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So you have been stalking Instagram lately and noticed that more and more of your news feed is filling up with images of these so called Green Smoothies. Presented all pretty in a mason jar with a cute decorative straw and a blown out vintage filter with a hashtag frenzy below looking something like this … #greensmoothies #vitamix #cleaneating #healthyliving
Unlike the mad craze of manly beards, the cool purple hair rinses or those Dunlop Volleys you just HAD to purchase a few years back which you recently traded in for Converse, the Green Smoothie trend is a keeper. Green Smoothies are a habit for life and I know I will continue to be sipping on this green goodness when I am old and grey. I say get a Vitamix Blender now and Get your Green Smoothie on!
So why do I love Green Smoothies so much?
Let me rewind about five years ago. Five years ago I was Red Bull sipping, go-go gadget, twisty munching machine with a side of probably potato cakes or something else smothered in oil and deep fried. I had always been reasonably slim so I never thought of the need to worry about my diet or what I put into my body. I was running myself ragged with life in the fast lane. Sleep deprived and nutrient deprived. I was always on the run so I would just grab the quickest, easiest thing to eat which meant something in a packet with a long list of ingredients that I will never be able to pronounce and some energy in a can. Not quite the pin up girl for health.
My immune system was low and I was catching every nasty bug that was out there. You name it – I had it! My weight started to fluctuate, my skin was breaking out and my hormone levels were running wild. I was tired, cranky, hungry & unhappy. My body was SCREAMING at me for help … Cue the Green Smoothie and a drum roll please…….
What is a Green Smoothie?
A Green Smoothie is a fabulous fibrous blended beverage that is made up of 40- 80% Greens like Spinach, kale & rocket (depending on your pallet). Other fruits and vegetables can be used to help sweeten and enhance the flavour, texture, colour and benefits that your Green Smoothie can offer. That’s why these babies taste so good! You get to choose what goes in the mix … pick the flavours that you love and make them more dominant.
Spinach is a really good neutral tasting green so I pack my smoothies full of these and then add my fruit to sweeten it a little. Remember though, some fruits have a high natural sugar content which can cause spikes in energy and then a massive low. Try and pick Low GI fruits like apples, blueberries, pears, strawberries and kiwis to help keep your blood sugar levels balanced. This will keep you fuller for longer and give you sustained energy throughout the day. It is the ultimate fast food … quick, satisfying and tasty.
Why are they all the rage?
Let me drop a beat and break it down for you. Fruits, Vegetables and especially Greens are full to the brim with nutrition. Containing Vitamins and minerals to enhance our health and our beauty. Our bodies need minerals to help our hair, skin and nails, to rebuild collagen, to improve our overall circulation and to detoxify and cleanse.
The long list of Vitamins from A – Z can help our brain development and performance, boost our energy levels, fight fatigue, create healthy organ function, help balance hormone levels and our adrenals, as well as boost our immune systems to help fight infection and diseases like heart disease and cancer! Whoa…
Why Blend?
Ok – so the best form to eat all these goodies is in their natural, raw state. Why? Well, it’s mostly because some cooking methods, such as boiling for example, reduce the mineral and vitamin content. Now I am certainly not saying that everyone should become a Raw Foody, but we all should definitely look at increasing the amounts of raw greens and veg we eat. This is why Green Smoothies are so amazing – because you don’t make friends with salad. Well, you probably do but you will make lots with Green Smoothies because blending all of these beautiful greens into a delicious smooth smoothie, allows us to consume large quantities at a time. All while keeping the produce in its raw state.
Blending also retains all of the fibre rather than removing it. Fibre is so important to our body. It helps to sweep out those nasty toxins on a regular basis – basically it helps keep our digestive tract and our body clean. Our digestive systems are responsible for the majority of our immunity. Often chronic health issues can be caused by having an unhealthy tummy that isn’t functioning at its best.
You are what you eat …
Food can be our friend or our foe? We are what we continue to eat, so I would much rather eat nutritious, beautiful naturally fragrant, colourful wholefoods rather than packaged, processed, chemical enhanced, weirdly modified food. Wouldn’t you?
If you continue to make poor food choices eventually your body is going to realise it is undernourished and it’s going to lay down in the middle of the supermarket isle kicking and screaming at you for attention! Listen to your body… it will tell you what it needs.
Sickness, lethargy, breakouts, weight gain and mood swings are not something you ‘just have to live with.’ You don’t have to be blessed with good genetics, to look good and to feel good. You can be the solution to your problems and give yourself the best chance for success!
I had a light bulb moment and new that my diet had to drastically change if I was going to feel any different. You don’t keep missing your Spanish classes each week and expect to speak fluent Spanish! I put the red bull can down and swapped it for a GO-GO Green Smoothie, well it wasn’t instant like that but you get my gist. I began educating myself on food and experimenting with what worked for my body the best. Adding more nutritious and delicious wholefoods into my diet and cutting out the crap was the best decision I ever made.
Now I am certainly not a food angel but I do make healthier, smarter choices with my diet and one of those choices is to guzzle down a glass of Green Smoothie goodness everyday! Well – almost every day (some days I opt for a protein smoothie instead). Regardless, Green Smoothies are in my diet for good. Green Smoothies nourish me from the inside out and keep me feeling AMAZING and I want you to feel amazing too!