Green smoothies...they boost your immune system!

It's nearly the end of another week.  How are you feeling?  Energised?  Or are you feeling incredibly tired? 

ADD A GREEN SMOOTHIE TO YOUR DAY!

Adding a green smoothie into your day provides your body with an excellent source of iron (predominately from green leaves) as well as vitamin C (predominately from fruit).  Vitamin C is needed for iron absorption, so this is a perfect combination of ingredients.  However, this is not the only benefit of green smoothies.

Some of you may remember my green smoothie article in the last CPC magazine.  I've decided to re-post this article online as a reminded as we approach winter and an online resource.  Entering into Winter we need to support and boost our immune systems.  Green smoothies are a fantastic way to supply our bodies and more importantly our immune system with an incredible amount of nutrients!  

Green smoothies have endless benefits.  Some of these include:

•  Alkalising your body, by balancing your blood pH, therefore assisting with symptoms such as fatigue, foggy headedness, constipation, achey joints as well as enhancing the strength of your bones.

•  A nutrient dense snack that leaves less room in your stomach for that extra piece of cake, bread, or biscuit.

•  Protein (Green leaves provide up to 30% protein)

•  Magnesium (A mineral commonly depleted through stress)

•  Calcium (Yes that’s right!  We don’t have to get it through milk)

•  Chlorophyll (Improves body odour, bad breath and assists in detoxifying the liver)

•  With the addition of parsley it will purify the kidneys

•  With the addition of enzyme rich sprouts your smoothie will enhance your digestion

•  They taste delicious!

The modern diet and lifestyle tends to promote acidity as we consume large amounts of high fat, high sugar foods, white foods (white flour, white sugar, etc), meat, alcohol, softdrink, etc and smaller amounts of living food (green leafy vegetables, coloured vegetables, fruits, sprouts, raw nuts, etc).  Stress, too little sunshine, not enough fresh air and not enough clean water also contribute to increased acidity in our blood.  So we need to be mindful of this.

Our bodies are intelligent.  When our blood becomes too acidic it draws alkaline minerals, such as calcium, from our bones in order to buffer the acidity.  Therefore, long term acidity contributes to Osteoporosis.  One step you can take to begin alkalising your system is to drink one green smoothie each day!  

Green smoothies are also fantastic for kids!  Have fun as a family and make one together in the morning for breakfast or to snack on throughout the day.  You could also make it the night before so you are prepared with a healthy snack for the following day.  With daily enjoyment of green smoothies your palate will begin to change and you will begin to notice just how sweet sugar really is.  

Try one today!... Green smoothie recipe There are so many green smoothie recipes to pick and choose from, however, a great base recipe to start with is:

4 cups of greens (baby spinach, beetroot leaves, dandelion leaves, cos lettuce, kale, watercress, bok choy, mint, parsley, basil, etc)

1 frozen banana

1 pear or kiwi fruit

2 cups water (adjust to desired consistency)

Blend together in a blender

The texture of the smoothie is a lot nicer when the banana is frozen, however ice cubes can also be added instead.

Additions that I commonly use are frozen blueberries, frozen mango, paw paw, apple, persimmon, apple, half an avocado, broccoli, etc.  I also like to add green powders like wheatgrass powder or Vital Greens, as well as cacao powder, bee pollen, Acai berry powder, etc to make my smoothie as powerful and healthful as possible.Some further alkalising steps to consider include:

•  Laugh daily...

•  Breathe in fresh air, mindfully, daily...

•  Soak up the sun’s rays, mindfully, daily...

•  Filter your water and ensure you are adequately hydrated.  Start your day off with 1L when you get out of bed to flush your system after rest and hydrate your brain.

•  Consider the portions of your meals - cover three quarters of your plate with salad and/or vegetables.  Overeating can lead to acidity.

I hope you all find time to get to the market this weekend to pick up the necessary ingredients to include a green smoothie into each day!

Happy blending!

Janelle.

The benefits of raw living foods.

After a successful Raw Food workshop on Saturday I would like to provide some of the information on this blog for those of you who couldn't make it.  There was a lot of information presented so here is a snippet.

Raw foods are anything that is not heated above 48 degrees Celsius.  Eating predominately raw foods puts less strain on your digestive system as there are an abundance of enzymes found in raw food that assist in the digestive process.  This has endless benefits on our body, such as slowing down the ageing process!  Eating predominately cooked food on the other hand puts a tremendous strain on your body because your body needs to work harder to produce these enzymes to break down the food you are eating.  Also, when cooking food you loose a large amount of vitamin C which is so beneficial coming into Winter!

