Eating healthy is not always easy!! many of us fall into the trap of fast food, pre-packaged foods and eating out to save time, when in reality adding salad or making a green smoothie take the same amount of time as waiting in line for a burger. It just takes a little preparation and keeping the supplies you need on hand.Adding a healthy green drink, shake or smoothie to your healthy lifestyle plan, is a fast, easy and affordable way to make small improvements in your life!! Eating a mostly alkalizing diet creates energy!!!
Here's the science stuff!! This list sure works for me!!!!
The oxygen–carrying ability of green foods is extremely vital for the cell functions of muscles, organs and brain health, the digestion of foods for nutrients, and the prevention of fungal growth in intestinal passages that can produce a condition of candida.
The green color of green foods comes from the phytochemical chlorophyll, which has been shown to have beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, immune response, cancer prevention, bacteria that cause disease, bad breath and internal odors.
Green Foods
• enhances the digestive process
• increases absorption of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients
• boosts energy levels
• eliminates toxins such as heavy metals, which can weaken our tissues and lead to disease over time
• reduces high blood pressure
• lowers LDL or “bad” cholesterol
• supports cellular metabolism
• neutralizes excess acidity
• creates an alkaline environment in the blood
• creates better looking skin, hair and nails
• delays the natural effects of aging
• inhibits bacteria that cause disease, bad breath and internal odors
• accelerates wound healing and improves our immune system
• reduces pain in fibromyalgia
• heals and reduces pain in ulcerative colitis
• prevents of the growth of tumors
• reduces macular degeneration and cataract development
• reduces allergies
• neutralizes excess acidity that leads to acid reflux
This list sure sounds good to me!! Good enough to drink a tasty drink that looks like swamp slime!! Please check out our green drink recipes!! Please share your recipes with us!!! Please share your green drinks with your family and friends!!
Green Mango and Banana SmoothieThis green drink was just a little TOO GREEN for my taste buds!!
The arugala made it a bit peppery. For someone who likes salsa, a few scoops could have turned this into a fiesta in your mouth!!!
I on the other hand am a sweet person!! Sweet in taste!!! I added two bananas to make it a bit creamier and sweeter!!
If you make a smoothie and it doesn't taste right, just see what else you have in the kitchen to add!! Sometimes it feels like a science experiment!!
Green Mango and Banana Smoothie2 cups of Water
1 Mango, chopped
2 stalks of Celery
1 Cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup of Arugala
1/2 cup of Raw Spinach
Juice of 1 Lemmon
1 tbsp. of Flax Seeds
2 Bananas, peeled and chopped, not in the photo
Put everything in the Vita-Mix. Zap on High for 2 minutes.
Add Ice to the top of the container. Zap on High for 30 seconds.
Serve with Lemon
Green Power Drink 2 with Green Tea, Apple, Lemon, Lettuce, Parsley, Carrot and Celery
This refreshing Vitamin filled drink is a great way to start the morning. I call it my "fast food salad!"Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Yes, it does look a bit like pea soup. You can change the color to entice your kids by adding a few blueberries, strawberries or red cabbage.
Green Power Drink 2 with Green Tea, Apple, Lemon, Lettuce, Parsley, Carrot and Celery
3 cups of Green Tea
1 Apple (cored)
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 bunch of Baby Bib Lettuce
1 Sprig of Parsley
5 Baby Carrots
3 Celery Hearts with leaves
Zap it in the Vita-Mix until smooth
Add ice to the top of the container and give it a quick whirl.
Recipe Tip: If you have to use a regular blender, then dice up all of the recipe ingredients and use crushed ice!!
Protein Powder Tip: For people who like to add 1 scoop of protein, this recipe works well with the "no-flavor" mix.
Why Drink Green Tea?
Drinking about half of a cup of green tea per day was associated with a 47% decrease in breast cancer risk compared with drinking no green tea at all.
Avocado, Ginger, Pear and Lime Green Drink or The Sexy Green Smoothie?
I read an article today about Kris Carr. She regained her health and took cancer under control by switching to a vegan diet. She wrote the books "Crazy Sexy Cancer" and "Crazy Sexy Diet." This is my version of her "Crazy Sexy Green Smoothie." I didn't have romaine lettuce, so I left it out. I switched out the spring water for green tea. I added lots of ice, a little bit of metabolism revving minced ginger and the juice of one lime. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of eating an avocado without lime!
This smoothie is silky smooth and pretty!! It's my new favorite!!
I might serve it to the hubby as Chilled Avocado and Pear Soup.
