Last December when my mom gifted me Vita-Mix for my birthday, the first thing I made was a green smoothie. I have heard so much about green smoothies that I couldn’t wait to try one. To my biggest surprise, it came out so delicious that I began drinking at least one a day. Better yet, Mark and I replaced our typical eggs & toast breakfast with a quart of the tasty green concoction.
Within a month we noticed a significant improvement in our well-being. We noticed that it filled us up, gave us immediate energy and cut out food cravings during the day. Our skin felt smoother and clearer, hair became silkier, nails grew faster, sleep improved and eliminations became more regular.
Personally, I’ve lost almost 10 lbs. just in one month of drinking green smoothies! Mind you that was in December, the month when people usually gain weight from all the unhealthy holiday food they consume. At the time, our family was still eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) with a balanced portions of animal-based foods. The only thing we did differently was substituting our breakfast with a nutritious green smoothie and what a transformation that brought to us.
Today, three months later and 24 lbs. lighter, I am writing this blog to spread awareness on the wonderful benefits of drinking green smoothies. If you are looking for a simple, easy and affordable way to improve your health, green smoothies are the best option. Below I list 10 of the reasons to start drinking green smoothies, as well as I made a video tutorial on how to make one yourself. Many people have asked me how I make my green smoothies so I hope this blog and video will answer your questions.
1. BEST way to get more greens into your diet – according to one study conducted in 1999-2000, only 40% of Americans ate an average of five or more (1/2)-cup servings of fruits and vegetables per day. The percentage of dark green leafy vegetables consumption is even lower. Let’s face it, how many of you would eat a bunch of spinach, celery, parsley or kale in one serving all by itself? I guess, you won’t. Green smoothies provide the opportunity to consume a large amount of dark leafy greens into one serving of smoothie that actually is enjoyable to drink.
2. Chlorophyll power – in simple terms, chlorophyll is the sun energy absorbed through plants that gives them the bright green color. Without the sun, a plant would not be able to make chlorophyll on its own. In his book Juice Fasting & Detoxification, Steve Meyerowitz explains how this ‘blood of plants’ is structurally similar to hemin, the protein proportion of hemoglobin that carries oxygen in the human blood. The benefits of chlorophyll are countless ranging from its ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body to being able to reduce the binding of carcinogens to DNA in the liver and other organs to protecting us from low-level X-rays radiation coming from TV sets, computer screen, microwaves and cell phones. And one of the best ways to get more chlorophyll in your diet is, you guessed it, by drinking green smoothies!
3. Great source of protein – we have been taught that if we want more protein in our diet, we ought to eat more meat and dairy products. However, this notion is a big misconception. Have you ever wondered where do gorillas or elephants get their protein from? Their diet is plant-based. Dr. Lesley Van Romer explains in her article that amino acids, the building blocks that make up protein, are just the same whether they came from a plant or an animal. In fact, spinach is 44 % protein, the highest of all green leafy vegetables. So go ahead and throw in an extra handful of spinach in that smoothie.
4. Great source of fiber – regular consumption of fiber is crucial to our health. Fiber acts like a sponge, soaking up the toxins in our digestive tract, especially in the colon, and eliminating them from the body. Most people consume very small amount of fiber in their diets which can results in poor digestion, constipation and irregular eliminations. Green smoothies help alleviate this problem by adding fiber in a gradual and healthier way than a pill or powder can do.
5. Fabulous alkalizer – in order for our bodies to function properly they must maintain a certain pH, which reflects the concentration of hydrogen ions in any given solution. The relationship is measured on the scale of 1 to 14 with 7 considered neutral or perfect balance, states Robert Young, author of The pH Miracle. If one’s body becomes too acidic, he or she will become prone to illnesses and infections. Since green smoothies contain fruits and dark leafy greens that rank high on the alkaline scale, one could easily maintain healthy pH by consuming them daily.
6. Greater nutrient assimilation – you may like eating your greens but to reap the maximum nutrition value, their cells walls must be broken. Victoria Boutenko, a pioneer in the green smoothie movement, writes in her book Green for Life that to rupture the cell walls of dark leafy greens we literally have to chew them into a creamy consistency before we swallow. That’s just humanly impossible. The problem can be easily solved by throwing the greens with other fruits into a high-power blender such as Vita-Mix, which is capable of rupturing the cell walls, and thus increasing the nutrient absorption in our body.
7. Weight loss promoter - I don’t need to quote an expert here because I can tell you from experience, drinking green smoothies had drastically cut down mid-day or late-night snack cravings. There is something about them that regulates your appetite so you don’t experience highs and lows during the day. Their balancing ability makes green smoothies perfect for meal replacement in a weight loss regimen. As I mentioned in my opening paragraphs, I was able to lose almost 10 lbs. just by drinking green smoothies for breakfast.
8. Healthier skin, hair and nails -the ability to provide fiber and alkalize the body makes green smoothies a fantastic addition to your beauty routine. Instead of applying a potion externally, think of green smoothies as drinking the potion internally. The cleansing and detoxifying ability of dark leafy greens aid with the elimination of toxins and establishes healthy intestinal flora. As a result, your skin will become clearer, your hair will get shinier and softer, and your nails will grow faster. Who wouldn’t want that?
9. Kids love them! – having a year-old son I was concerned with how to get more vegetables in his diet. He enjoys the sweetness of fruits but when it comes to veggies, it’s a hit or miss. My concern is now gone because Denzin loves drinking my green smoothies. I make extra for him, pour into his sippy cup and he chugs it down in one sitting. If you have toddlers or little children who refuse eating their green veggies, try the smoothie approach. Once they get passed the green color they’ll love the taste.
10. Budget-friendly - finally, you may think it costs more to add green smoothies to your diet because you’ll have to buy more fruits and dark leafy vegetables, but I’d like you to consider this. According a 2007 study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans spent nearly $15 billion on alternative medicine drugs and supplements. Instead of spending money on various supplements, you could just get the whole foods and blend them into a smoothie. It will provide you with an abundance of live enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Simply put, drinking green smoothies is much more economical than drinking expensive supplements.
As you can see, there are plenty of good reasons for you to start making green smoothies at home. If you need some tips and advice on how to make them, just watch my video tutorial below. That will give you a good basic information. For more green smoothie recipes, check out Victoria Boutenko’s blog Raw Family.
Also, make sure to download and print the food combining chart I have attached here. It’s very important to understand the combining of foods so that you’ll get the maximum nutrition value from them.
Green smoothies on the house! Cheers! 
Copyright © 2010 Zoe V. All Rights Reserved
