Green Smoothie Experiment

I almost called this the "The Accidental Experiment" because I wasn't trying to learn anything, but after drinking green smoothies regularly, I got kind of bored with them and stopped. I've never been nuts about them, but I learned about the health benefits of consuming raw greens, and it seemed like the easiest way, so I started doing it.

For those that have not read a bunch of raw food books as I have, eating food raw keeps the enzymes intact which the body needs for various functions. Cooked foods have no intact enzymes, and the body then uses up its own stores to digest food which is very taxing, especially after doing this year after year all your life. Some people really connect loss of enzyme reserves to aging. Aside from that, cooking food destroys 75-97% of the vitamins and minerals. This is huge. Even if you are eating spinach for dinner, if it's cooked, you're not getting many of the vitamins and minerals. (Add onto that if it's not organic. Non-organic fruits and vegetables have significantly less nutritional content.) It's a big shock to realize most of the food the average person eats isn't feeding their body at all.

Greens like kale are full of calcium and other vital nutrients. Consuming them raw is the absolute most nutritious way. The problem is that raw kale is a little tough to chew and doesn't taste great. For some, it can even be difficult to digest and give some feelings of indigestion. The reason for this is simple: we are meant to chew our food into a liquid, and doing this breaks down the tough cellulose wall of the plant. When we don't break down this wall with our teeth, our stomach can have a tough time with it. Your options are to chew your kale to death or stick it in a blender. Thank you, Vita-Mix!

In casual experiments, raw food teachers/coaches have noticed that consuming these raw greens regularly drastically reduces peoples' cravings for unhealthy cooked food such as fried foods, sugar, and cheese. Most will tell you that if you want to go raw, start first by adding green smoothies to your regular diet, and after you don't crave your usual foods, you know you'll be able to cut them out completely.

SO... as I said, I stopped drinking these, not thinking about any daily impacts to my life. I forgot I had made this important move but noticed I was feeling cranky, impatient, and then started thinking about food all the time, craving sugar, cheese, and fried foods. Now, if I hadn't eaten any of these all this time, I wouldn't have suddenly gotten cravings for them out of nowhere, but I occasionally do indulge. This time, though, a couple of indulgences turned me into an addict! The crappy food made me feel more sluggish and crappy, and it was this downward spiral. It wasn't until yesterday that I realized this had all started a couple of weeks ago when I took this extremely important component out of my diet! (duh)

Today, I am on to PCC Natural Market for some kale, collard greens, and spinach.

If you are interested in trying this yourself, here is the general formula to make one: 60% fruit and 40% greens. This makes it sweet and very drinkable. About 2 cups of water. Make sure there is enough water or you'll feel like you are chewing what should be a drink. You can go online for some more specific recipes. The Vita-Mix is the best blender because the blades turn at something like 500 mph which obliterates those cell walls quickly and easily. For other blenders, I would recommend leaving it in to blend for a good minute or two so it's broken down as thoroughly as possible.

This is the most powerful "diet" drink out there. Try it for yourself, and you will be amazed that you don't crave unhealthy foods anymore. It's miraculous.

A great way to drink these is to have them handy when you're doing something else like working on the computer. You'll mindlessly keep sipping away and consume a large quantity without thinking, "ok, here's my smoothie, now I have to drink it."

By the way, most people love them. You will probably just love the smoothies. I am weird and don't even really like fruit smoothies, I don't know why. My sister doesn't have any special fascination with raw food but makes one every day and LOVES it. So don't let ME get you down!

Enjoy!