Avocado, Ginger, Pear and Lime Green Drink or The Sexy Green Smoothie?
1 Avocado, scoop out the meat and discard the pit and skin1 Cucumber, peel and chop
2 Hearts of Celery
1 Pear, chopped and cored
2 cups of Green Tea
1 pinch of Minced Ginger (1/4 tsp.)
The juice of 1 Lime
Put it all in the Vita-Mix and fill to the top with ice.
Zap it for 1-1/2 minutes on high.
Serve with a piece of lime.
Enjoy!!
Recipe Tip: If you have to use a regular blender, then dice up all of the recipe ingredients and use crushed ice!!
Green Drink: Spinach, Red Grapes, Apple, Celery, Cucumber, Carrots & Lemon
Part of getting healthy for me, is starting the day out with a green drink and sipping a few glasses all morning until lunch time. It keeps me full!!
It's refreshing!!
I load it with ice!!
I try to get at least 5 different fruits and vegetables in the drink. To me it's a lot easier and less messy than eating them whole. I change up the combo based on what's in the fridge. Here's why I choose certain ingredients that often are part of my green drink.
Green Tea:
Higher in Flavonoids. Phytochemicals in most plant products that are responsible for such health effects as anti-oxidative and anticarcinogenic functions
Spinach:
Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants.
Apple:
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Rich in antioxidents and fiber.
Lemon:
Accumulated toxins in the body can be flushed out using lemons. High in Vitamin C. Bioflavonoids in the lemon help in strengthening the inner lining of all the blood vessels.
Cucumber:
Cleansing. Vitamin C, Molybdenum, Vitamin A, potasium, Manganese, Folate, Fiber and Magnesium. All with very few calories.
Celery:
Celery is used in weight-loss diets, where it provides low-calorie dietary fibre bulk. It's also supposed to be an aphrodisiac.
Red Grapes:
Flavonoid compounds include quercitin and resveratrol. Both compounds appear to decrease the risk of heart disease by reducing platelet clumping and harmful blood clots and protecting LDL cholesterol from the free radical damage that initiates LDL's artery-damaging actions.
Carrots:
Rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants and minerals. Good for digestion.
Green Drink: Spinach, Red Grapes, Apple, Celery, Cucumber, Carrots & Lemon
1 hand full of Spinach (1 cup)1 Cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 Apple, cored and sliced
1 Celery stalk
1 cup of Red Seedless grapes
Juice of 1 Lemon
10 Baby Carrots
3 cups of Green Tea
Zap it all in the Vita Mix for 1 minute on high. Add ice to the top and Zap for 20 seconds. Drink right away. This does not keep for more than a day.
Recipe Tip: If you have to use a regular blender, then dice up all of the recipe ingredients and use crushed ice!!
Purple: The New Green
I was so excited to make this drink as a substitute for an evening glass of wine with my hubby that I forgot to photograph the ingredients!!! Oooops. 1/2 cup of Frozen Blueberries
1 cup of Baby Red Leaf Lettuce
1 Cucumber, peeled and chopped
6 Baby Carrots
1 Yellow Apple, sliced and cored
2 cups of Green Tea
Juice and Pulp of one Lemon
Fill container to the top with ice.
Zap on High in the Vita-Mix for 1 minute.
Garnish with a Strawberry.
Now it's time to sit down and relax with our Purple Green Drinks and a movie;)
Healthy Recipe Tip: I mix vegetables and smaller quantities of fruit to avoid a blood sugar spike.
Lean, Mean & Green Morning Drink
This is my favorite morning cleansing drink. The fax seeds add extra fiber and omega-3 fats. With the flax seeds, it's a little gritty tasting.
I make a full container and sip it for several hours. These juices do not keep in the fridge. You need to drink them within a few hours of making them.
Recipe Tip: You can blend it smooth if leave it on the Vita-Mix for a few minutes. Do not add ice until after it's smooth. I like to drink it a little "sludgy." The ice and lemon make all the differenc in taste for me.
Lean, Mean & Green Morning Drink
3 cups of Green Tea1 tbsp Flax Seeds
Juice of 1 Lemon
4 or 5 Baby Carrots
1 big hand full of Spinach Leaves
1 stalk of Celery with leaves
1 sprig of Parsley
Zap in in the Vita-Mix of a minute or so on high
Fill the container to the top with Ice
Zap it all together for 30 seconds or until it looks like a Slushee.
Recipe Tip: If you have to use a regular blender, then dice up all of the recipe ingredients and use crushed ice!!
