Fruit & Green Smoothies: What Diabetics Should Know

- by Ariel Policano

Today we get ready to kick off our transition week for the 21-Day Green Smoothie Detox!  We’ve had all sorts of questions come in prior to the detox, including a few requests about whether consuming green smoothies that contain a lot of fruit should be a concern to Diabetics.

We passed on our question to Naturopathic Doctor, Ariel Policano.

If you’re diabetic, should you be wary of bananas and mangos with your spinach and chard?  Find out what Ariel has to say… Read more »

Eat Your Greens for Healthier, Younger-Looking Skin

- by Tracy Neely

Healthy skin starts with clean blood and requires strong and steady blood flow. Your blood circulation brings your skin cells nourishment, and clears away waste products that your skin cells are constantly generating.

Eating mostly fruits and vegetables is essential to experiencing strong and steady blood flow. The water, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in these highly nutritious foods all promote optimal blood circulation to your skin and throughout your body.

I know we’re all told to eat dark green leafy vegetables to have optimal health, and that is absolutely true, but here is something that I think is shocking, Read more »

The Benefits of Cashew Nuts

- by Joanna Beujekian-Steven

Many raw foodists and western dieters love cashews for their smooth creaminess. They are an invaluable ingredient in raw vegan desserts, nut cheeses, Asian inspired dishes, etc. But there is more to cashews than their delicious taste; they are also powerhouses of nutrition, providing a wealth of important minerals and amino acids. While some may deplore their fat content, it is important to look at cashews within the scope of a healthy, varied diet. When you eat a variety of vegetables, fruits and leafy greens, cashews will not hinder your health and could in fact fill in the gaps and significantly raise your nutrient intake – not to mention enrich your diet with healthy desserts, creamy nut milks, and more!

Protein: Cashews, like most nuts, are rich in protein, but cashews are a bit different in that they are also a very good source of quality amino acids. The website Nutrition Data lists cashews as a “complete or high-quality protein” due to their high amino acid score.

Iron: Iron is a very important mineral, and deficiencies will lead to dizziness, fatigue, and even anemia. Cashews are rich in iron, and they satisfy 10% of our daily requirements in just a single ounce.

Magnesium: Magnesium is such an overlooked nutrient, and the wide majority of the U.S. population is thought to be magnesium deficient due to soil depletion and generally poor eating habits. But just one ounce of cashews will satisfy 20% of our daily needs, making it a delicious way to get enough magnesium.

Phosphorus: One ounce of cashews fulfills nearly 20% of our daily needs. But what is the purpose of phosphorus in our diet? According to the National Institutes of Health, “The main function of phosphorus is in the formation of bones and teeth. It plays an important role in the body’s utilization of carbohydrates and fats and in the synthesis of protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues. It is also crucial for the production of ATP, a molecule the body uses to store energy. Phosphorus works with the B vitamins. It also assists in the contraction of muscles, in the functioning of kidneys, in maintaining the regularity of the heartbeat, and in nerve conduction.” Another reason to include cashews in our food rotation!

Copper: Copper is an important mineral similar to iron in some ways, as it plays a crucial role in the formation of red blood cells and is important for the health of our circulatory, nervous, and skeletal system. Cashews will satisfy in just one ounce more than 30% of our copper requirement for the day! According to the National Institutes of Health, “Lack of copper may lead to anemia and osteoporosis.”

Manganese: Did you know that the word ‘manganese’ comes from the Greek word for magic? Indeed, manganese is a somewhat mysterious chemical, but it is absolutely crucial for brain health, sexual well-being, and skeletal health; it serves important anti-oxidant purposes as well. One ounce of cashews will fulfill nearly one quarter of our magnesium needs.

Raw? Not Raw? Some have argued that cashews cannot possibly be raw, and that they are even poisonous in their raw state. Nothing could be further from the truth! Cashews themselves are not poisonous; only the shell is (and you would not want to eat it anyway!). Also, while nearly 100% of cashews sold in stores are indeed heated at high temperatures during the shelling process, ethical raw food stores will only sell hand cracked, hand polished cashews, which are indeed raw.

References:

Nutrition Data: Retrieved February 3, 2010 from: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3095/2

National Institute of Health – Phosphorus: Retrieved February 3, 2010 from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002424.htm

National Institute of Health – Copper: Retrieved February 3, 2010 from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002419.htm

Eh! What’s Up Doc?

