DIRECTIONS
Combine ingredients in food processor or vitamix and lick it clean, no seriously!! I know you will! Top with raw crushed nuts and/or shredded unsweetened coconut for variety.
Bon Appetit!
INGREDIENTS
Think back to all those annoying Back To School ads in pre-pandemic years. They don’t seem so bad nowadays, do they?
And as if parents didn’t have enough stress juggling back to school shopping and schedule juggling, throw in the concern about the physiological and mental ramifications of their kids having to wear a mask all day.
No matter where you stand on the masks-in-schools debate, one thing is certain for everybody: the back to school season of 2021 will be extra stressful for everybody involved. But I have some tips that I hope will help both you and your kiddos…
Deep Breathing Exercises With Kids
How-To-Make-The-Most-Of-Back-To-School…
Regardless if your kid has to mask up in school, deep breathing exercises will support your child’s respiratory health. The first couple weeks of Back To School season is second only to the weeks of late fall and early winter for picking up a contagious virus.
But if your child has to wear a mask, I feel it’s imperative that your child practice deep breathing exercises. Hopefully, your kids will get plenty of outdoor recreation time. But if the opportunity to get some fresh air is scant at school, try to get your kids to do some deep breathing exercises with you.
So how can you practice deep breathing exercises with your kids? First of all, make it a habit to carve just 3-5 minutes in the morning dedicated to the practice, just as I have frequently advocated in many posts I’ve written about how important it is for my own sense of well-being to maintain a daily yoga practice.
Deep breathing exercises can come in many forms. For instance, you can combine deep breathing with yoga. And the best part is that you can do it right in bed. The yogic practice known as “pranayama” involves breathing exercises such as “ujjayi” (say it like this: Ooo-Jah-Yuh or Ooo-Jah-Yee) breathwork.
With this technique, you sit cross-legged and breathe in deeply with your mouth closed. Try to inflate both your belly and lungs. On the exhale, breathe out through your nose. Repeat this technique several times. Try to inhale for several seconds and exhale for 10 seconds.
After a while, you may start tingling. If you get light-headed, take a brief pause.
Imagine how beneficial doing this deep breathing exercise will be for both you and your kids. And again, it only takes a few minutes. Try to repeat the routine when your kids get home—especially if they don’t have any play dates lined up or aren’t engaged in other physical activity after school.
Try to make deep breathing fun for your kids. If they don’t want to listen to New Agey spiritual yoga music while doing deep breathing, tell them they can listen to their preferred style of music—provided that they do the exercises for at least a few minutes.
If your kids enjoy the deep breathing exercises, you can lead them through a mini posture flow series such as Sun Salutations with downward dogs, upward dogs and warriors. Again, all it takes is a few minutes to get the good vibes going, and the fresh blood flow circulating in the respiratory system!
Say No To Juice, Yes To Green Drinks!
Hopefully your kids’ school doesn’t have the same kind of vending machines that I had in school, filled with junk snacks and soda. But it amazes me how many parents still give their kids high-sugar juice boxes or pouches.
One tiny serving of these juices can contain 25 grams or more of sugar. Now I realize that behavioral issues are multifactorial, but dosing kids with a high amount of sugar in a tiny serving of juice certainly doesn’t help lead to stable moods.
Instead of giving your kid high-sugar juice, send them to school with Organic Tropical Green Drink. It’s got 7 certified-organic leafy greens with a wee bit of pineapple and mango juice for that perfect amount of sweetness (only 6 grams of sugar per 8-oz serving!).
In any year, if your kids are eating lots of sugary snacks and drinking lots of things with tons of added sugar, it’s not going to bode well for their physical and behavioral wellness. The last thing you want to do is pour salt on the wound during a pandemic.
I hope your kids have a safe and healthy back to school season!
Chef V
Here’s a one-question nutrition pop quiz … what’s better for your health: regular soda or diet?
Clearly the answer is not regular soda, right? After all, a regular can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar. And all that sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity. So even though diet soda has chemicals, it’s much better for your health to have 0 grams of sugar than all that sugar in regular soda … right?
Wrong!
According to recent research, artificial sweeteners may be just as bad for your health as regular sugar. In fact, this study suggests non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) damage your gut bacteria.
What does that mean for your health?
