What is the number one piece of advice most health professionals give? From doctors to dietitians, nutritional scientists to natural health coaches, it’s all pretty much the same. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits!
American’s are particularly woefully deficient in their fresh produce intake. The average adult gets far less than half the suggested amounts (of any fruits and vegetables). In fact, less than 1 in 10 get the recommended amounts, which are already reduced by 1/3-1/2, due to the fact that people aren’t eating them. I guess they figure if people aren’t even eating 2 servings of each a day, how are they ever going to convince them to eat 9-12 servings a day!
Of that minuscule amount that people are eating, the majority of it consists of processed fruit juices, highly sugared tomato products, and fat and sodium drenched potatoes. Yes, even the little bit of fruits and vegetables most are eating are not fresh, but rather ketchup and french fries.
No wonder health-minded doctors and scientific researchers are agreeing that over 90% of our illnesses, that is the chronic diseases that are the top causes of death accounting for over 70% of deaths each year, could be prevented (and even reversed) by a diet of real, nutrient rich, whole plant foods.
But just knowing this information isn’t enough to get everyone converted. Pretty much everyone knows that fruits and veggies are good for you, and coke and french fries aren’t. But making the change takes a little doing.
Congratulations for being such a rawkstar ready to jump in!
My goal isn’t to just point you to a path, but to come alongside you on this good path. That’s why I want to begin this relaunch with a Kick-start Challenge! Let’s rawk this journey together!
Enter Green Smoothies! Green Smoothies are a great place to start. They will increase your daily intake of fruits and veggies–and those will be in the form of non-processed, no added ingredients, real, whole plant foods, full of all their original nutrients that build vibrant health.
Green Smoothies are the quickest, and best tasting, and easiest way to get started. If I suggested you get started by eating a huge fresh greens and veggies salad everyday for lunch and supper, you may bail before you start. Some of you would say it takes too much time. If you aren’t used to them, some of you may gag and give up before you get too many of them down. Especially if I recommended you not drown them in fat and salt.
But there are no excuses with Green Smoothies! They are quick to make, easy to consume, and salt and fat aren’t needed to make them taste great. You’ll probably get more fruits and veggies in your Green Smoothie than you’d be able to eat in your salad to start. (Yes, your salads will come, and you’ll work up to great amounts of those too. “The Salad is the Main Dish.” ~ Dr. Joel Fuhrman. But today were Smooth(ie) sailing!)
So our Kick-start Challenge begins. Drink at least 16 oz. of fresh Green Smoothie each day. I like to make and drink mine in the morning for breakfast. But perhaps you’d prefer yours as an afternoon snack.
The basics are: 2-3 fresh (or frozen with no added ingredients) fruits (approx. 2 cups or less) and 2-3 cups or more (a couple large handfuls) dark leafy greens (such as spinach or kale) and enough purified water to blend well and get the consistency you like. Using a banana as one of your fruits will help make it creamy, like a shake, especially if the banana is frozen or you add a few ice cubes. The fruit, especially banana, covers the “green” taste. Really it does! Get more details here–or subscribe to our emails for your Free Gift.
Try this simple Green Smoothie, with common ingredients, to get started:
Sunrise Kiss
1 Orange (peeled)
1 cup Purified Water
2 large handfuls Baby Spinach or Baby Kale
1 frozen Banana, peeled and broken into 3-4 pieces
1 handful frozen Strawberries—or fresh.
If you buy packaged Baby Spinach and frozen Strawberries, the only prep you have to do is peel the Orange. If you have a lesser powered blender, you probably should section the Orange into 1/4’s or so. In our BlendTec blender, we just throw all the ingredients in, in the order listed, and hit the Whole Juice button. It shuts off automatically when it is done. (Sometimes we may need to hit the Pulse button to finish it off.) If banana not frozen, add a few ice cubes.
Recipe from Good for You-Naturally!™ Weekly Menu & Recipes ~ Level 1
Comment below: What is your goal in joining us in the Green Smoothie Challenge?
Remember to Subscribe to the email updates to stay connected!
You must be logged in to post a comment.