Green Options

My kids and I are crazy about green smoothies. We make them a couple times daily usually. Never before has it been so easy to get my kids to eat plenty of those all important leafy greens! Just check out my daughter’s green smoothie moustache (left).

You may be wondering what a green smoothie is exactly. Or maybe not, they seem to be getting really popular in healthier living circles everywhere lately. A green smoothie does not refer to being “green” in the eco sense of the word. Although they can be that too. The green in a green smoothie refers to what is in the smoothie and usually the color as well. Quite simply, green smoothies are blended beverages that combine fresh or frozen fruit and leafy greens like Kale, collard, spinach, or wild edibles. Veggies like carrots may make a cameo appearance in green smoothies as well. The genius of a green smoothie is that they are jam packed with nutritional goodness, usually in its raw life living form, and they taste absolutely fantastic! When was the last time your kids begged you for fresh spinach? Well, mine ask me daily for some.

This year, one of my new year’s resolutions was to eat more raw and living foods. I recently started attending a monthly raw food potluck and have been inspired by all the delicious recipes and information. I have learned that eating uncooked plant foods is healthy for several reasons: raw fruits and veggies contain lots of fiber, are packed with nutrients, and also retain many useful enzymes that cooking destroys. Having a plot in my local community garden has definitely helped me eat more raw fresh produce as well as eat more sustainably.

As I try to add more living foods to my diet, I’ve tried eating salad with just about every meal, eating raw snacks like trail mixes and fresh fruit, and making more food from scratch. One way of incorporating raw foods into my diet that has been really easy is making fresh juices and smoothies. With the help of gadgets like my Green Star juicer and Vitamix blender, I’ve made many a healthy and scrumptious snack.

One word of juicing wisdom that I’ve learned is that you don’t want to overdo it with fruit juices. Because of their high sugar content, fruit juices can raise blood sugar levels. It’s healthier to drink vegetable juices, or a blend of fruit and vegetable juices. Juices are best in moderation because they deliver many nutrients but since the pulp is removed, they don’t have much fiber. Smoothies, on the other hand, use the entire fruit or vegetable, so the fiber is included. Both juices and smoothies are a great way to get digestible nutrients and add more raw fruits and vegetables to your diet.

Some of the most wonderful aspects of eating a plant-based diet is choosing from the huge variety of foods at your disposal and experiencing a change in your palate. My favorite foods today were definitely not my favorite foods 25 years ago (my father owned ice cream stores), or 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. It’s so exciting to continually eat better, learn more, and feel healthier all the time. It just

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