Smoothies for Optimal Health

One of the hardest things to do is get kids turned on to healthy foods.  After all, you’re competing with cookies and other sugary sweets, not to mention the in crowd which can easily turn a child off their favorite healthy foods.

Imagine my delight when I discovered a new raw food cookbook aimed at kids.  I just picked up a copy and it’s absolutely beautiful.  The book truly is aimed at kids.  Not only with fun recipes that are easy to make and sure to delight the pickiest eater but also inspire them to get creative and have fun with their food.

Introducing…

Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen! The First Ever Un-Cookbook for Kids!

I know from years of experience, that the best way to get kids to eat healthy food is to inspire them and make eating fun. I smile when I think of all the fun I’ve had in the kitchen with my nephews and step-daughter. They love helping me in the kitchen and I love the time we get to enjoy together, creating memories that will last a lifetime!

So be sure to grab your copy of Monkey Mike’s Un-Cookbook For Kids today!

It’s finally here - summer 2009!  The long winter is finally over.  Yesterday marked the first day of summer and here in Canada, it was a beautiful one: clear blue skies, nice warm temperatures.  I decided yesterday that today I would get back on track with my health.

I’m extremely lucky in that I have no major health problems and am relatively fit and healthy.  But I have been feeling off track a bit lately - not sticking to my daily exercise routine, eating a little more junk than I normally do and drinking a lot less water.  So no better time to get back on track than the first day of summer.  Will be doing a 30-day cleanse (want to join me, just leave a comment and I’ll get in touch) and committing to daily exercise.  I’ll even head back to the gym for a few sessions with my personal trainer.

As luck would have it, my inbox received this little gem of inspiration today:

The 3 Most Effective Tricks To Getting Back on Track With Your Food
by Tera Warner

Ooooh, I know you’ve been there, too. The on-again-off-again bingeing blues. The late night snacks and the  “I can’t believe I did that” episodes the morning after. We, the frequently food-obsessed health pioneers of the world, sometimes need a boost, a lift, a bump on the rump that gets us back on track with our food when we feel we’ve gone off the rails. So, here it is, my lovelies! My 5 Best Tricks for Getting Back on Track With Healthy Eating!

1. Drink water in the morning until you’re really, genuinely, honestly, truthfully hungry!

It is an unfortunate fact that most people do not know what “hunger” feels like. Hunger is as natural as sex. It makes sense that the feelings we associate with it be positive. Due to heavily intoxicated bodies, a lot of people have learned to associate headaches, dizziness and general irritation with the need for food and call it “hunger.” These symptoms are more commonly associated with signs of detox. When the body isn’t burdened by the demand of the digestive system, it can afford to start directing some of its resources to processing and eliminating toxins. That’s when headaches and irratibility start to show up. Hunger feels good! It pulls, it salivates and persists even after you drink a tall glass of water and wait a little while.

Being fussy about your food is another sign you’re not quite hungry enough. When you’re hungry, enough that decorative plants stimulate your salivary glands and you feel like you could “anything,” then you’re hungry. If you’re indecisive, don’t know what to eat or only want to eat specific  things, then chances are you’re still westling with toxins, processing food or simply not hungry yet.

2. Keep it simple.

If there’s one thing that throws me off the wagon, it’s over-seasoned, gourmet raw foods. “Raw Pizza” is a nice idea, but heavily salted or seasoned foods have a way of opening the flood gates to cravings and overeating. If overcomplicated, heavily seasoned foods create a problem, then guess what I recomend as the solution?…

Monomeals. That’s about as simple as it gets!

Just eat one food at a time until you’re no longer hungry. Eat apples for a day! As part of our support for participants of the program on How to Get Rid of Cravings and Emotional Eating, we do a seasonal monomeal cleanse. For 14 days starting on the equinox or solstice, we support each other through 14 days of simplifying our foods to the point that most of our meals contain only ONE ingredient. Melon milk, tomato soup, and other creative inventions come about along with an extraordinary sense of caaaaaalm that moves in. Reducing the sensory stimulation in the digestive tract helps restore a sense of balance and serenity you’ve probably not felt for a while.

