Today is day 5 of our foray into "green" smoothies. We were turned onto them by some friends of ours at church whose doctor recommended these concoctions after one of them was diagnosed with a heart blockage and went in for an angiogram/angioplasty. They were turned on to a book called Green for Life by Victouria Boutenko who has helped many people turn to a healthier lifestyle starting with green smoothies.
Green smoothies are a fruit smoothie with a kick... they have leafy greens added to them for additional fiber, chlorophyll and nutrients that can only be found in dark green leafy vegetables. They are comprised of approximately a 60/40 mix of fruits and leafy greens and are processed either in a traditional blender, or more ideally a Vita-mix blender - which we just happen to have!
Victoria challenges anyone who thinks they might benefit from better nutrition to try at least 32 oz. of green smoothie every day for for 14 days minimum, and ideally 30 days, to see if they notice any changes. Victoria claims that people have noticed a wide range of changes in their health in just 30 days. Anything from better nutrition & regularity (duh!), to clearer skin, more energy and sleeping better... all the way to extreme claims such as fewer wrinkles and less gray hair. These last couple of claims seem really extreme to me. However, I can't deny the fact that Chris & I definitely weren't getting our RDA of fruits and veggies, so any means of getting more of these into our diets would be a big boost for us... anyway, we decided to embark on this endeavor.
Chris & I are now on day 5 of the green smoothie regimen. And while it's too early on to notice a lot of difference in our lives, I have noticed a few changes for myself personally. First of all, I think I have a lot more energy during the day. I am also getting my digestive system back on track. Also, I have noticed some changes that I didn't really expect; namely reduced cravings for coffee and for sweets. I'm not saying that my desire for these has gone away altogether, but I'm not rummaging around the house looking for something sweet to satisfy me all the time. The amounts we are blending up makes not quite 2 quarts of green smoothie... the 2 - 20 oz. "Snapple" bottles and a 16 oz. glass. I have been drinking the glass of smoothie for breakfast, one of the bottles with my lunch and then the 3rd bottle in the evening as a dessert substitute.
How do they taste? Well, Chris really likes the taste of them. For me, I would say it's a bit more of an acquired taste. They're not bad at all... in fact, some of them are quite tasty, it's just that if you go in expecting a super-sweet straight-from-Jamba-Juice fruit-smoothie taste, that's not what you'll get. I've heard of many people struggling not with the taste, but with the color of them... they aren't exactly appealing to the eye... and when you add blueberries or blackberries they go from the green color you see above to a dubious shade of brown.
Today's smoothie recipe? While not my favorite of the ones I have made this week (the carrot taste was pretty strong initially), it was definitely better after chilling for an hour or so...
- 2 Peaches (organic - with peel)
- 1 Banana (organic - no peel)
- 1 to 1 1/2 C Strawberries (organic - with green tops left on)
- 2 Carrots (organic - with green tops left on)
- 1/2 bunch parsley (organic)
- 1/2 head romaine (organic)
Lately I've been trying to buy more and more organic products, especially as they become more available, but I haven't been really dedicated to it. However, Victoria has some charts in her book that are truly stunning when comparing the amount of nutrients in "commercial" vegetables vs. organic ones. For instance, commercial tomatoes have approx. 4.5 mg of calcium in them whereas organic ones have approx 59.2 mg. That over 13 times the amount of calcium! And this is not the most dramatic difference in the charts she hast listed, based on a study done at Rutgers University. Anyway, this was a real eye opener for me and I will try to buy more organic products just based on this alone.
Victoria and her family are raw-foodies. They eat no cooked or processed foods or any animal-based proteins at all. I can't say that Chris & I will ever end up at that point, but I think we will continue on the green smoothie path for a while longer and see where it leads.
