Green Smoothie Challenge
Have you joined the Green Smoothie Challenge?
www.greensmoothiechallenge.com
Here’s a video of me making my favorite Green Smoothie inspired by the 14 Day Challenge. I’m now regularly making these most mornings and noticing such a difference!
Green Smoothie Nutrition
Blending is similar to chewing, therefore, eating blended food can make a dramatic improvement to our health. After being broken down in a high-speed blender, pieces of food become the perfect size for assimilation.
In order for nutrients to be absorbed, the food has to be broken in the stomach, both mechanically and with acids, into very small pieces of 1-2mm. Raw fruits and vegetables have the most valuable nutrients in them, but the are especially hard to digest because their tough cellulose structure has to be ruptured in order to get all the nutrients out. If there is not enough stomach acid, the body is unable to receive all needed nutrients, especially proteins, and deficiencies start to develop.
Victoria Boutenko, Green for Life
How did the Green Smoothie Challenge came into being?
Ann Wigmore (1909-1994) was a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist and whole food advocate who co-founded the Hippocrates Health Institute. Ann was a strong advocate of blended soups. She noticed that many people’s digestive systems were compromised after years of eating processed foods and poor chewing. They no longer possessed the required digestive strength to extract the nutrition they needed from whole foods in their natural state. When consuming blending whole foods in the form of soups, the food is broken down making the nutrients more available for the body to digest.
Victoria Boutenko became interested in the benefits of consuming large quantities of green leafy vegetables. She studied chimpanzees, who share 99.4% of our DNA and show high resistance to AIDS, cancer and heart disease, to see if something could be learned from their natural diet that could help humans. When she compared the diet of chimpanzees, to the SAD (Standard American Diet) she noticed that whilst only 3% of the SAD consisted of greens a huge 39% of chimpanzees’ diets consisted of greens and blossoms. In search of a way to increase the quantity of greens in her diet, Victoria tried blended soups but found them bland. She added fruit to the blend and discovered a very tasty way of consuming greens. Committed to changing the health of others, she wrote the book titled ‘Green for Life’ and has inspired many to included green smoothies as a part of their diet.
The Green Smoothie Challenge was conceived by wellness educator Anand Wells. While many people find it challenging to make major dietary changes, Anand noticed that most people were able to embrace the Green Smoothie as a daily practice. The results people were getting just by drinking green smoothies were so profound that he decided this amazing drink should be freely available for all to enjoy. He created the Green Smoothie Challenge in May 2008 whilst undertaking a Self-Expression and Leadership Program with Landmark Education.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes from the Green Smoothie Challenge:
(If you join the 14 day challenge you’ll have more recipes delivered straight into your inbox)
Berry Blast
In this recipe berries bring a sweet fragrance with a subtle tart overtone and make this low GI treat a real winner. Research is suggesting that raspberries have the potential to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and tumor formation. Raspberries contain ellagic acid, an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals and prevents damage to cell membranes. Whilst fresh berries are best, freezing does not destroy their anti-oxidant activity and is sometimes more convenient. Berries are also heart-healthy foods. In a Finnish study, subjects who ate two serves of berries a day were found to have lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
Spinach has been found to have thirteen different flavonoid compounds with anti-cancer properties. Spinach has been shown to slow down the growth of cancer cells in the stomach and the prostrate and to be inversely related to the incidence of breast cancer. Spinach has also been shown to protect against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer and arthritis.
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 apple
- 3 big handfuls of baby spinach
- 2 cups of water
Blend together the apples, raspberries, blueberries and water for 30 seconds. Add the baby spinach and blend until smooth.
For more recipes from the Great Smoothie Challenge visit http://www.greensmoothiechallenge.com
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2 comments September 24th, 2008
