Get a little raw… with your food!
Great food - Great tastes - Great results
No gagging recipes, guaranteed.
February 17, 2012
As promised, today is my big “Grand Opening” post in favor of a daily green drink. I don’t want to belabor the benefits, if you really want in-depth data, just google “green smoothies” and you will have plenty of reading material. In short, these are, in my opinion, the five top reasons to drink a green smoothie every day:
1. The raw greens alkanalize your blood, which is a very good thing. Our normal diet of dairy, protein, sugar and carbs makes our blood chemistry highly acidic. Acidic blood ph encourages inflammatory responses such as arthritis, cancer and acne, to name a few.
2. Green drinks are a powerhouse of micronutrients, live enzymes, phytochemicals, and fiber.
3. Green drinks pump up energy, give a wonderful cosmetic free radiant glow to the skin, strengthen the immune system, destroycravings for sweets, lower the body’s internal inflammatory response, which means less pain and regulates digestion and elimination.
4. Green smoothies are an excellent meal replacement when combined with a little protein powder. They make an awesome lunch.
5. Since these green drinks improve digestion/elimination, contain lots of protein and knock out cravings and energy slumps… ta da! They work VERY well in a weight loss program.
The “How to” part is easy!
1. You need a blender. Forget high priced juicers (for now.)
2. You need to learn about fruit and green combinations so you don’t gag. This is important. My first green drink consisted of kale, spinach and a beet. It was horrible. It wound up down the drain. I’ve learned a lot since then!
3. You need some protein powder. I use a raw vegan product from Sunwarrior. Whey based protein also works fine. If you’re not a vanilla fan, try Banana or a Tropical Fruit flavor. I’ll list my favorite brands/sources for these at the end of this post.
MILD greens: romaine lettuce, the green leaves of bok choy, and baby spinach.
STRONG greens: kale (recommended), parsley, mustard greens or anything in the cabbage family (go carefully here.)
*** Pair MILD greens with mild fruit: berries, melon, grapes. I buy a frozen “mixed berry blend” in large bags at Sam’s.
***Pair STRONG greens with SWEET fruit: mango, banana, pineapple. I buy the mango and pineapple in large size containers at Sam’s Club and freeze the fruit. Peel and freeze the bananas.
RECIPE (this easily replaces an entire meal!)
2 c water, almond or rice milk
1 scoop protein powder
2 handfuls greens
1-2 frozen fruits, or 1 c (this fruit part is really personal choice for sweetness)
3 ice cubes
-----------------------------------------------------------
Here are two of my absolute FAVORITE green smoothie recipes:
Spinach, almond milk, frozen dark cherries, protein powder
Kale, frozen pineapple (I like a lot), protein powder
Here are recommendations and sources for protein powder.
Raw and vegan: Plant Fusion at Plantfusion.net or Raw Vegan Protein by Sunwarrior at Sunwarrior.com
Whey: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. I LOVE their Banana and Tropical Punch flavors. Best price and delivery are from dpsnutrition.com.
A few closing ideas:
Frozen bananas make ANY green smoothie thick, creamy, sweet.
Don’t drink the same greens every day. I cycle through kale, spinach, romaine and parsley.
Buy the darkest, leafy greens you can find. Go organic, especially on the spinach, kale and romaine. However, organic kale is a hard find around here.
Always add 3 ice cubes to your smoothie.
Drink one every day.
Great food - Great tastes - Great results
No gagging recipes, guaranteed.
February 17, 2012
As promised, today is my big “Grand Opening” post in favor of a daily green drink. I don’t want to belabor the benefits, if you really want in-depth data, just google “green smoothies” and you will have plenty of reading material. In short, these are, in my opinion, the five top reasons to drink a green smoothie every day:
1. The raw greens alkanalize your blood, which is a very good thing. Our normal diet of dairy, protein, sugar and carbs makes our blood chemistry highly acidic. Acidic blood ph encourages inflammatory responses such as arthritis, cancer and acne, to name a few.
2. Green drinks are a powerhouse of micronutrients, live enzymes, phytochemicals, and fiber.
3. Green drinks pump up energy, give a wonderful cosmetic free radiant glow to the skin, strengthen the immune system, destroycravings for sweets, lower the body’s internal inflammatory response, which means less pain and regulates digestion and elimination.
4. Green smoothies are an excellent meal replacement when combined with a little protein powder. They make an awesome lunch.
5. Since these green drinks improve digestion/elimination, contain lots of protein and knock out cravings and energy slumps… ta da! They work VERY well in a weight loss program.
The “How to” part is easy!
1. You need a blender. Forget high priced juicers (for now.)
2. You need to learn about fruit and green combinations so you don’t gag. This is important. My first green drink consisted of kale, spinach and a beet. It was horrible. It wound up down the drain. I’ve learned a lot since then!
3. You need some protein powder. I use a raw vegan product from Sunwarrior. Whey based protein also works fine. If you’re not a vanilla fan, try Banana or a Tropical Fruit flavor. I’ll list my favorite brands/sources for these at the end of this post.
MILD greens: romaine lettuce, the green leaves of bok choy, and baby spinach.
STRONG greens: kale (recommended), parsley, mustard greens or anything in the cabbage family (go carefully here.)
*** Pair MILD greens with mild fruit: berries, melon, grapes. I buy a frozen “mixed berry blend” in large bags at Sam’s.
***Pair STRONG greens with SWEET fruit: mango, banana, pineapple. I buy the mango and pineapple in large size containers at Sam’s Club and freeze the fruit. Peel and freeze the bananas.
RECIPE (this easily replaces an entire meal!)
2 c water, almond or rice milk
1 scoop protein powder
2 handfuls greens
1-2 frozen fruits, or 1 c (this fruit part is really personal choice for sweetness)
3 ice cubes
-----------------------------------------------------------
Here are two of my absolute FAVORITE green smoothie recipes:
Spinach, almond milk, frozen dark cherries, protein powder
Kale, frozen pineapple (I like a lot), protein powder
Here are recommendations and sources for protein powder.
Raw and vegan: Plant Fusion at Plantfusion.net or Raw Vegan Protein by Sunwarrior at Sunwarrior.com
Whey: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. I LOVE their Banana and Tropical Punch flavors. Best price and delivery are from dpsnutrition.com.
A few closing ideas:
Frozen bananas make ANY green smoothie thick, creamy, sweet.
Don’t drink the same greens every day. I cycle through kale, spinach, romaine and parsley.
Buy the darkest, leafy greens you can find. Go organic, especially on the spinach, kale and romaine. However, organic kale is a hard find around here.
Always add 3 ice cubes to your smoothie.
Drink one every day.
