Smoothies

It seems that everyone is crazy about making smoothies these days, and something new to me is kale being used in them. The good ol' veg was introduced to me by my mother, maybe, 2 years ago on either Thanksgiving or Christmas when all of the goods come out. I've never heard of kale being used in, well, anything until recently when I read of kale smoothies and wasabi-soaked kale chips. My frown turned upside down eating these, as my tear ducks were triggered by the thin crips and my face scrunched in response but the feeling was eradicated by deliciousness! Anyhow, I was around many adults this past weekend and food came up often. Discussions moved from who uses what ingredients in what, calorie intake for the day, butter being made of plastic, "don't use that, use this," global food markets and their size and cost of produce, eating bread, not eating bread, "no pancake batter in my omelet, please," and more. It was somewhat overwhelming and annoying to myself and my cousin, who is a 19 year old male still enjoying the free and questionable diets offered by college dining halls. I wont lie--I miss those days! As much as the urge to yell out "JUST EAT!" tempted my tongue while listening to the convos, thinking back on them now I'm realizing that I cant be ignorant to the issue. Although I may feel a budget and lack of time hinder my pursuit of becoming a partaker in food consciousness, really it just comes down to laziness. JUST EAT has not helped anyone's diet in America today. JUST listen. JUST learn. Just do. These will be my new ... to-mottos when it comes to food. Note: This illustration was originally created for an article in Northern Virginia Magazine found here.