This blog is about Green Smoothies. Your mama always said eat your greens, now I say Drink ‘em!
The first book on Raw-food-veganism that I was inspired to read is called, ‘12 steps to being Raw’ and is written by a lady named Victoria Boutenko. It is about her familiy’s remarkable journey to thriving on a raw food diet. Their key to success is Leafy Green Vegetables, which they get through their green smoothies (detailed information below, but basically they are leafy greens blended with fruit and water. I know they sound disgusting, but trust me they are delicious). After reading her book I was inspired to start drinking these green elixirs of life! I still can’t believe the remarkable difference they have made in my life. I have always had a fairly substantial amount of energy, but since getting my daily greens in their most readily absorbed form, I have experienced a remarkable boost in energy that sustains me through out the day. Also, the mental clarity I experience is astounding. No more mental Fog! My body is head-over-heels in love with green smoothies, so much so, that every morning I crave them!
I recently had the pleasure of attending one of Victoria’s seminars on Green Smoothies and was further inspired. Victoria’s family has been on a raw food diet for the past 15 years, and they all flourishing! However, they hit a road bump after 7 years of success and their health slowly started to degenerate. And thank goodness it did! It wasn’t until things started regressing that Victoria discovered just how important leafy greens are to the human body. The Food guide considers leafy greens and vegetables to be one in the same. Naturally, Victoria thought that since leafy greens were the same thing as eating more desirable vegetables, such as carrots and garden peas, she could gain the same benefits by eating those instead. However, leafy greens are not vegetables. In order to be considered a vegetable a food needs to contain starch. Leafy greens do not. They really should have their own category since leafy greens are practically the perfect food. They are high in chlorophyll, which is basically liquefied sunshine! Life is not possible without sunshine, and life cannot be sustained without chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is responsible for cleansing our internal organs and destroying unhealthy bacteria while promoting healthy bacteria. Greens pack a mean punch in the chlorophyll department, so there really is no better way for our bodies to get our chlorophyll then by drinking Green smoothies. Leafy greens also contain virtually every nutrient our body requires to function, all except for B12. As if that wasn’t enough, one of the best things greens give to our bodies is a high source of protein! Say what?
I know it is an odd concept to think of this so-called rabbit food as an amazing source of protein, since we are taught to think of protein in tangible ways, such as beef, chicken, fish and other animal flesh. So let me break it down for you. Our bodies use amino acids as the building blocks to create protein. Protein is used by the body for a variety of different reasons, such as, brain functions, cell regeneration, muscle contractions and recovery, blood clotting, oxygen transport, and producing hormones just to name a few. Basically, without protein our bodies would cease to function. Every protein molecule consists of a chain of Amino Acids. Our bodies need adequate amounts of 9 different essential amino acids (EAA’s). Our bodies can’t generate EAA’s on their own so we must get them through our diet. Animal proteins contain complex, long chain amino acids. Meaning they are a complete protein. This is the reason why many of us think, “Great. A one stop shop.” However, like everything in life it is not that simple. Our bodies are actually looking for the individual amino acids not the complete proteins. Each person is unique and needs different building blocks, or combinations of the EAA’s to create proteins that suit the individual’s needs. When we ingest complete proteins, as in animal flesh, our bodies first need to break them down. Then our bodies take the individual amino acids and piece them together creating the complete proteins that fuel our everyday functions. To make matters worse, these so-called “perfect proteins” are not completely compatible with our systems. Our bodies only take what they need and the rest becomes waste by-product creating an acidic environment, and causing allergies and other health problems. An acidic environment also causes our bodies to create more fat cells to store the acid, which leads to weight gain. This makes one think, “Great, now what am I suppose to do? And WHERE am I going to get my protein from?”
Well friends there is a wonderful solution out there, and it is what I am raving about, Green Smoothies! Most people are in the dark about the readily available amino acids in the mighty green leaf. I sure was. In Victoria’s book, ‘Green’s for Life’, she explains that since we have “erroneously (placed) all parts of plants (roots, stalks, blossoms, spears, greens, ect) into the same category of vegetables, and assuming that they have the same properties, we have mistakenly concluded that greens are a poor source of protein.” In her extensive research Victoria has found that by consuming different types of greens you will not only meet the recommended daily amount of essential amino acids, you will actually exceed them! Also, your body does not have to work as hard to convert the readily available amino acids from the greens into proteins. This is because they are given to the body in a ‘raw’ state ready to be converted into protein. You just have to look at a horse to see greens in action. I have never scene a horse eating a cow, or a chicken and their lean, muscular physique, raw power and graceful demeanor is something that humans have idolized for centuries.
Something else to ponder is the fact that we share 99.4% of the same DNA code as chimpanzees. Therefore, it is debatable that we should share a diet that is 99.4% the same. A chimpanzees diet consists mainly of fruits, a small amount of nuts, seeds, bark and insects AND a whopping 40% of their diet is leafy greens. That is equivalent to two bunches of greens, which will make a person think, “holy crow! Two bunches of greens is a lot of the green stuff. There is no way I could even eat two bunches of greens EVERYDAY!” Don’t fret just yet. Since we put our mighty greens through the blender the blades unlock all the vitamins, amino acids and all that good for you stuff, so one bunch will suffice! Essentially by blending the leafy greens you unlock all of their potential nutrition in a pre-chewed state! In order for us to manually unshackle all of the nutrients ourselves we need all of our molars (including those pesky wisdom teeth that most of us got yanked as soon as possible!) Furthermore, we need to chew the greens long enough to churn them into a creamy consistency. Your jaw is more likely to fall off before you get one bunch of leafy greenness into a creamy consistency, never mind two! And really who has the time? Horses and cows and monkeys and other such mammals that haven’t forgotten the importance of leafy greens and don’t have a 9-5, that’s who!
