Redefine your Health, Regain Your Beauty
Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.
Sometimes, one little decision can begin a total transformation.
I remember being paranoid about adding spinach to that first green smoothie. I was standing in the kitchen, holding the spinach with one hand and closing my nostrils with the other, but in they went. The second I smelled that delicious spinach-banana blend, I was hooked! Not only were my taste buds in heaven, my body had found a brand new way to feed itself. Enter smoothies; healthy smoothies and yummy green smoothies.
That little (albeit brave!) decision—adding some spinach into the blender—began my transformation. Let’s talk about these green gems so they can become yours.
A healthy smoothie is made from a mixture of whole fruits and/or vegetables and sometimes seeds and superfoods, along with a liquid base. You run them through your blender until you achieve a silky smooth texture. You should be able to drink a smoothie with a straw, but if you prefer a thicker consistency, you can also use a spoon. I prefer mine slightly thicker when I am hungrier, and less so when I am looking for hydration. A healthy smoothie does not contain any table sugar, syrups, canned fruit, or artificial sweeteners.
You can make a simple smoothie with just fruits or fruits and vegetables, or go all out and add healthy fats, proteins, and superfoods to turn it into a complete meal. The standard ratio of fruits to vegetables is 60 percent to 40 percent, but you can start with a safer ratio of more fruit first, and add your veggies over time. Over time you may use as much as 80 percent vegetables to 20 percent fruits.
A green smoothie contains a vegetable such as spinach, lettuce, cabbage, parsley, Swiss chard, or any of their cousins. The green smoothie is not so much dictated by its color as it is by what you put into it. Even though you can make some very green-colored smoothies, a few blueberries, blackberries, or one of my favorites, acai powder, can turn the greenest smoothie into a dark purple one. Which can be a nice thing if you are trying to hide the “green factor” for a spouse or a kid, hint hint! The other day I made a cabbage banana smoothie, and it was a beautiful creamy color. That still counts as a green smoothie.
As a general rule, the more green ingredients you use, the higher your smoothie will be on the nutrition scale and the lower on the sugar scale.
By cleansing your body on a regular basis with whole foods and eliminating as many toxins as
possible from your diet, your body can begin to heal itself, prevent disease, and become strong and resilient again. No matter how long you have gone down the wrong road, it’s not too late to turn it around. Healthy smoothies help you do that in the easiest and fastest way possible. All fruits and vegetables help your body get rid of built-up toxins.
As much as possible, use only organic fresh ingredients in your smoothie recipes, keep it simple with just fruits and vegetables, avoid animal products and artificial sweeteners, and drink your smoothies when they are freshest, which is right after you make them.
Smoothies are the easiest and fastest plunge you can take into natural health and healing. You need very little to get started and equally little time to make them. Your tools of the trade are a decent blender, a cutting board, and a good knife, all of which your average kitchen should already have— plus a little creativity, which this book aims to give you in abundance.
That’s it! That’s all you need to get going in the art of making a delicious smoothie and revolutionizing your health!
Sometimes, one little decision can begin a total transformation.
I remember being paranoid about adding spinach to that first green smoothie. I was standing in the kitchen, holding the spinach with one hand and closing my nostrils with the other, but in they went. The second I smelled that delicious spinach-banana blend, I was hooked! Not only were my taste buds in heaven, my body had found a brand new way to feed itself. Enter smoothies; healthy smoothies and yummy green smoothies.
That little (albeit brave!) decision—adding some spinach into the blender—began my transformation. Let’s talk about these green gems so they can become yours.
A healthy smoothie is made from a mixture of whole fruits and/or vegetables and sometimes seeds and superfoods, along with a liquid base. You run them through your blender until you achieve a silky smooth texture. You should be able to drink a smoothie with a straw, but if you prefer a thicker consistency, you can also use a spoon. I prefer mine slightly thicker when I am hungrier, and less so when I am looking for hydration. A healthy smoothie does not contain any table sugar, syrups, canned fruit, or artificial sweeteners.
You can make a simple smoothie with just fruits or fruits and vegetables, or go all out and add healthy fats, proteins, and superfoods to turn it into a complete meal. The standard ratio of fruits to vegetables is 60 percent to 40 percent, but you can start with a safer ratio of more fruit first, and add your veggies over time. Over time you may use as much as 80 percent vegetables to 20 percent fruits.
A green smoothie contains a vegetable such as spinach, lettuce, cabbage, parsley, Swiss chard, or any of their cousins. The green smoothie is not so much dictated by its color as it is by what you put into it. Even though you can make some very green-colored smoothies, a few blueberries, blackberries, or one of my favorites, acai powder, can turn the greenest smoothie into a dark purple one. Which can be a nice thing if you are trying to hide the “green factor” for a spouse or a kid, hint hint! The other day I made a cabbage banana smoothie, and it was a beautiful creamy color. That still counts as a green smoothie.
As a general rule, the more green ingredients you use, the higher your smoothie will be on the nutrition scale and the lower on the sugar scale.
By cleansing your body on a regular basis with whole foods and eliminating as many toxins as
possible from your diet, your body can begin to heal itself, prevent disease, and become strong and resilient again. No matter how long you have gone down the wrong road, it’s not too late to turn it around. Healthy smoothies help you do that in the easiest and fastest way possible. All fruits and vegetables help your body get rid of built-up toxins.
As much as possible, use only organic fresh ingredients in your smoothie recipes, keep it simple with just fruits and vegetables, avoid animal products and artificial sweeteners, and drink your smoothies when they are freshest, which is right after you make them.
Smoothies are the easiest and fastest plunge you can take into natural health and healing. You need very little to get started and equally little time to make them. Your tools of the trade are a decent blender, a cutting board, and a good knife, all of which your average kitchen should already have— plus a little creativity, which this book aims to give you in abundance.
That’s it! That’s all you need to get going in the art of making a delicious smoothie and revolutionizing your health!
