The Gospel of Green Smoothies

What if I told you that starting this one healthy habit for just 10 minutes a day could give you the following:

*cue peppy infomercial music*

• More energy
• Improved digestion
• Fewer cravings for sweets and processed foods
• More positive, stable mood
• Improvement in skin tone
• Weight loss
• Increased desire to exercise
• Improved sleep
• Decreased stress level
• Blood sugar stabilization
• Shinier hair and smoother skin
• Decreased in PMS symptoms
• Improved sex drive

What is this simple habit? Making green smoothies.

What the devil is a green smoothie?

They're called green smoothies not only for their color, but for what's in them: greens, those dark leafies that are so hard to get into your diet but so healthy it's well worth the effort.

The idea is to get as many of these power-packed veggies and a variety of fruits into your diet daily, without having to spend hours gnawing on carrots, peeling oranges and stuffing yourself with spinach salad. All you do is blend everything and drink it up. That's it. It not only condenses a big pile of healthy stuff into one beverage, it helps you eat uber-healthy things you'd never eat plain, like chard, kale, beet greens and so on.

Four cups of green smoothie is less than 200 calories and equal to 15 servings of fruits and vegetables. That's a lot of awesome, all before noon!

Green smoothies are championed by Robyn Openshaw, a Utah gal who has all the info you need on her websiteGreenSmoothieGirl.com.

Why these funky, not-so-yummy greens?

Because they're unparalleled in nutrition. They're packed with protein, calcium, fiber and blood-building properties, not to mention a host of vitamins and minerals you'd have to take a handful of supplements to match.

There is an entire science to this I won't get into, but here are some of the reasons to go green:

• You don't have to use high-fat, chemical-laden salad dressings to "get it down"
• You will be living the way God or Nature has intended—and your body will recognize this and respond
• Blending the greens makes the nutrition immediately available and predigested, much better than you can do by chewing
• You get more live enzymes in blended green drinks than in any other food, which means your body can use its own enzymes for more important things than fighting to digest a greaseball hamburger or processed frankenfood
• They're really fast and easy to make
• When blended with fruit, they can taste really good!

So Lindsay, what are the benefits YOU feel?

I have been drinking daily green smoothies for almost a month now. In half of that time I noticed a lot of changes. First and best, my craving for soda and fast food disappeared. I'm not kidding—poof, gone. I was having a Coke a day and fast food three or more times a week. Now, without even having to exercise my willpower, my body has made the decision for me. The thought of french fries (once my most desired treat) holds no allure. I now crave even more veggies and fruits, actually giving me the desire to cook real food that doesn't come from a bag or box.

Just as awesome is how I feel: More energetic and less sleepy with a sharper mind. I also have the desire to exercise, which is normally a torture for me. These are SO NEEDED right now as I have a wee li'l baby who wakes up twice a night and is the reason (mostly) my stomach is out of control.

The third thing I noticed quite soon was a slimming waistline, which is likely a combination of the healthy additions and the elimination of the bloat-inducing junk food.

So how do you make a green smoothie?

You can find full details on GreenSmoothieGirl.com, or the video demo I'll post below. The Cliff's Notes version is:

Start with 1 to 2 cups of water in your blender. Fill it to the top with your chosen greens (see website or books for list). Blend it until it's liquefied. Your blender should be just under half full. Fill the rest with fresh or frozen fruit. (If you use more fresh, add ice if you like the smoothie texture). You can sweeten it, especially if you're a newbie. The Green Smoothie Girl uses natural sweeteners like agave and stevia. I use agave or juice, and occasionally a splash of cinnamon-sugar. Now blend and you're done!

There are plenty more videos on her YouTube channel.

A bit more of newbie advice: Start by doing more fruit than greens to get used to it, because some of the greens are quite strong. I love spinach because you can buy a bunch for cheap and it hardly has any taste when blended. Kale is good too, and I also occasionally throw in some carrot tops or a celery stick, if I have them lying around.

And one important thing:

You really should have a fancy blender. A regular one just isn't powerful enough and can leave you with green chunks in your teeth. Not cute. A good processor/blender, like the all-mighty Blendtec that I have, is expensive but SO WORTH IT if you're going to make this part of your lifestyle—and I highly recommend that you do.

So that's my sermon. I know some of you reading are also on the green smoothie train. What input do you have? Does anyone have questions?

......Oh, and P.S. I got in a brisk 20-minute walk today! AND cooked dinner, AND ate really good, healthy stuff. Victory!