Green Smoothies!!!

tyedyechick0930

My Ode to Green Smoothies:

Most of you may not have ever heard of a green smoothie, and some of you could probably be millionaires if you had a dime for every time I mentioned green smoothies. But, I thought I would share with you why I think they are so important and why I am trying to get back into the habit of having a quart of green smoothie a day.

The “Green Smoothie Revolution” was started by Victoria Boutenko. Here is her family story and why/how she got her family started with eating a raw diet and then began to incorporate green smoothies: http://greensmoothiesblog.com/who-is-victoria-boutenko/the-raw-family-story/ A summarized version is that her husband was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis as well as thyroid problems. She also had a child with type 1 diabetes. Victoria was having weight issues and knew she needed to find a solution for her family. They started off eating a mostly raw diet and immediately all members of the family began to feel better and her husband did not have to use as much medication. However, after a few months Victoria realized they were lacking certain vitamins and minerals in their raw diet. She soon discovered that they were not getting enough green vegetables in their diet. Victoria studied the diet of chimpanzees and discovered that chimpanzees were not eating just fruit; over half their diet was in greens. Victoria also realized that greens are difficult to break down and unless we chew them repeatedly we will not absorb all their nutritional value. Therefore, one evening in 2004 Victoria had a crazy idea to blend up her greens with water, though after she took the lid off the blender she put it right back on after the horrid stench of just greens and water alone. She then thought to add a couple of bananas, and closed her eyes to take a sip. Amazingly, all she tasted was the banana. She then started experimenting with other fruits and voila the green smoothie was born!

Green smoothies blog has so much information and research on various types of green smoothies. This blog is run by the Boutenko family. Here is a link to frequently asked questions about green smoothies: How to start green smoothies | Green Smoothies .
My personal experience with green smoothies began when I started doing research on how I can improve my health. I know I needed to eat more fruits and vegetables, but I was getting really burned out on salads, and unless I could douse it with ranch or add other stuff to it, let’s face it, lettuce is boring and kind of gross-same thing with raw spinach.
I’m open to trying new things especially if I can get the nutrients I need without having to eat a bowl full of plain greens. I stumbled onto this blog first: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/videos/videos-page-1/ Robyn Openshaw has also become very important in the “green smoothie world”. She wrote a book called “The Green Smoothie Diet”. Robyn has an amazing story as well and continues to educate and conduct research on foods and products that support the highest level of health/nutrition possible. The link I included goes directly to her video page which has a lot of information on green smoothies as well as recipes, and even other raw foods that are tasty and extremely healthy.

After doing my research I was hooked. I talked to my husband about it and even to my friends. I saved up and bought a Vitamix 5200 which is a very powerful blender (though you don’t need a Vitamix to make green smoothies-I just wanted one because I hate the seeds in berries and I knew if I was going to be having a smoothie every day, I would need a higher power blender). I was so excited to make my first green smoothie. It was 8oz of water, a fresh banana, a cup of frozen strawberries, and 2 handfuls of raw baby spinach. I did a blog post about this to. Here is the link from that day: http://tiredofbeingtubby.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/can-eating-this-healthy-taste-so-good/
There is even a picture of my first ever green smoothie.

Robyn explains that in one quart of green smoothie you will get more servings of fruits and vegetables than the average American will get in an entire day and possible an entire week. I know before I started incorporating green smoothies in my diet I maybe, maybe got 1 serving of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables (which were mostly cooked and had butter on them). In my green smoothie this morning, I took in 4 servings of fruit and 6 servings of raw green vegetables. :noway: And, it was sooooo yummy! I have now discovered my favorite fruit to put in my smoothies is frozen pitted cherries. I love cherries and they are delicious in smoothies. This morning I had 8 oz of coconut water, 1 ½ bananas (1 whole fresh, half of a frozen banana for creaminess), 1 ½ cups of frozen cherries, and ½ cup of frozen pineapple with 3 big handfuls of raw baby spinach. All you taste is the fruit and you get so much more vitamins, minerals, and protein from adding the spinach!

I have to say I’m a firm believer in the green smoothie and I am enjoying experimenting with different recipes, fruits, and vegetables. I have a goal to continue to have at least one quart of green smoothie a day. I can tell the days I don’t have one, I crave it now. I encourage everyone to give green smoothies a chance. They will definitely change your life!

~Charity :drinker:

http://tiredofbeingtubby.wordpress.com/

dani22105

MMM!! Your recipe sounds delicious!! I, too am a huge fan of green juice! I started last year and have been hooked since then! If you want to try something different with lots of vitamins/minerals try this:

1/2 cup of kale
3 handfuls of spinach
1-2 mcintosh apples
10 baby carrots
1 kiwi
2 celery stalks

It is SOOO good! I've never tried green smoothies so I will try it soon

tyedyechick0930

Hmmm, I will have to give that recipe a whirl. I know I haven't built up my green smoothies where I can do just kale, but if I mix it with spinach I'm ok. Thanks for the recipe!