Change Your Life With Green Smoothies

Green Smoothies can change your life.

Our first encounter with green smoothies was earlier this Summer when Laura and I watched Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer documentary. I made green smoothies daily for a few weeks and we really enjoyed them, Laura too! Getting the smoothies prepared and ready in the morning began to be hard for me to keep up with and I lost motivation to make the shakes. We would have one once every couple of weeks.

We like green smoothies...for real!!!

Recently Laura and I watched another health documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was inspiring and after watching the difference a juice fast, or reboot as they referred to in the film, could alter a person's life, I was determined to start juicing for our health. I began researching how to make juices with our Vitamix, which it turns out is easy to do, with the help of a cheesecloth for straining.

As I'm apt to do when I get carried away on a new topic of interest I wanted to know more about green juices and smoothies and I stumbled upon Victoria Boutenko. Victoria and her family went on a raw vegetable diet to combat health issues, and found that after being on the diet for a year they were not feeling as energetic and well as they should have been. So she began researching and studying many things among them the diet of chimpanzees and found the missing link to her family's diet was more "leafy greens". Way more.

Standard American vs. Chimpanzee diet (courtesy of  http://www.rawfamily.com/green-smoothie) 

Chimpanzee vs. Raw-Foodist diet (courtesy of  http://www.rawfamily.com/green-smoothie)

Boutenky's asserts that leafy greens belong in a food category of their own and that it is a mistake to lump them in with other vegetables. I wholeheartedly agree. After reading two of Victoria Boutenko's more popular books, Green for Life and Green Smoothie Revolution, I was back on the smoothie bandwagon full speed ahead, although after Laura's upcoming clinical trial where there will be more chemo, I'd like for us to to try a juice cleanse.

There are some great free green smoothie recipes on Victoria's web site rawfamily.com, and here is the breakdown of our most recent "go to" smoothie. If possible, use organically grown ingredients.

• 1 cucumber (unpeeled)
• 2-4 kale leaves (the Vitamix blends the hard stems so I add them for extra fiber)
• 1-2 swiss chard leaves and stems
• 1-2 green collard leaves and stems
• 1 broccoli stem (these are usually leftover and we save them)
• 1 celery stem
• 1 banana (freeze them when they are green for less sugar content)
• 1 apple (or a handful of grapes or berries)
• 1-2 tablespoons ginger (whole unpeeled)
• 1 cup water (so it mixes and is thin enough to drink)
• 1 cup ice
• Small amount of fruit juice to taste (or stevia)

Another favorite variation is to leave out the broccoli stem and cucumber and add a whole golden or red beet with its leafy tops.

Anything goes, your imagination is the limit, just try to keep the fruit to 20% and leafy greens at 80%. For example I tried adding leeks recently and that was interesting, a bit too stout for our liking. It was a little like an Italian green shake. A clove of garlic is also fun and adds a zing and is good for you. Just don't schedule any meetings afterwards without brushing your teeth. We've also been adding homemade Kombucha tea to the smoothie, which gives it additional zing and helps thin out a thick smoothie. Apple juice and water also work fine to thin a thick shake.

The thing that has really helped us stay regular with the smoothies is to cut the veggies after cooking dinner and blend before going to bed. Put in the fridge for the morning and with another quick mix, you are all set to pour and go. The Sundesa 28 oz blender bottles with the metal ball in them are perfect for sipping on the go and easily allow you to remix, or add a little fluid whenever you need to.