Green smoothie? All the way!

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As many of you know I am a HUGE living/fresh foods and green smoothie supporter. There is no better way to get the nutrients that we need then from our food. You know - like it says above : food-medicine-medicine-food... I attribute a large part to my later two healthier pregnancies to the effort I put into nutrition. I also think it is very , very important to plant the seeds of proper nutrition in my children.

Don't get me wrong - they know that chocolate is, but they also know the difference between good and bad chocolate. I'll expand on that another time, though. today I want to answer the question that I am asked all the time :

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CHILDREN TO LIKE FRUIT/VEGETABLES?! 

My answer is simple.

Smoothies.

I don't believe in that horrible smelling, disgusting tasting baby good. Sorry, P&G, Beechnut, or whoever else there is that fills those little jars, cups, plastic ( oh , a whole other talk about food IN plastic!) things, but HAVE YOU TASTED IT yourself?! I can bet $100,000 that the answer is "no", because if you have, you would never, ever feed it to your child, and in this case, the logical question to ask is "why would mine want to eat it"?

We make baby food ourselves around here, and in the amounts that the baby would want to eat. And right from the start we add greens, and a lot of them. There is much that can be said on this topic ( and will be , don't worry). Today, however, I want to give you all the excerpt from "Green for Life" by V. Butenko - mother of green smoothy theory.

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10 reasons why to "green smoothie" 

1. Green smoothies are very nutritious. The ratio in them is optimal for human consumption; about 60% ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% organic greens.

2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, most of the cells in the greens and fruits are ruptured, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. Green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

3. Green smoothies, as opposed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber. Consuming fiber is important for our elimination system.

4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the greens balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it. People who eat a standard American diet enjoy the taste of green smoothies. They are usually quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice.

5. A molecule of chlorophyll closely resembles a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, "consuming chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion". Many people do not consume enough greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. By drinking two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens for the day to nourish your body, and all of the beneficial nutrients will be well assimilated.

6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. In contrast, juicing greens is time consuming, messy, and expensive. Many people abandon drinking green juices on a regular basis for those reasons. To prepare a pitcher of green smoothie takes less than 5 minutes, including cleaning.

7. Green smoothies have proven to be loved by children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

8. When consuming your greens in the form of green smoothies, you are greatly reducing the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.

9. Regular consumption of green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. After a few weeks of drinking green smoothies, most people start to crave and enjoy eating more greens. Eating enough greens is often a problem with many people, especially children.

10. While fresh is always best, green smoothies will keep in cool temperatures for up to three days, which can be handy at work and while traveling.

The ten health benefits of green smoothies was fist published by Victoria Boutenko & The Raw Family as Ode to Green Smoothie in January 2005"

To all of this I'll add just one thing : since my husband switched to green smoothies breakfast, he became healthier, happier, more energetic and alert. And as to kids... unless it's green, they won't drink it.

 That's all.

What are YOU having for breakfast ?