Carrots aren’t just good for Bugs Bunny to munch on! Or just for giving your smoothies an orange color! They are also an excellent vegetable, having both nutritional and medicinal values which are essential for our optimum health.

They contain a very complete nutrition to provide our body with essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals. A single carrot will supply all your vitamin A needs for the whole day. In fact, Chinese medical practitioners recommend eating carrots to give your liver more energy!

Carrot Juice is an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6.  Carrots are also rich in biotin, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium. They also offer an excellent source of beta-carotene which is an anti-oxidant that has health benefits that has been reported to positively affect a variety of conditions and diseases, including:

•    Balancing blood acidity and blood sugar.
•    Detoxifying the liver and reducing toxicity in the body
•    Reducing the risk of heart diseases and stroke by cleansing deposits in the arteries
•    Providing protection from infection for the respiratory system
•    Reducing the risk of cancer
•    Lowering cholesterol levels
•    Easing nasal congestion
•    Regulating problems with chronic constipation
•    Keeping the optic system in good condition – we’ve all heard that carrots help you see in the dark!
•    Reducing inflammation and easing arthritis and rheumatism
•    Building the immune system
•    Nourishing the skin and helping to prevent psoriasis and acne
• Chinese practitioners have said that carrots taste sweet, and are good for the health of spleen and stomach.

The best thing about carrots is that they are easily assimilated by our body, especially when blended or juiced, to break down the cell walls.

So try adding carrots to your juices and smoothies, enjoy their colour and taste, and relish the fact that you are nourishing your body optimally at the same time!

Lisa Simpson of Raw Liberty

Green Enough? How to Add More Greens!

- by Joanna L Steven

Everyone knows that leafy greens are important, but often:

• we don’t really know why they are
• we’re not sure which greens are best
• and we wonder how much of them we should eat on any given day.

Standard American Dieters often try to have a daily salad, but it’s often a fairly small one that is generally drowned in store-bought dressings made with soybean oil (one of the most genetically modified crops in the US), cottonseed oil (a very pesticide heavy crop), white sugar, artificial colorings etc. and typically, iceberg lettuce (the poorest nutritional choice of lettuce) is a SAD favorite.

In the raw food movement, leafy greens are one food group everyone usually agrees on. Those who follow a low fat diet like 80-10-10 know to eat a whole pound of lettuce everyday, while those who follow a higher fat diet such as Brendan Brazier’s put dark green leafies at the bottom of their food pyramid. Likewise, advocates of blending like to consume large amounts of green smoothies, and proponents of juicing consider green juices to be indispensable to good health.

Why are leafy greens so important?

Fruits are usually very low in minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium etc., and while nuts are often mineral-rich, they are also high in fat. Leafy greens are very high in many minerals, and very low in calories. They are a great way to get all the minerals we need without overdoing it on fatty acids.

Greens are also, of course, a great source of chlorophyll. Many people notice that with higher intakes of chlorophyll, their skin glows and becomes healthier. Chlorophyll is also thought to be a great blood detoxifier.

Rotating your leafy greens is important. Romaine lettuce is high in folate, but parsley is high in iron. Kale is high in calcium, while Swiss chard is high in magnesium. The list goes on.

How can we eat enough greens?

Here are the best ways I have found to eat massive quantities of greens and enjoy every bite. I personally think that eating at least a pound of greens a day is optimal, but even small amounts are better than nothing.

Juice Your Greens

Green juices don’t have to mean shots of wheatgrass. They can be delectable when made properly, and they are quick to make, too. For green juices to be palatable, you need to add the secret ingredient: fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice will take away the green taste and add a refreshing lemonade like flavor to the juice. Adding a little spiciness with ginger juice will make your green juice even better. By drinking 30 ounces of green juice a day, you can consume a whole head of lettuce on average without even noticing it! Don’t forget to add dark leafy greens such as kale.

Blend Your Greens

If you don’t think you are ready for green juices, start with green smoothies. Green smoothies are fruit smoothies, but with leafy greens sneaked into them. If you blend dark, sweet fruits such as berries, you can get away with adding several ounces of spinach without being able to detect any greenness. Green smoothies are a great way to eat a lot of swiss chard, too. My husband did not like green smoothies much at first, but now he loves them. I make sure to always include sweet fruits, and vary the greens.

