill give the smuice thing a try! Have so much fun at Cochella I wish I were going!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says:
So you didn’t wind up going to Mr Chows!!! Echi and pizza – SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER! LOL!!!
I cannot wait to wear YOUR OUTFIT when we go shopping tomorrow, LOL!!
And uh…… I REALLY NEED more Vega Protein Powder… WINK! WINK!
GiselleR says:
I love smuices! I never named them haha but I’ve made almost this exact thing just with mango chunks instead of pineapple and without the celery…celery is kinda gross to me :?
Anyway, good luck with your smuice diet and thanks for ‘teaching’ me a new word :D
Candy Sparks says:
I smuice everyday for breakfast. I find the extra energy boost is amazing and better than what you can get from coffee. Thanks for the post and the new name. I must have to use this in my instagram posts from my green smoothies.
Kristina @ Damn Ten Pounds says:
You know how much I love your mugcakes :) I could totally sustain myself on those and smuice. Avocados are hands down the best add to a smuice or smoothice. Love your OOTD… and mostly love that you included links and stores. Saved me from having to ask about your cute jacket!
Leigha @ Minougirl says:
At first I thought you were only going to be drinking smuices. What you’re actually doing is so much better! This is such a great idea. I feel so healthy when I get lots of nutrients! Also, your pics are stunning.
Okay brunch looks FANTASTIC. Totally loving the outfit too!
Leslie Beck Shoemaker says:
I have NEVER heard of smuices! I will be researching this topic, for sure! I love your OOTD! Yellow is such a fun color.
Kim says:
I can’t wait to hear how the smuicing goes!!
Cute picture of you and GiGi (and the other 2!). Glad you got to enjoy a mimosa on Sunday before starting the clean-up!!
Dale Janee says:
Lol about the update with the legal team :) I have never tried juicing, but this looks so good and I like that even though it’s green in color there are still strawberries in it. How fun you’re going to Coachella again and I’m sure you’ll look amazing. PS – love your look at the blogger brunch, that yellow blazer is so cute.
xoDale
Chels says:
You and GiGi are too cute :-) Have fun and I am definitely going to make that concoction!!
LeanonLife says:
Love your outfits.. Smuices! is a new word for me, well it looks great.
Thanks for sharing
Whitney English says:
Thank you! Let me know if you try a “Smuice” out ;)
Karen @ Kama Fitness says:
Whitney, can this girl borrow you’re blazer, lolz! It’s HOT! & you’re rocking it !!!
p.s. I would also enjoy some of that quinoa & poached egg…yumm! ;);)
lisa says:
Love this book and all her books. I am juicing and gearing up for a more major fast. Also, using this to help my boy’s recovery from a Bone Marrow Transplant with kidney failure, in addition to prayer of coarse. Also, to help my other boy with his recent broken wrist. I need to heal and lose weight from all the stress we’ve been through.best small juicer