You can also keep it simple by eating Green Smoothies for 3 days. That’s what our Green Smoothie Challenge participants do and it has an amazing effect on their energy and well-being. Even just THREE days is enough to feel a huge difference and get you back on track!

3. Declutter Your Space

They say that people manage their objects like they manage their thoughts. Looking around my office right now, I believe it! YIKES! Few things settle a restless spirit as well as clean dishes and a counter that’s been wiped clean. If your physical environment is “weighing” you down, then it won’t be hard to predict what your eating habits will be like. If you’re stuffing papers in all the wrong places, what are you shoving in your face that you’d rather not tell us about?

What if you took all the time you normally spend overeating and worrying about food into organizing a cluttered cupboard? What about sorting out a stack of unsorted mail instead of digging around in the pantry for another snack? Roll up your sleeves, put on the rubber gloves and bring order to your environment, so you can clear your thoughts and get your food back on track, too!

I’ve done or developed just about every cleanse you can think of. I know for a fact that it isn’t the sporadic bursts of good choices that count as much as the persistent, regular, healthy commitments you make over time. Drink water to stay hydrated, learn to recognize true hunger, keep your menu simple and organize your space to be a harmonious refelection of your life, dreams and values.

Then sit back and enjoy the adventure!!

It’s been a while since I posted a smoothie recipe.  I enjoy them daily and lately it’s been my main meal for breakfast and dinner so I’ve been rotating through my collection of recipes.  Today I gave this one a try and it was delish!  I just had to share.  As featured in the February Raw Food Mentor menu planner available this month in Frederic Patenaude’s Raw Vegan Mentor Club.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup water (optional)
1/2 whole pineapple, golden and ripe
1 whole mango, peeled and cubed (fresh or frozen)
6-7 whole leaves mint
2-3 cups of frisee lettuce (I used spinach)

METHOD:

Blend pineapple and mango together. Use water if desired.  Use the ripest pineapple you can find.  Add mint leaves, lettuce, and blend until smooth.

Frederic Patenaude is the publisher of the Green for Life Program.  He is currently giving away free subscription to his online mini-course on the benefits of greens. Visit this website while charter subscriptions last.  Just click here

According to many survey results, less than 5% of people on a “healthy diet” eat sufficient quantities of green leafy vegetables (greens).

I have a confession: I belonged to that category for a very long time!  Even though I knew greens were good for me, I just didn’t eat enough of them (and didn’t realize it!).

We know greens are good.  We’ve heard we need to eat more of them.  But we don’t do it.  And here’s what’s even more amazing: those who *think* they eat enough greens, rarely do!

So today, I’m going to give you my:  Top-5 Ways to Eat More Greens

1- *Make Green Smoothies*

I’ve talked about it a lot before.  Green smoothies are great!  Blend fruit and greens for a surprising result.

Here are some recipes from my book Instant Raw Sensations.  (To order the book and get more green smoothie recipes, click here)

Basic Winter Green Smoothie

1 apple
1 pear
2 bananas
1 and 1/2 cups kale
1 stalk celery
Water

Dice the fruit or cut in big chunks.  Blend all ingredients together with about half a cup (up to 1 full cup) of water.

Romans Gone Mad

4 bananas
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups water
2 cups romaine lettuce

Blend bananas with water.  Add romaine lettuce progressively.  Blend until smooth.

2- *Make Blended Salad - Tasty!*

Once you’ve experimented with green smoothies on a daily basis, you can “graduate” to making blended salads.

Brand new blended salad recipes will be found in my book, “Green Power Recipe Guide” which comes with the “Green for Life Program” (for more information, click here).

Here is one recipe from my book, “Raw Soups, Salads & Smoothies.”

Keep in mind that blended salads are NOT for raw-food beginners.  If you want to get started eating more greens, start with Green Smoothies.

*Blended Salad*

2-3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 ribs of celery
4 leaves lettuce (big)
1 big handful spinach
1 green onion
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup parsley
2 Tbs. dulse flakes
1 Tbs. nori flakes (optional)
Water if needed

Blend the tomatoes together, and add the rest of the ingredients progressively.  Use water only if you need to.  A blended salad should be quite thick.

3- *Find One Good Healthy Salad Dressing*

At some point, you might enjoy a plain salad without dressing.  But I know the first question people ask me when they find out olive oil isn’t as healthy as they thought, is “how do you make a good salad dressing?”