Well, I previously wrote about how your gut is like your second brain and plays a major role in your overall health. The amount of beneficial (good) bacteria versus harmful bacteria in your gut determines how effective your digestion is, how strong your immune system is functioning, and even how healthy your skin looks.
They’re Everywhere, They’re Everywhere!
As if anybody needed more convincing that artificial sweeteners are bad for you, this new research takes the cake.
If you have a diet soda once in a blue moon, I’m not suggesting that your gut bacteria will be damaged over night. But the problem is artificial sweeteners are in so many products.
Chewing gum (Any brand of sugar free). Bread (Thomas English Muffins 100% Whole Wheat) Yogurt (Yoplait Light). Iced Tea (I’m talking about you, Snapple). Popcorn (Orville Redenbacher). Hot Chocolate (Nestle). Ice cream (Breyer’s Low Carb Smart).
Getting the idea?
So if artificial sweeteners are so bad for your health, why does the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) allow it?
I’ll play devil’s advocate for a second and say that in moderation, these fake sugars probably don’t do much damage. Maybe you’ve heard about studies that feed rats or mice the equivalent of 100 cans of soda a day. Of course, the rodents are going to get sick with that much junk pumping through their tiny, sensitive systems.
But here’s the thing….
Because these artificial sweeteners are in so many foods, most people aren’t aware they are consuming so much of them.
That’s why I try to eat as much organic and all-natural foods as possible. Not that I eat bread, but if I did, I wouldn’t buy a conventional name-brand loaf; I’d be buying it from a farmer’s market, knowing that the bread has only a few ingredients with no added or fake sugars.
Artificial Sweeteners Are Making Us Sick
It’s easy to be cynical and say that I, as someone who is selling Organic Green Drinks for a living, is just trying to demonize sugar (be they real or fake) in order to make a buck. And don’t get me wrong, I am in business to make a living. But the reason I wake up excited in the morning has nothing to do with income and everything to do with the daily success stories I read on Yelp or that come in my email inbox.
The seven certified organic green leafy veggies in my Green Drink contain prebiotic fiber that result in good gut health. And as I mentioned above, your gut is in control of all aspects of your health. But millions of people who consume foods and drink with hidden artificial sweeteners have, or are in danger of having one or more metabolic diseases. What are metabolic diseases? Here’s a list:
image courtesy healthfreedoms.org
Stay Sweet, Naturally
As a certified nutritional therapist, my advice is to have real sources of sugar in moderation, mostly from fruit. If you need your healthy morning juice with a little sweetness, try my Tropical Smoothie. It’s contains the same 7 leafy greens in Green Drink that are great for gut health. It’s sweetened with a little pineapple juice. Pineapple has an enzyme called bromelain, which is good for digestion. There’s only 3 grams of naturally-occurring sugar in an 8 oz. serving of my Tropical Smoothie. (Compare that to other leading juice brands, which contain 30 or more grams of sugar!)
There’s some controversy over stevia and whether or not it’s really all-natural. True stevia comes from a plant and is therefore natural. But some brands of stevia also contain maltodextrin (corn sweetener) and/or are made in a lab.
My take on the stevia debate? You have to pick and choose your battles. I think stevia sweetener isn’t nearly as bad as other synthetic sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame potassium (ace-K), and sucralose. That’s why I recommend avoiding as much as possible the following brand-name fake sugars: Splenda, Sweet’N Low, Nutrasweet, Equal, and Splenda.
The best natural zero-calorie sweetener in my opinion is monkfruit extract. It’s more pricey than stevia. But isn’t your health worth a couple extra bucks? Your gut will thank you in many ways.
Conclusion
For several years, there’s been lots of concern about the dangers of artificial sweeteners. Do they cause cancer? Can they lead to hyperactivity in kids? Do they trick the brain into eating more calories? While the FDA still maintains that fake sugars are safe in moderation, this new research tying the synthetic sweet stuff to poor gut health, in my opinion, is the nail in the coffin (no pun intended).
Stay sweet, naturally, my friends….
Love,
Chef V
CBS says: “A juice cleanse offers an opportunity to hit reset, whether you’ve been over-indulging or just need to get your electrolytes et al in gear.”
Chef V
New Jersey location opens in August 2018!
