Saturday, September 22, 2007

Green Smoothies are the new SlimFast

I finally ordered Victoria Boutenko's book, Green For Life. I had been wanting to drink green smoothies after reading The Green Smoothie Experience (see my post in late July), but I felt that I lacked knowledge. So I was delighted when I received my copy from Amazon. Once I started reading the book, I knew that I wouldn't put it down until I finished it. When I finished it, I immediately re-read it a second time because I wanted to have all the information assimilated and ingrained into my brain. If you haven't read the book.....get it and read it, ASAP!

So, not a shocker, I started mixing up and drinking green pronto. I jumped right into drinking around a quart of the delicious green concoctions within a day or two. My husband, Gordon, is such a good sport.....he started drinking them with me even before he read the book. But he did read it and he, too, is now a green smoothie lover. We are both blown away by the changes that have started occurring in such a short amount of time.

For the most part I only drink smoothies throughout the day. I have rarely eaten food until my evening meal each day. One thing that blows me away is that after a couple of days I became aware that I was never hungry. No cravings, no restless feelings, no desire to snack....I mean nothing! I've been a grazer my whole life so not having the desire to put food in my mouth all the time was new to me. What happens with drinking so many greens is that they hydrate, oxygenate and nourish the body on a whole different level. People are mainly overweight because their bodies are so depleted of nutrients that they are constantly hungry. They continue to stuff themselves, but the body continues to crave more. The problem is that the standard American diet is severely void of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. With green smoothies, a person is truly being fueled as nature intended.

Personally, I have lost 7 pounds in three weeks. I feel more well rested and I wake up and get up without feeling groggy or tired. I require less sleep. My skin has a softer, more supple appearance. I swear my eye sight seems sharper. I have no inflammation and have zero bloating or gas. After struggling with IBS off and on for the entirety of my life, I have NO symptoms. My regularity is amazing.

Here are the ingredients of my most recent smoothie:

1 young thai coconut (meat and milk)
1 c frozen pineapple
1 frozen banana
1 bunch of collard greens (de-veined)
hemp nut milk
1 pkg. Stevia
ice

I put all of this into my Vita-Mix blender and it took 5 minutes tops. This made about 3 servings. I store the extra smoothie in drinking glasses filled to the very top and then tightly covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. I would recommend drinking within 24 hours.