Dr Edward Howell, the father of the food enzyme concept, explained that when your body is busy digesting food, it is unable to divert the necessary energy to make the type of enzymes needed to do other tasks such as cleansing, healing and building.  There is a tug-of-war between the demands of your digestive system for a constant supply of digestive enzymes and the other needs of your body.  Without adequate supply of enzymes you can suffer symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, bad breath, constipation, Candida, depression and many other symptoms.  

Some of the benefits of eating raw foods are:

•  Raw foods contain much more water, fibre, nutrients and general bulk that they fill you up faster than cooked food.

•  The enzymes in raw food are active as they have not been deactivated through the application of heat.  This benefits us when digesting.

•  Increased energy because raw foods are digested easily & quickly, in 24-36 hours as opposed to 48-100 hours for cooked food.  Your body’s vitality won’t be sapped from breaking down hard-to-digest foods and you will therefore have more energy.

•  Raw foods can bring body weight to equilibrium or to its optimal range.  You can expect to get healthier and more toned with raw foods.  If weight loss is a goal eat less of the sweet fruits (bananas & dates) & more of the cleansing foods (apples and carrots).

•  Minerals, vitamins and hormones cannot work and perform their job except in the presence of enzymes.  Therefore breathing, sleeping, eating, digesting, thinking, moving, immunity, excitement, etc all depend on enzymes and is therefore enhanced when eating more raw foods.

•  Your eyes become brighter.  The more living enzymes you consume the more you eradicate disease and cleanse your body.  Your glowing eyes reflect this internal improvement.  A raw diet filled with antioxidants from brightly coloured fruits and vegetables can help improve vision and even prevent future diseases.  For instance, if you have a family history of cataracts, eliminating cooked fats from your daily menu rids the capillaries in your eyes of clogs.

•  Ageing process slows & therefore degenerative diseases can disappear.

•  Memory and concentration can become sharper. 

•  Reduces inflammation.

•  Eating a larger percentage of raw foods will decrease the trans fats and saturated fats in your diet, it will also lower the sodium and sugar in your diet.  Potassium, magnesium, folate, fiber, vitamin A, and health-promoting antioxidants will be increased.  These properties are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. 

•  Over time your ‘pipes’ become cleaner because the food you are eating is assisting in cleaning your ‘pipes’.  This also aids an increase in energy.

•  You achieve a greater sense of peace.

I say ‘can’ for some of these because it always depends on many factors such as how much food are you eating (portion size)?  Is it organic?  Are there emotional factors or stressors to consider at the same time?

Disease and illness is the body’s method of cleansing, repairing and restoring itself.  Live and raw food helps us to allow our body to cleanse and clean itself.   Therefore when starting out, a detoxification can take place.  You may feel worse before you feel better, depending on how much cleansing your body has to do. Signs of detox may include cold or flu like symptoms, fatigue, white coated tongue, phlegm, low libido, headache, bad breath, depression, darkened urine, irritability, skin breakouts, body odor, etc.  Enemas and colonics can help toxins leave the body through the bowels rather than the skin. 

Ideally if you can incorporate 80% raw and 20% cooked foods into your diet, you are doing yourself a HUGE favour.  Listen to your body.  You may feel the need to enjoy nourishing warming meals during the winter months.  Just remember the more raw in your diet, the less enzymes your body has to work to produce.  Start with a salad today, or enjoy munching on my latest sweet treat - Goji Berry Slice.

I have recently updated my website & you can now book online for a Naturopathic consultation!  I am encouraging people to book Wednesdays first and them am happy to organise other days if this is not suitable.  www.seedsofhealth.com.au

Have a great week!

Janelle Twine.

Delicious Goji Berry Slice

I did mention in my last post that I would include a Goji Berry Slice recipe that I'm sure the whole family will enjoy!  So here it is:

A sweet treat :)

Goji Berry Slice

(Makes 24 small pieces.)

Ingredients:

2 cups nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamias, etc)

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/4 cup carob powder

10 dates destoned

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup goji berries

Add either 2-3 drops peppermint essential oil or grated rind of 1 orange.

Optional: 2 tbsp chia seeds (if harder slice is desired).

Method:

Process nuts until smooth.  

Add the rest of the ingredients & process.

If coconut oil is solid, place in bowl & place in another bowl of just boiled water to melt.  When all is blended, stir in 1/2 cup goji berries.

Press into pie plate. 

Refrigerate before cutting.

Add 2 tablespoons chia seed if harder slice desired.  

This is a high energy, high protein sweet.  A friend of mine recently used it for a 24 hour race.  This slice also stores really well in the freezer, so make a double batch and freeze some for later.

Janelle Twine.