Green Smoothies, Green Drinks and ....
Green drinks are encouraged by almost all natural health advocates. Just pick up any recent book and you will find a reference to a green drink and its importance to our overall health. I first came across the idea of a daily green drink in Victoria Boutenko's Green for Life in which she advocated a 50/50 combination of fresh fruits and vegetables for optimum health in what she labeled a "green smoothie." Then in his classic The PH Miracle for Weight Loss, Robert O. Young stated that stirring green powder (representing vegetables, herbs and grasses) into water helps maintain "a highly alkaline body like nothing else."
Green powdered drinks, in fact, can be obtained easily online and go by various labels such as Greens First, Spectra Greens, Amazing Wheat Grass, and many others. For the last two years, I have drunk Life's Greens (Puritan Pride.Com) as it contains natural green grasses such as wheat,barley,alfalfa, and oat, blue-green and sea algae,support herbs,nutrient-rich superfoods (beet juice powder,bee pollen,acerola,and others),bioflavonoid extracts and probiotic cultures. However, the best green drink, I am convinced, is made from raw foods in a blender.
The Green Smoothie
The best discussion and recipe for a green drink that I have found to date appears in the book, The Green Smoothie Diet, by Robyn Openshaw. In this inspiring book, Robyn first of all details how she herself evolved to eating green plant foods and the benefits it has given her family. She shares information on green foods that "unlock the secrets to health with keys that were completely unavailable to your parents and grandparents unless they were lucky enough to stumble upon...voices such as Ann Wigmore or Bernard Jensen."
That is what is so exciting. It seems like we are on a new dawn of eating and understanding of food (witness the rise in whole food markets). And as Robyn states, "Green foods are very likely the most nutritionally precise foods to meet the needs of human beings." Did you know, for example, that broccoli and spinach are more than 40 percent protein? Greens are a "powerhouse of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals" and "ounce, for ounce,the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet because they're the lowest in calories and highest in micronutrients (Openshaw, p.29).
The Recipe
The main point of creating a smoothie is the greens you chose to put into them. Try to get several greens besides, say spinach, into a smoothie. Other examples would be kale,red cabbage, bok choy, collard greens,celery,escarole,romaine lettuce,sea vegetables, sprouts, herbs and others. Blend the water and greens first. Add the unfrozen fruits next (a wide variety here from apples and bananas to blackberries and pineapples--the list is extensive). You can be creative; but a good blender is recommended (Blendtec Total Blender).
Puree the greens mixture for 90 seconds or until very smooth. Gradually add fruit until the mixture becomes creamy. Frozen fruit can be added as well. Decide what you like in taste. The detailed recipe with evaluations of all ingredients are discussed in Robyn's book.
My suggestion would be to obtain her book or that of another author and begin to try it out. You will most likely be amazed at the increased energy you experience in a day's time. This comment is based on common testimonials and my own experience. It really does transform your day if you can discipline yourself to change your evil (self-destructive and habitual eating) ways.
Green Drinks.Org
If you really catch on to the idea of green drinks and see that it helps you, why not join a social network of people who share similar values. Green Drinks International has groups in many major cities (you can even start your own!). The idea is to bring together individuals who are involved or concerned about environmental issues--together to mingle and talk--there is no agenda! Many people have found employment,made friends,developed new ideas, and "had moments of serendipity." Perhaps you would enjoy looking into this. Just go to www.greendrinks.org for further information.
Learn More About Green Drinks
Again, my best recommendation would be to read Robyn Openshaw's text The Green Smoothies Diet. You may even want to watch her You Tube videos showing how to make a green drink or visit her website GreenSmoothieGirl.com. Robyn is a nutrition enthusiast and educator who has also written another book 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
To learn even more and receive a free recipe, visit www.greenworldtree.com.
