smoothies of the day.

i started this post almost 2 months ago which is really frightening! i gave up because i have run out of space on this account for photos as i guess i was using photos that were too large and now i don't know how to go back and make 'em smaller. and i can't blog without photos! so now i'm fiddling with hosting photos elsewhere to use for this thing. and i realize the photos i had for this post aren't amazing anyways. but it's all practice and learning, right?

so, first i had a pic from a morning when i was cutting it real close to missing my bus and took my green smoothie to go. and goodness, was it delicious! it was like a green custard. no wonder my day was so wonderful!

it contained about 1/2 cup filtered water, 1 frozen persimmon, 2 bosc pears, a handful of radish greens, a handful of cilantro and about 5 dandelion greens. need-a-spoon-thick with a mild sweet like vanilla taste!  happiness!

and that night, my dessert was a blended avocado with just under a cup of filtered water and a healthy heap of raspberries. subtly sweet and oh-so-thick-and-creamy. anyways... here's my excuse to post again! happy new year! may this year be full of health and happiness and inspiration and incredible food! ^_^

day 15 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

today's smoothie was a whole bunch of dandelion leaves and because they have such a bitter medicine-like taste, i added some ginger, a pear and frozen banana and sampled it and then added frozen mango and an apple too! eek! but it worked! we had these this afternoon and i think dandelion would be better in the morning. just a thought.

day 4 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

this morning's smoothie was a 1/2 head of romaine, 1/2 bunch of dandelion greens with one bosc pear, a frozen banana and some frozen mango. i used just 1 cup of water this time and ended up with the perfect amount of smoothie for paul and i!

i still can't believe my elbow rash/eczema is gone. excited to see what other things start happening! so yeah, i am still super excited about doing this green smoothie thing. it's hard to keep it to myself.

last night, an old man on the bus asked what i was reading ("raw and beyond") and then we got in a big conversation about processed foods and why people don't seem to make the connection between their health and what they eat. i was really excited we were of the same opinion. and i think everyone probably does make this connection as well, if they stop and think about it, but i just think most people don't bother to!

my band/good mates were joking that i was high (i have a good 10 minutes of ramble about green smoothies i want to tell everyone around me now!) but i know they understand too.

green smoothies for life! ^_^

day 1 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

so i have a new plan.

i have just changed my blog name from "keep on raw in the real world" to "get real". get real just seems more appropriate. being 100% raw isn't all that realistic and doesn't seem to be as important to me anymore as continuing to eat "real" food in a way that benefits my body the most.

my inspiration is victoria boutenko's green for life. i guess you just can't eat the same thing all the time or get into food ruts and her update on her (already!) classic book makes sense! i am also reading her raw and beyond (ie not being so consumed by consuming only raw foods) book which has been super inspiring.

basically, fresh organic greens are the most important food group that the majority of us are not getting enough of, or at least in an absorbable-by-the-body way. there really should be a food group called "greens" and at the very least, produce should have an extra category for them beyond fruits and veggies. (as an aside - has anyone else noticed in yaletown's choices market, they have been renovating, that the organic section has switched places with the conventional produce? last night i had picked up everything i needed and then noticed that i didn't have any organic things in my basket and had to put everything back to start again! i felt totally tricked. or oblivious. ANYWAYS.)

i don't even know where to begin with the green smoothies and not being so focussed on 100% raw (not that i have been the last year or so but still... it's been on my mind). first of all, i have thought that i ate a fair bit of greens... but... apparently if i am not chewing them to the point of them becoming a creamy swirl in my mouth, they are of no use to me and could even be harmful. (i'm going on memory here so perhaps you are best to take the book out of the library yourself... i'm going to have to commit to buying this one, i figure! 3 weeks is going to come up fast!) anyways... by blending your greens, you get all the goodness you need out of the greens in the first place, including the fibre. ah, and she addressed the proper food combining thing... fruit is fine with the greens (makes it easier to drink them while you are acquiring a taste for them!) because greens are not vegetables and they are not starchy. and oh goodness, i can't wait for the neighbourhood farmers market to start up again in the summer when i can get fresh beets and carrots and all... all of these root veggies whose green TOPS have more goodness in them than the root? i wasn't always excited to use the tops in salads and such. blending them into the freshest of smoothies is way more appealing and exciting!
and... her point about chimpanzees: we share 99.4% the same genes as chimps, why don't we eat like them? super super good point. and they don't eat many root veggies. not to say they avoid them, but they only eat them if there isn't an abundance of greens and fruits. and nuts and oils are to be eaten sparingly.
i totally identified with victoria's recount of her raw diet health "plateau"... reaching a certain level and then seeming to regress in a way. or having small health issues pop up. and i totally related to her saying how she would be eating super heavy stuff at night, like nuts and things, and not feeling satisfied.
and i'm super curious about the results of doing one green smoothie per day for 30 days, at minimum! it looks like doing that and eating your normal way (vegan or not) can reap the same benefits of a raw diet. i would love to have stronger nails and hair and more energy like i did when i first went raw! and to not have the desire to eat late at night!

wow, i feel like i'm at a book club meeting about victoria's books and i'm discussing them with myself. what a ramble! i guess i am just too excited to be practicing some of these ideas that totally make sense to me!

i am excited to see what happens as i do one green smoothie a day! and i'm getting paul to do it too ^_^ he has been wanting to eat more healthy and i think having one green smoothie a day is going to be the perfect thing for him!

i'm going to keep track on here so that i hold myself to this and see what kind of smoothies i like the best!

today's smoothie (and i somehow didn't take a photo! boo!):

dandelion leaves
cilantro
romaine lettuce
pear
frozen mango
frozen banana

yum! some spiciness from the dandelion and overall, so refreshing. even took some leftovers to work to drink 2 hours later and it was still exciting!

i forgot how paul hates cilantro so i didn't leave him any of my smoothie but i had thawed out a drink me "ruby" smoothie that i didn't drink at work so that was his greens smoothie today! kale, orange juice, raspberries and beets. and i learned from my readings yesterday, that if your pee changes colour after consuming beets, you have low stomach acid. interesting huh? (or is that just interesting to me...)