Here’s one recipe to get you started.

2 tomatoes or cucumbers
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup fresh dill
4 Tbs. tahini (or 1 small avocado)

Blend tomatoes and add other ingredients progressively.  Blend until smoothie.  Add other seasonings if desired.  Use more water if necessary.

4- *Don’t Force Yourself*

Don’t force yourself to eat more greens if you don’t like them!  You’ll get sick easily.  Instead, let your innate hunger for greens come back naturally, by slowly incorporating more greens in your diet in the form of green smoothies, blended salads, etc.

5- *Know the Reasons Why*

Unless you know *why* you need more greens, understand their benefits, and have a clearer idea of things like; what greens to eat, which greens are the best, in what quantities should I eat greens, etc., all this talk about greens may not convince you to modify your diet.

Learning more about the “green side” of the raw food diet will inspire you to include more greens in your diet!  Reaping the benefits of having done so, will reinforce your enthusiasm to take your health to the next level.

As featured in the September 2008 menu planner, available this month in Frederic Patenaude’s Raw Health Monthly Mentor Club.

INGREDIENTS:
4 whole bananas
1 pint blackberries
1 to 2 cups baby greens
one stem spearmint leaves

DIRECTIONS:
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender and devour!  Sip outdoors while enjoying the last few days of summer.

I haven’t shown this blog any love in a while.  Just got busy with life and other projects that I couldn’t find time to blog about my smoothie addiction.  Then my blender blew and it took me ages to buy a new one so there wasn’t a daily smoothie to remind me to post here.

But I’m happy to say… I’m baaccckkk!!!  You’ll be seeing more regular updates from me on this site about smoothies, raw foods, healthy recipes, general health, fitness and oh just about anything that pops into my mind. 

Today was a good day.  Breakfast was half a honeydew melon that was oh so ripe and juicy.

Lunch was Neon Melony Madness, a green smoothie that was so green it was electric!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 honey dew melon
2 small bananas
1 cup strawberries
3 cups spinach

METHOD: Pop it all into the blender and whiz it up.  Pour into nice tall glass and sip.  Yum!

As part of Frederic Patenaude’s 21-Day Challenge, I was asked to compile a recipe eBook of my best energy boosting raw smoothies. Now that the 21-Day Challenge is over, I’m making the recipe eBook available to you!

The eBook is called “Healthy Smoothies: Awesome Smoothie Recipes You Can Make Quickly & Easily At Home!” and is filled with delicious smoothie recipes that are simple to make.

Anyone who is a fan of smoothies knows that they’re a great way to increase your energy and stamina. If you’re plagued by the 3 o’clock energy lulls, adding a healthy smoothie (or two!) to your daily routine will help curb your cravings for sweets and keep your energy levels in check.

They’re also a great way to manage your weight and can easily fit into your weight loss plan.

Even if you’re already a smoothie aficionado, this collection of tasty recipes will expand your database with a new supply of yummy smoothies that pack a nutritional punch and please your tummy.

The ebook contains over 40 great recipes to add variety to your diet.

You can get the eBook now for only $10 by going to:

–>> http://tinyurl.com/33yydm

Many people make the mistake of skipping or scimping on breakfast in their daily diet.  This may be due to any number of reasons…rushing off to work, jumping into household chores, getting caught up with child care or just plain poor eating habits. Breakfast is an important element in one’s daily diet, whatever type of diet you may prefer.

I used to skip breakfast all the time. I would often fill up on water and head out the door for the daily 1.5 hour commute to work. Of course, the first stop after getting off the train would be a coffee - simply to keep me going, not for the caffeine fix! When I worked in the Corporate World, I counted myself among the many who would skip their morning meal. Breakfast was a luxury time didn’t permit.

Some who are very weight loss conscious, or just wish to control weight through diet, erroneously think that skipping breakfast is a good way to eliminate calories. This is a mistake in terms of overall health, calorie control and good diet habits. Because the food we eat in our diet, the times when we eat and the particular type of food intake (protein, starch, sugar) all affect blood sugar levels and appetite. We need to control food intake in our diet in order to keep energy and blood sugar at appropriate levels.