Try New, Exciting Salad Dressings

People on the SAD (Standard American Diet) often equate salads with “boring”. Growing up in Europe where bottled salad dressings are hard to come by, I had to learn to make my own.

Try your hand at new recipes such as sweet dressings with mangoes, or spicy dressings with mustard, or even fat free dressings with blended tomatoes and fresh herbs! When I don’t have time to make an exotic dressing, I simply mix olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar at a 2:1 ratio, add a pinch of sea salt, a little mustard, and sometimes a little crushed garlic.

Vary Your Salad Ingredients

When I eat out at restaurants, I’m often disappointed by the salad selection. You can make large, delicious and satisfying salads without having to resort to the traditional iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Try layering lettuce with peeled citrus fruits and avocado, or tossing spinach with strawberries!

Try different greens, such as arugula (also called roquette) with fresh mushrooms. The possibilities are endless.

Marinate Your Greens

There are many types of greens that people shy away from, or wouldn’t eat unless they’ve been sauteed. Did you know that marinating your greens will reduce their size dramatically, and soften them as if they were cooked? I was never a big fan of kale salads until I started marinating them. Simply massage the leaves for a few minutes with olive oil and a little salt, and see them wilt down. Then, toss them with pine nuts, dry cranberries, and a sweet raspberry dressing, and you’ve got yourself a meal!

Super Smoothies with Aloe…and Lowering Anxiety with Green Smoothies

Hello Green Smoothie Adventurers. I have been so busy. So busy in fact I forgot to post last week. You see, in about 5 hours I will be leaving for a long-awaited vacation! It’s about ten till 11pm and I am sitting down in the midst of packing to catch up with all the lovely divas.

I have been busy attempting to prepare for the trip and finish all my homework that will be due while I am gone, so I really haven’t had a chance to sit down with the good ol’ “Write Post” page.  So here it is my last jaunt with my beloved Internet for then next five days. I will be in Eden Hot Springs, where I will have no access to Internet or TV, let alone phone reception. Actually by the time you all see this, I will probably already be there soaking in the natural mineral hot springs.

This trip got me thinking. I figure we will see a lot of cactus while driving clear across Arizona, and you better believe I will be foraging some prickly pears. And then the thought that I get to soak in mineral hot springs, which I am so needing, being that I continue to get sick! (That’s another story!) Well the cactus and the minerals reminded me of a super smoothie created by my good friend Joshua aka Karma Free Kale Chips posted awhile back.  This was before my green smoothie days but it really opened my eyes to the types of super smoothies that you can make.  Click on the link to see the recipe, it is quite lengthy, but really amazing.

Ionic Minerals and Aloe!

This smoothie recipe was the first time I thought about ionic minerals (which I seem to always be lacking in), and I have noticed how beneficial they are especially to us women. The best part of this particular super smoothie is the star ingredient: Aloe Vera!

I like to think of Aloe as a green leafy, since it’s green and a leaf, right? So when I return from vacation I think I will harvest some of the aloe leaves growing in my own backyard and see if I can find a way to make a super healing green smoothie with a double dose of green leafies. Maybe chard and aloe?

I challenge those of you who have been drinking green smoothies for awhile now to try it with me. If you can get your hands on some fresh whole leaf aloe vera, filet it up and add it to your usual green goodness. The only thing to keep in mind is that aloe is very bitter so make sure you can balance you smoothie to your preferred sweetness.

Challenge, and Testimonial to Lowered Anxiety

On the challenge note. I challenge all of you who haven’t tried green smoothies to get the blender out and start it up! Tonight I had dinner with my boyfriend and his sister. I knew that he had been preaching to her about green smoothies, but tonight I really got to hear her testimonial. She is just transitioning into vegetarianism, but already loves her green smoothies. And there is no doubt that the green smoothies are helping her in her journey to raw food. I loved how she shared that she could actually feel her serotonin levels changing when she first started drinking green smoothies, and how they have actually aided in ridding her of anxiety.

Of course everyone is different and I am not trying to “prescribe” anything. I know that kale has saved me from some stress and worry, but it was nice to here it from someone who is a psychiatrist. It was really fun to see how everyone tunes into how the smoothies are working in their own unique ways–sometimes spiritual, sometimes emotional, always physical. It is so inspiring to see what a simple yummy addition to your diet can do.

Everyone keep experimenting and sharing!