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We’re taking our health seriously in these uncertain times – and maintaining a healthy immune system may be the most important way to protect ourselves against Covid-19. Before all else, we need to eat healthy and stay active. After that, according to the experts, Vitamin D, the “Sunshine Vitamin”, can help.
Vitamin D: What is it?
Vitamin D is a substance naturally produced by our own bodies after exposure to sunlight. Our ability to absorb calcium depends on it – for strong bones, we need plenty of Vitamin D. Numerous studies have shown that Vitamin D regulates the immune system, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. It protects against influenza and and is possibly a factor in protecting against Covid-19.
How much do I need?
Adults need 600 IU of Vitamin D each day, increasing to 800IU per day if you are over 70. Everyday Health says: “very few foods have enough Vitamin D to reach recommended daily intakes, and sunshine can be unreliable in certain climates. Men and women relying on sourcing Vitamin D through diet alone typically don’t exceed 288 IU a day on average.”
Have you had your Vitamin D level tested recently? It might shock you. Nearly half of people tested for it were deficient in a recent study. A “good” level of Vitamin D in lab testing is a serum concentration of 25 ng/ml. In your lab results, anything under 20 is considered low, and 35-55 ng/ml is considered optimal.
If you don’t know your Vitamin D level and want to make sure you are getting enough, should you take supplements? The NHS suggests taking 10 micrograms of Vitamin D a day, But getting vitamins from food is preferable for most of us.
What foods have Vitamin D?
If you don’t want to take a supplement, you can get Vitamin D from certain foods. Vitamin D is found in oily fish (like salmon and sardines), in red meat, liver, egg yolks, and foods that are fortified. If you are a vegetarian, you can find yogurt, oatmeal, and some cereals that are fortified with Vitamin D.
I’m pretty much a vegetarian, but I occasionally enjoy healthy fish like wild salmon. Try my Salmon Carpaccio and Ginger Glazed Salmon Recipes. And read my article: Benefits of Wild Salmon (and The Best Recipe).
The Vitamin D – Covid-19 Connection
Vitamin D keeps our immune systems at their best, and new studies find that not only does it keep your immune system healthy, it may protect against respiratory illnesses, possibly including Covid-19.
Researchers at Northwestern University have found that Covid-19 patients with Vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to get more severely ill and to die. And the researchers also found that normal levels of Vitamin D have a beneficial effect on patient outcome.
According to Dr Vadim Blackman, “Vitamin D will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are effected”. He continues: ““Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half,” Blackman said. “It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected.”
As you might expect, numerous studies of Vitamin D and Covid-19 are underway. Here are a few of the most promising:
Where do we go from here?
First and foremost, we continue to drink our Green Drink, eat a healthy diet, and stay active. Unhealthy habits and food deficiencies hurt your immune system and make it harder to fight off disease-causing bacteria, viruses and toxins. Getting tested for your Vitamin D level is a good idea, I’m doing that. And most important, stay calm, stay focused, and stay safe.
I hope you are going to have a relaxing summer, healthy and serene. Now that we have a facility in in the NYC-metro area, I’ve experienced record high temperatures, the through-the-roof UV index – and the sizzling rays of the sun. And as the heat increases, millions of people are slathering sunscreen, thinking that they are protecting themselves.
Sunscreen may indeed protect you from getting sunburn. But most people don’t realize there are a few harmful and dangerous consequences of using conventional sunscreen.
After reading this, my hope is you’ll think twice about using most sunscreens that are sold in stores….
Reason #1 NOT to use Sunscreen: No Protection Against Skin Cancer
Wait, what? Doesn’t sunscreen protect you against skin cancer, not to mention sunburn?
Yes, sunscreen can protect you from getting sunburn. But I’ll share with you in a little bit a couple better ways to avoid sunburn.
As for skin cancer, the shocking truth is that sunscreen isn’t protecting you against it like you think it is. In fact, check out this review from the European Journal of Dermatology. (If you don’t feel like it, I’ll summarize the key deets for you….)
The review looked at 29 studies involving over 300,000 participants (not mice or rats; actual people). Here’s what the researchers concluded: “The use of sunscreen is a key component of public health campaigns for skin cancer prevention, but studies have raised doubts on its effectiveness in the general population.”