I started back at the gym two months ago after a five year hiatus. One of the first things I did, even before setting foot in the door of the gym, was incorporate a breakfast and a morning snack into my daily routine. It’s made the world of difference. In fact, the days that I don’t eat a full meal or skip my snack, I feel it in my energy levels when I hit the gym.

In essence when we awake in the morning our body has been through a period of “fasting”, with no food intake for a number of hours.  This results in relatively low blood sugar. If one skips breakfast in one’s diet, the blood sugar level continues to dip and a sudden craving can develop for food, especially for sugar in the diet, which again causes a quick rise in blood sugar. When the diet includes sudden intake of sugar, the sugar level jumps, which develops a roller coaster effect and leads to a poor diet which includes “quick fixes”. Typically a quick response to low blood sugar is a sweet, a soft drink or alcohol…none of which are a good diet supplement.

A diet which maintains appropriate levels of blood sugar and energy will include a healthy breakfast. Blood sugar levels will be maintained with a diet that includes a balanced breakfast combining whole grain, some source of protein and fruit. Protein in particular in the diet, including breakfast, will maintain blood sugar levels, avoiding the dips which lead to snacking.

If you’re pressed for time, consider quick easy smoothies. You can chop your fruits and vegetables the night before and load them into your blender glass. Refridgerate overnight (or not if you prefer room temperature smoothies) and whirl away in the blender in the morning along with your favorite liquid. Five minutes is all you’ll need to whip up a nutritious and substantial breakfast. You can even pour it into a travel mug or neoprene jug and tote it with you on your commute.

A healthy breakfast is an essential part of a healthy diet. Beginning your day with a good, nourishing meal is the first step toward maintaining a balanced diet and a sensible approach to good eating habits. Don’t skip breakfast in your daily diet.

Your body will thank you.

 Who Else Wants To Have More Energy & Stamina?  If you’re tired of feeling tired and drained all day and often fall victim to the 3 PM lows, then you’re in for some surprises once you learn to make delcious and nutritious smoothies. Visit http://www.smoothiesforhealth.com for more information.

I’m a green smoothie addict.� Since discovering them about a year ago, I must admit that it’s now one of my favorite ways to eat greens.�

Not only are these tasty treats really yummy, there are�enormous health benefits from drinking green smoothies.� Green smoothies are a great way to increase the amount of greens you consume.� I don’t know about you but I have a really tough time eating huge amounts of greens on their own.� Vegetables contain next to no calories so the amount that is required to meet your daily caloric intake is … well copious!� I have a really tough time eating 5 cups of salad in one sitting but I could consume an entire head of romaine lettuce in one sitting by adding it to my smoothie.

We know that increasing our intake of green-leafy vegetables is very important for several reasons.�

Here’s are a few facts from my friend Frederic Patenaude about green vegetables:

- They contain more vitamin A than carrots
- They contain more vitamin C than oranges
- They contain more vitamin E than whole wheat
- They contain more vitamin B2 than milk
- They contain quality proteins (with a good amino acid profile)

But there’s something more critical:

Greens provide essential alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are found in insufficient quantities in fruit, nuts and seeds, not to mention other more conventional, acid-forming foods.

To provide enough minerals in the diet, we need a sufficient quantity of green vegetables. We need also a good variety of green vegetables � just celery and romaine lettuce might not be enough to provide to most people’s mineral needs. (For example, a huge head of romaine lettuce � one of the better lettuce � contains only about 200 mg of calcium. And we’re talking a huge head that weighs more than a pound!)�

More importantly, we need to eat greens in such a way that the nutrients can be easily assimilated by the body. Salads are great, but often the tough fiber of greens is not chewed or broken down well enough in order for the nutrients to be well assimilated. This is in addition to the fact that most people’s digestion is not as optimal as it could be.�

So what’s the solution?

Regular consumption of green smoothies as a way to increase the consumption of greens.* Victoria Boutenko’s “Green For Life” states that a better way to increase your fruit AND green consumption is to start making green smoothies. A green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with green vegetables thrown in. Victoria Boutenko’s book is available at http://tinyurl.com/ys6q3m

I’ve written about the health benefits from drinking green smoothies before.��Click here for the full article.