Lean and Green: The Smoothie Challenge

How often did we shutter when our mother reminded us of the importance of eating our vegetables? My dog eats several things I won't mention in this blog but one thing she refuses to touch is...vegetables. Broccoli alone is chock full of valuable vitamins and minerals, most of which are lost during the cooking process but who eats raw broccoli every day?

For quite some time now my family and I have been partakers of Green Smoothie Girl's (www.greensmoothiegirl.com) 30 Day Smoothie challenge. We have already completed the thirty days and are enjoying the benefits of eating at least 15 servings of green vegetables and fruits a day.

James and I have both lost weight, I get more compliments now on my appearance and the kids love the smoothies too! Increased energy, decreased irritability, no more struggling to get through tired afternoons, it's amazing stuff.

GSG (Green Smoothie Girl) recommends starting with mild greens and mostly fruit (25% greens: spinach or kale are great starters and 75% fruit: must include at least one if not two bananas then whatever else you like) If you can add a superfood (goji berries, acai berries, wheat grass, hemp seed, etc.) all the better!

To start add only the green lettuce to the number 5 in your blender. Then add juice or water about halfway up the greens. Blend until liquid. Then from here add all other ingredients. Blend and serve. For a creamer smoothie you can add kefir or yogurt. This can also boost up your probiotic intake which will only help mop up all the free radicals and cancer causing carcinogens in the digestive system. The greens alone are great at cleaning up the digestive tract of all unwelcome toxins left behind from most anything we eat. The fruit helps to hide all the bitterness from most greens and the blending process of the smoothie helps your digestive system to make the most of all the nutrients and live enzymes contained within for optimal health.

My six year old (who has already noticed an increased ability to concentrate and maintain his anxiety levels: thank you ADHD, OCD and CTD) is quite the smoothie connoisseur. He LOVES them. Below I have his famous Kandy Kooler recipe he makes for the kids for breakfast.

Kandy Kooler
3 cups Spinach
2 cups Kale
1 T. Hemp Powder (a complete protein full of Omega 3's, 6's and CLA's)
1 T. Ground Flax Seed (full of Omega 3's and 6's)
2.5 cups grape juice or cherry juice or combo of both (juice with no added sugars recommended)

Blend together

Add

1 Banana
1 cup blueberries
1 peach cut up into chunks
4 Strawberries
1/2 cup kefir or yogurt of choice

Optional ingredients to add:
Acai pulp or berries
1 pear
1 apple
1 mango for punch
1/2 cucumber
2 carrots

Blend all together then pour in cups and serve. Can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours.