Ever since I started having green smoothies for breakfast, I have seen the benefits first-hand. One of the symptoms of my Chiari Malformation was excessive fatigue. I would sleep for 10-12 hours and never felt rested. I barely had the energy to get my kids out the door in the morning and would have bouts of being bed ridden for days on end every few months. My neurosurgeon suggested I have decompression surgery to try and make the situation better for me (although he could not guarantee it would change much). I was very scared at the thought of having brain surgery without being sure of the results. So a few weeks before my surgery, I read a few books on whole food plant-based diets and how eliminating dairy and gluten from your diet could help improve a variety of symptoms - amongst others, joint pain, which I experienced daily. I could barely fold a load of laundry without hurting a lot. I decided to postpone my surgery and see if changing my whole approach to food would make a difference in my life. I changed overnight (I always jump feet first without dipping my toes in the water beforehand, this approach may not work for everyone, so you can start by changing one thing at a time!) Well it has been 4 months and I don't miss a thing. While I have to admit it took some getting used to - the thought of spinach or kale for breakfast seemed gross at first - I quickly became hooked. I look forward to making new concoctions everyday and have so much more energy. And there are so many benefits on your health, it's hard not to give them a try, even if that is the only thing you change...
Benefits of green smoothies in the morning:
-You are giving your body more of the nutrients it needs, which means your body won't crave as much junk food and sweets. (That's so true! Although I do still consume chocolate, I don't crave the other junk food I used to consume at least a few times a week.) It also gives you more energy.
-Blending the fruit and greens allows your body to absorb the nutrients well, making the smoothies easy to digest. It will give you clean bowels (hey, I know, it's not sexy, but it's the truth) which is key to eliminating toxins.
-Eliminating toxins will help giving you more radiant skin
-It also helps regulating mood swings (although if you ask my husband, he would say it has not improved mine!)
Here is my favorite concoction so far:
4 fruit green smoothie :
1 mango
1 orange
1 banana
1 pear
1 cup of water
2 cups of spinach or kale
1 tbsp. flax seeds
2 tbsp. hemp of chia seeds (for protein)
6 ice cubes
Place all the ingredients in a high-power blender starting with the water and ending with the ice cubes (better for blender blades). I say a high-power blender because the texture is much smoother, although I used to have a regular blender before I had my vitamix, and it still did a decent enough job! Start on a low setting, increasing the intensity gradually until you get a smooth texture. It will yield a considerable serving. I drink it all and then I am sure I have my fruit servings for the day. I also drink it over the course of an hour. If you drink it too quickly, it will sit on your stomach and you will feel awful. Enjoy!
Amelie
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