The review of all the studies, said the researchers, did not show a significant association between skin cancer and sunscreen use. Using sunscreen, at least for the over 300,000 people did not offer protection against melanoma (malignant skin cancer) or non-melanoma skin cancer. “This review does not confirm the expected protective benefits of sunscreen against skin cancer in the general population,” concluded the researchers.
Nonetheless, millions of Americans spray themselves silly with sunscreens that contain chemicals that are toxic to your health.
Which brings me to the second reason to think twice before you slather or spray sunscreen on your bod….
Reason #2 NOT to use Sunscreen: Bad for Your Hormones
Almost every mainstream medical organization recommends using sunscreen to protect against skin cancer. But what do these health experts and institutions such as the American Cancer Society have to say about the synthetic chemicals in sunscreen? Can they actually be doing more harm than good?
I checked out the American Cancer Society’s website. Here’s what they say about the safety of sunscreens:
“The FDA checks that active ingredients in sunscreens do not cause serious problems including cancer, reproductive harm, or endocrine effects. But the FDA does not test sunscreen products themselves….”
[Chef V’s takeaway: Great, so how do we really know they are safe. The answer: we don’t!]
“In Europe, there are different requirements for regulating and marketing sunscreen products. The FDA says it is working on ways to recognize some of these other ingredients as safe and effective.”
[Chef V’s takeaway: Great, so how do we really know they are safe. The answer: we don’t!]
“Oxybenzone is one of the common active ingredients in sunscreens that are sold in the US. The FDA says it is safe. But some environmental and health groups single out oxybenzone as potentially unsafe for some people and the environment. This is because some studies have shown oxybenzone can cause skin allergies. In addition, studies in animals and in human cells in laboratories show that oxybenzone can interfere with how some hormones work.”
[Chef V’s takeaway: Dear FDA, so how is that if your organization has yet “to recognize these ingredients as safe and effective,” can you conclude oxybenzone is safe? In my opinion, the health of millions is at risk and oxybenzone should not be callously regarded as safe.]
Sunscreen: Bad For The Environment?
Here’s another reason not to use sunscreen; at least one that contains oxybenzone: The American Cancer Society on its website points to evidence that the chemical damages coral reefs. (Which is why starting in 2021, Hawaii will be the first U.S. state to ban the use of sunscreens containing the toxic ingredient.)
Now, I’m not going to go as far as other blog articles I’ve read that claim using conventional (non-organic) sunscreen can actually cause cancer. But I will conclude this section on the health risks of using them by referencing the Environmental Working Group. (Check out the EWG’s Skin Deep research database to see if the sunscreen you use is considered safe.)
Here’s what EWG says: “The FDA has put the entire sunscreen industry on alert by proposing that in just two instances do we have enough safety information about ingredients to determine whether they’re safe and effective: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. For 12 other ingredients [including oxybenzoate] the FDA has said there isn’t enough data to determine whether they’re safe.”
[Chef V’s takeaway: if you’re going to use sunscreen, use a mineral-based one with zinc or titanium.]
Before You Apply, Fry (Not Really, But It’s A Nice Rhyme)
Let’s say that there’s absolutely no way you can avoid having your body be exposed to the sun for a long time. I get it, I used to like frying in the sun. But as I’m getting (just a tad) older, I don’t like baking in the sun like I used to. However, if I do use sunscreen (of course, it’s organic and mineral-based), I let most of my skin get exposed to the sun for at least 10-15 minutes.
If you use sunscreen before you even step outside, your body will not be able to synthesize vitamin D from the sun.
And as much as I went off above about the FDA saying sunscreens are totally safe when there’s absolutely no proof of that and even evidence to the contrary, not getting enough vitamin D might even be worse for your health.
In fact, there’s no doubt that lack of vitamin D increases the risk of certain cancers, not to mention bone fractures and diseases.
Vitamin D also is a precursor to your sex hormones (the 3 estrogens as well as testosterone, which women also need an adequate amount of to stave off excess belly fat). The sunshine vitamin also helps form healthy cholesterol, which provides structure to your trillions of cells.
I could go on and on about how important vitamin D is for your health. But let me just conclude by strongly advising you to let your skin feel the rays of the sun, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Try to expose about 70% of your body, such as your arms, legs and back.
