Tuesday 10 April 2012

Green Smoothies

Last month I had the opportunity to visit a new library for about an hour. I love libraries and the opportunity to explore new books. This time I stumbled across the book Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko. I've done a version of green smoothies a few years ago, mostly with spinach, yogurt, orange juice and frozen fruit, but it wasn't something that lasted. Buying the baby spinach was expensive (I hadn't found fully grown spinach at my grocery store), only Kiddlet and I drank them, and I didn't like them that much. But after reading this book, I thought I'd give them another try.



My first green smoothie was 3 weeks ago. The smoothie was made with kale, orange juice, bananas, and strawberries. It was good; I had it for lunch. Half way through the smoothie, it felt like I'd just been given an infusion of energy. I felt so good that afternoon! And for the first time in ages, I wasn't hungry at 3:00; I didn't feel hungry until 5:30. When I went grocery shopping 2 days later, I bought a bunch of greens and a large bag of frozen fruit. Now, I haven't managed to have a green smoothie every day, but most days I do. I make them with greens (kale, rapini or spinach) orange juice, bananas, an avocado and frozen fruit.

The whole thing has been really interesting. If I have a green smoothie for breakfast, I find a want a salad for lunch, apples or celery to snack on and I don't mind not having something sweet along with my coffee. When I do get hungry, it feels different than if I haven't had a green smoothie. It's what I call a clean hunger. My stomach rumbles and I'm definitely hungry, but it's not painful or accompanied by a blood sugar drop. When I skip having a green smoothie for a day, my energy levels sag, I have a low grade headache, I'm hungry more often and being hungry hurts! On the skipped days, I find myself reaching for processed foods and sweets to have with my coffee. If I miss two days in a row, watch out! I'm tired all day long, have a headache that won't go away, I'm irritable and my emotions are all over the place. I'm also finding that I only want a green smoothie for breakfast. The thought of any other kind of food makes my stomach churn.

I'm starting to wonder more about a raw food diet. Not enough at this point to consider trying it, but I think I want to look into it. I wonder if it would make a difference in my health or my kids' behavior. I know people who have made lifestyle changes in relation to how they eat and it's made a big difference for them. We'll see.

One thing if for sure, though. If I buy anymore produce them I am right now, I need a second refrigerator.

2 comments:

  1. I still haven't tried this. We do smoothies a lot but I haven't done the green smoothie. Glad it is working out for you!

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    1. You ought to try it! Just 4 days in a row and I bet you'd notice a difference.

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