Recently a friend gave me The Green Smoothie Handbook. Wow, there is so much more to a green smoothie than just tossing in a few extras. Who Knew!! Now its time to try. I'm going to be having a green smoothie for breakfast and lunch for the next fourteen days. My husband is coming along on the journey....because he has no choice lol....I eat P90x food for dinner right?? I don't expect the kids to fully join me but they will be provided as much green goodness as they can handle :) Anyone else want to come along for the ride?
first off....What is a green smoothie? A green smoothie is an instant drink made from 60% living raw fruits, combined with 40% living raw vegetables broken down to make the simplest most complete and nutrient dense meal possible "The Green Smoothie Handbook"
sounds good to me!
what are the benefits?.......Instant energy! Chlorophyll is a blood cleanser and detoxifier, Halts those bad cravings, Balances blood sugar!
What about weight loss?....I am not chugging green smoothies to lose weight, as far as humans go I'm generally of the smallest variety.....I want to be healthy, I love easy meals, I love healthy kids and setting a good example!....however, if you are searching for weight loss, green smoothies would be the perfect complement to a healthy dinner, a few healthy snacks and a lil daily exercise for sure!
Kale...full of antioxidants, fights cancer, loaded with calcium, vitamin C and K, 7 times more beta-karotene than broccoli, and get this....protein! WOW....oh yeah, there is a downside, it kinda looks like a disease, or a flower..I'm not sure but def doesn't look like its for eating which is probably the reason I've never picked it up!
as i grow on my green smoothie journey Ill be learning and sharing more about the specific ingredients to this smoothie a lil bit at a time.
on to the fun part: Recipes :)
-1 handful of flat leaf parsley....(they don't have this at my local grocer so i used italian curly leaf, no bombs went of so i assume its ok)
-4 Kale leaves ..(they only had flowering kale at my grocer, again no bombs but it comes in purple and white, i chose white cause a purple smoothie would be too normal)
-1.5 cups water
-1 pear chopped ....pears arent in season so none at the grocer, i went for a green apple or two
-1 bag peaches or mango...i chose mango cause it was organic and on sale :)
-2 bananas
you will notice there is something missing from this. there is no juice , no yogurt, no honey...consequently no sugar. this had me concerned. I've made natural smoothies with all fruit that had no extra sugar, not exactly the tastiest......
well the verdict is in! the smoothie was amazing. it was just as sweet as any sugar filled smoothie and aside from the pea soup visual, nobody would ever think it was full of veggies! That's it, I've officially found the love! i mean, all the benefits are great but if it tasted like poo , well , it just wouldn't happen kwim! I'm super excited to read more and learn more. I love that I'm loving veggies that haven't had their goodness cooked out (even frozen veggies have usually been blanched leaving them less nutrient dense).
After our smoothies we had gymnastics. I do not do gymnastics, so why do i need energy? because we are there for 2 hours, i spend the first hour chasing Pike as he tries to participate with a little bit of chasing Pearce mixed in. Then an hour of assisting Pike as he wants to do everything Pearce's class does. I have to say, i felt pretty good and i was pleasantly surprised. I did get a little hungry so I required a snack or two but I'm still pretty happy with my results for sure!
I'm currently getting all my info from "The Green Smoothie Handbook" by Jan Rowland. To get your own copy contact Raw and Scrumptious at 719-460-8884 p.o.box 76599 co springs, co 80970 $15
You are inspiring me Courtney to get started! :)
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