If you’re concerned about age spots on your face and hands, then go ahead and apply your mineral-based organic sunscreen. Just make sure the rest of you gets some sun. If you’re really fair-skinned and fry easily, try to get sun exposure even if it’s only 5 minutes. You may also want to think about taking a vitamin D supplement if you spend much of the day indoors, especially during the late fall, winter and early spring.
Easiest Ways To Avoid Sunburn
If you’re deathly afraid of the sun because of sunburn risk, here are a few easy things you can do that may prevent frying:
Eat tomato paste
That’s right, canned tomato paste (make sure it’s organic; what else would you expect me to say 🙂 ) can help prevent sunburn. The antioxidant in tomato paste, lycopene, is what gives tomatoes their red pigment and also help protect the veggies from the sun. It turns out that lycopene also protects humans from sunburn. Just a spoonful a day of tomato paste may help keep the doctor away.
Wear long sleeves
This might seem like a “duh” recommendation. But I’m amazed at how many people walk around in the summer totally exposed to the sun with visible sunburn, wearing hardly anything. If you’re going to stay outside and even if you do apply sunscreen, I think it’s best to completely cover up after a while. So what if it’s super hot out? Today’s moisture-wicking synthetic materials are so lightweight; you hardly notice them. Personally, I love wearing sarongs. (I fell in love with them while on vacation in Bali.)
Keep cool in the shade
Another piece of “totally obvs” advice. But it’s one worth remembering; in the summer we want to spend time outdoors. Get a few minutes of direct sun exposure and then chill with a good book under a tree.
Green Leafy Veggies
If I were a shameless self-promoter, I would have included my last recommendation to you at the very top of this article. And that is: have 16 oz. of my Organic Green Drink every day!
What do the 7-certified organic green, leafy veggies in my Green Drink have to do with preventing sunburn, not to mention skin cancer? I’m glad you asked.
The answer is: the antioxidants such as retinol, vitamin C, and vitamin E, in green leafy veggies, protect against the damaging effects of solar radiation on the skin. In fact, there’s at least a 20 percent reduced risk of melanoma if you get enough retinol in your diet. And Chef V can easily deliver fresh, organic Green Drinks right to your front door this summer.
The takeaway: ditch the conventional, non-mineral sunscreen. Expose a good chunk of your skin to the sun’s rays for about 10 minutes before you apply sunscreen. Drink Green Drink. Every day.
Here’s to a fun and healthy summer!
Love,
Chef V
Back in March when the craziness started, I thought that by now, in the heart of the summer, things would be back to normal. But surges, upticks and spikes are the new normal; as if we as a nation didn’t have enough anxiety to begin with.
And now, with gyms closed for who knows how long, our options to manage stress have been taken away. Going for a run in the 90-degree muggy heat with a mask on? No thanks! Doing a group fitness class on Zoom? That was a sanity-saver for the first weeks in March and April, but now I want to play outside…
The endless cycle of doom and gloom on the news combined with spending more time at home has fueled boredom and anxiety. No wonder lots of people are talking about putting on the Quarantine 15. Boredom, anxiety and the lack of motivation to exercise at home has led to an epidemic of not only unhealthy weight gain, but also suppressed immunity and psychological fragility.
But not all hope is lost. There’s actually good news if comfort food has gotten the best of you so far this year. In fact, I have an easy three-step solution for conquering the Quarantine 15…
Conquering the Quarantine 15: Step 1 – Intermittent Fasting
How many episodes of [insert name of your favorite show] did you binge watch last night? And what snacks did you have while watching? Too embarrassed to say? No worries…
I really don’t care what you ate late last night. And in fact, no matter how many pieces of pretzels or popcorn you popped into your mouth, you can still lose weight—as long as you give your body enough time to tap into its stored energy to fuel your muscles and brain instead of all the sugar in your blood. And the simple way to do that is to not eat anything for at least 14 hours after you have finished eating or drinking anything with calories at night. (Eventually work your way up to 16 hours or longer.)
If you have a snack at 10 p.m. while watching TV, you can do it guilt-free, so long as your first calories aren’t consumed until at least 10 a.m. That’s a 12-hour fast, which is ok for beginners but for best results, shoot for 14-plus.
Amazing things start happening when you do intermittent fasting for an extended period of time. You may lose weight but your health will improve in other ways. For example, your insulin and blood sugar levels will go down. And these days, a healthy immune system is on everybody’s mind. Well, guess what, there’s been some research that shows that intermittent fasting improves the immune response.