The thing that gets me SO excited about green smoothies is that ANYONE can incorporate them into their daily food selection no matter their diet of choice. It doesn’t matter whether a person is an all the way raw-food-vegan, vegetarian, An almost-vegetarian (the one who still eats fish), or a full on carnivore, because getting your greens is essential to living a healthy, high quality life. My mother was an easy inductee to the Green smoothies for life club. Every morning we congregate in the kitchen and excitedily come up with new creations. My dad is even enjoying a “Greenie” (as he calls them) everyday! This is the man who threw his hands up and asked the heaven’s “WHAT did I do WRONG?” after I informed him about my choice to join the rawvolution! My papa, a member in good standing of the carnivore club, cannot see meals without meat. However, since he started drinking his daily Greenie (or rather forced by my mother and me!) his perception of food has changed. He is even talking about eating less meat. Less meat, oh happy day! He probably will never be a raw-food-vegan, or even a vegetarian at that, but really it’s okay. We all make our own decisions about what to put into our bodies. Greenies can help us to make better choices, or at the very least help to offset our other not-so-good ones!
So now that I have you salivating over Greenies, or at least intrigued enough to give them a whorl. Below you’ll find some pearls of wisdom. Also know as the basics, general information and tips on how to get started.
Basic Greenie Recipe:
Leafy Greens
Fruit (Sweet and/or savory)
2C Water
Tips:
· First thing in the morning prepare enough green smoothie for the entire day (1-2L). Whatever you don’t drink right away store in the fridge for later, like as an afternoon pick-me-up.
· Sip your Greenie slowly mixing it with your saliva (this is stage one of your digestive enzymes). If you are on the go, take your Greenie with you. There is an amazing invention called travel mugs that are ideal for this!
· Drink your Greenie by itself, and not as part of a meal. Your mission is to get the most benefits and as many nutrients as possible out of your Greenie, so it is important to wait 40 minutes before AND after any other food. After that 40-minute window you are free to eat whatever your heart desires
· A word of caution: do not combine anything other then the greens, fruit and water. This means, no starchy vegetables, nuts, seed or supplements. These can and will create gas and trust me it is not fun for anyone!
· Be creative and let your body be your guide. Listen to it because it will tell you what it needs. However, avoid going over board with the combinations. When creating your desired combination choose a leafy green or two, and a few fruits. You may want to start off with sweeter fruits, and as your taste buds change so will your fruit selections.
· Keep in mind when coming up with Greenie combinations that there are two kinds of fruits, sweet and savory. Sweet fruits, which are all the yummy fruits that come to mind when you think fruit, like apples, mangos, plums, oranges, watermelon ect, ect, ect. Some “vegetables”, like avocado, cucumber, peppers and tomatoes are actually fruits. These are your savory fruits. So, as you see, the combinations are endless!
· Rotate your greens regularly. Ideally rotate between a minimum of 7 different greens. There are two main reasons for this. One, you get different nutrients from different greens, so you want to make sure you’re covering all of your “bases”. Two, in order insure her children get nourishment from all her green sources, Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom placed a little iddy-bitty, tiny amount of poison, known as alkaloids, in the leaves that vary from green to green. Tiny amounts of alkaloids WILL NOT hurt you. Small amount of alkaloids will actually help to build up your immune system. However, an accumulation of these alkaloids from a single source, like consuming spinach everyday for two weeks, will cause unwanted symptoms of poisoning. Unlike greens, fruits do not contain the same amount of alkaloids, if any at all, so it is not necessary to constantly rotate them, meaning if you like having your apple a day to keep the doc away, by all means go for it! Although, it is a good idea to change up your fruits to create variety of flavor and nutritional content.
· Buy organic produce as much as possible. Organic produce has 7 times the amount of nutrients then conventionally grown produce. Conventionally grown produce also contains high amounts of pesticides and toxic chemicals. Take advantage of your farmer’s markets and when you can pick your own fruit that has ripened on the vine for they retain a significantly higher amount of nutrients.
· Our bodies crave routine. Create a daily Greenie routine that works for you. I have between ¾ - 1L in the morning and ½ L in the afternoon. Routine is important, but also remember variety is the spice of life AND your key to continual enjoyment of your daily Greenie! You will be more likely to continue drinking you daily Greenie if it tastes delicious!
· And lastly remember to Laugh everyday, Live free and Love much. Oh, and drink your Greenies!
Here is a list of some of the leafy green possibilities:
Greens
Arugula
Asparagus
Beet Green Top
Bok Choy
Chard
Collard Greens
Edible Flowers
Endive
Escarole
Frisee
Kale (3 types)
Mizuna
Mustard Greens
Radicchio
Red/Green/Romaine
Lettuce Leaf
(No Iceberg, or
light colored leaf)
Weeds
Chickweed
Clover
Dandelion Greens
Lambsqarters
Malva
Miner’s Lettuce
Plantain
Purslane
Herbs
Aloe Vera
Baby Dill
Basil
Cilantro
Fennel
Mint
Parsley (2 types)
Peppermint
Spearmint
Sprouts
Alfalfa
Broccoli
Clover
Fenugreek
Radish
Sources: Victoria Boutenko and her book, "Greens for Life"
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