I’ve read some clickbait articles with headlines that read something like this: Why I Bombed Intermittent Fasting. These types of articles warn that intermittent fasting doesn’t work because people end up making up for lost time and eating like there’s no tomorrow when it’s meal time.
Which brings us to step #2….
Lose Weight & Feel Great: Step 2 – Replacing Breakfast & Lunch With Green Drink & A Protein Shake
Let’s say you had your late-night snack at 10 p.m. Now imagine it’s the next day at 10 a.m. See if you can go an extra hour or two before having any calories. If your belly rumbles, drink a tall glass of warm water with some lemon juice. That hunger will probably go away.
And remember that what you’re experiencing isn’t true hunger (read: starvation). Rather, it’s just your body tricking you. If you eat a lot of carbs it could be the overgrowth of yeast in your gut telling your brain that they want more carbs to feast on. (Which is why you should take a good-quality probiotic and not frequently eat empty calorie carbs.) Placing your body under a little bit of stress, which is what intermittent fasting is all about, is what it takes to lose weight. When it’s finally time to have some calories don’t break the fast with bacon, eggs and toast. Instead, if you really want to lose the quarantine 15 quickly, break your fast with a 16 oz serving of my Green Drink.
And when you’re having the Green Drink, think about this: your body really doesn’t need a lot of calories, not nearly as many as the standard American diet. What your body craves is to be nourished with phytonutrients. When your cells are fueled with the vitamins, minerals and other miraculous healing compounds found in the 7 green leafy veggies in Green Drink, hunger and cravings go away. The brain no longer becomes tricked into eating processed food, because you just supplied your body with the optimal nutrition it needs to get through the day.
About half an hour after having Green Drink, support your beautiful muscles, nails and hair with a protein shake.
Need a high-quality plant-based protein powder to help you lose weight fast? Try one of my Cleanses.
Losing The Stay At Home Extra Weight: Step 3 – Eating a Sensible Dinner
As I said above, the key to staying full and preventing cravings is to flood your cells with nutrient density. But keeping your tummy full and satisfied also requires having enough fiber in your diet. That’s another reason a Chef V Cleanse is perfect for fast weight loss. That’s because with each cleanse I make from scratch, I include a serving of Detox Soup for dinner, which contains up to 13 grams of fiber.
If you combine intermittent fasting with my 1 day, 3 day or 5 day Cleanse, there’s no reason why you can’t lose the extra weight you’ve put on during these challenging times. And then once the Cleanse is over, if you want to keep the results going, graduate to my 21 Day Detox, where I make it easy for people to lose 30 pounds or more.
And to keep the momentum going, make intermittent fasting a part of your lifestyle instead of a temporary weight loss fix. Replace breakfast with Green Drink and a protein shake and then eat a sensible lunch and dinner, loaded with seasonal veggies from your local farmer’s market.
It’s really easy. But sometimes we all need a gentle nudge and a helping hand back to health.
That’s what I’m here for.
Now as for the motivation to exercise at home, well, let’s save that topic for next time…
To your weight loss success.
Love,
Chef V
P.S. Keep your spirits up by not watching the news and limiting time spent on social media. Focus on the positive!
Veronica Wheat, Chef V and Brandon Kress CFO of Chef V, interviewed by Barry Farber of HTTV.
Barry tours organic green drink company Chef V LLC, and gets business insight from Founder/CEO Veronica Wheat on this episode of Mind Your Business.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW
Have you tried to makes smoothies and failed miserably? Making smoothies is easy and you can literally mix and match hundreds of ingredients and always get the perfect drink. I have developed a simple, easy to follow chart: use it to mix and match your favorite fruits and vegetables every day. You will give your taste buds a fun time and your body a healthy energy boost.
You always want to start off with a good healthy liquid base. This will help the smoothie blend well and be easy to drink. I like Coconut Water, Homemade almond milk, or just water. Then I like to add two heaping cups of greens. My favorites are kale, chard, and spinach. I add a little fruit just to sweeten it slightly. About a half a cup will do but don’t add too much sugar. If you want some extra flavor or a detox boost, try ginger, lemon, or parsley. I usually add some sort of protein like hemp or pea. Blend with ice on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
