Health Benefits of a Green Smoothie! Day 8 on Smoothies

It's been one week since I have been on smoothies. I do some munching every now and then, so technically speaking I am not really on a detox. But considering my eating habits for the last few months the changes I have made in the last week are not bad. Now I really need to focus on filling the gaps to follow a true detox plan. 

Many of you have been following me in my smoothie adventure. I am sure by now most of you have committed to having at least one green smoothie a day. To further motivate you let me talk about some of the benefits of green smoothies today:

More energy: Green smoothies offer pure nutrition. The amount of vitamins you’ll get depends on the fruits and vegetables you choose for the smoothie. If you start the day with a green smoothie you will get all that nutrition in your system and notice a massive increase in the amount of energy you have. 

Weight loss: Green smoothies are low in calories but very filling. Because they contain high amounts of water and fiber, they’ll make you feel full.  Green smoothies will help you with your weight loss goals by helping fight hunger and cravings. 

Weight gain: If you are trying to gain weight, it is much easier to add a filling green smoothie (provided you use the right kind of vegetables) to your existing diet and drink your extra calories  to put on weight.

Easy to Digest: Green smoothies are easy to digest. Because they’re already blended and liquefied, the body no longer needs to work so hard to “break down” the food in order to extract the nutrients. People who suffer from indigestion after eating a heavy meal will also benefit, as smoothies are filling but light.

Mental clarity: Junk food, especially processed white flour and sugar can clog our minds making our brains feel cloudy.  Drinking green smoothies will clear your mind and make you more alert and creative. 

Crave less junk: When you increase the amount of healthy foods in your diet and decrease the unhealthy foods you will naturally stop craving junk food and crave more of the same healthy food.  

Improves skin; less wrinkles: Green smoothies will keep you hydrated. Although one should drink at least eight glasses of water a day, experts believe most people don’t drink even half that amount. . If you feel dehydrated or think you are not drinking enough water, simply add more water to the mix as you prepare your smoothie. You’ll be drinking more liquids without even noticing it. The increased fluids and power of natural foods in your diet will hydrate your skin and reduce your wrinkles making you look younger.

Improve your immunity; Reduce the risk of serious diseases:   It is well known that one way of preventing colds, flu, allergies and even the risk of certain cancer and heart disease is to increase the number of fruit and vegetables in your diet.  The more green smoothies you drink, the lower your risk.

Easy and Inexpensive:  Green smoothies are easy and quick to make. The only equipment you need is a blender. Homemade green smoothies are cheap. Buying smoothies at a juice bar can cost as much as $6 a glass but combining fruits and vegetables at home won’t cost you more than a few cents. Drinking a glass every day will provide you with all the vitamins you need, a much cheaper (and more natural) option than buying multivitamins. 

I bought my veggies for the smoothies this weekend. All of them are organic and most of them cost only $2.99 /pound at Fry's. Fresh and organic kale was only 99 cents/pound.

My stock of greens!

Great way to add greens to your kid's diet: Green smoothies can be a good way to get kids to “eat” their vegetables.Start with a higher proportion of fruit vs. vegetables (for example, 70/30 instead of the standard 60/40) until they get used to the flavor.

Back to Smoothie of the Day:

I decided to go on a water fast yesterday. I did pretty well except for eating few nuts till evening. Then in the evening I went to the Temple. I  try to go the temple every Sunday. Definitely need some spirituality to keep myself sane. The temple offers a great feast after the prayers. They had this awesome broccoli vegetable that I tried. It was so good I actually took the recipe from the Temple chef. 

Cutting a long story short on Sunday I ate few nuts, broccoli vegetable and water.  

I decided to take Monday as it goes without stressing too much about food or smoothies. 

I started the day with warm water and lemon and Matcha. I drank lots of water all day and ate about 1 cup of lentils and a handful of nuts along with couple of cups of tea (with milk). I didn't really feel like eating my smoothie so skipped it entirely.

Confessions:

I am still not able to get rid of my morning cup of tea, would seriously like to improve this area of my life. I also had some lentils, nuts and broccoli. It's like when I prepare food I just can't stop myself from tasting it. I need to improve on this too.

Gratitude Day 8:

This is the first time I have been able to stick to my plan for more than a week. I know there are many areas that I need to still improve. I would like to Thank GOD for giving me the strength to carry on my plans as intended. A big Thanks to all my friends and family who motivate me every day. 

Prayers for Day 9:

Today I would like to pray for all the people who want to make changes in their diet or lifestyle. I pray that you find the right resources and get the wisdom to decide the best plan for yourself and your family. 

Healthy Regards,

Parul

Hoping to get a good view of the lunar moon tonight. Fingers crossed. 

Sources:

Greenleaf H, "Top 10 Benefits of Green Smoothies", Available online at VegKitchen.com, March 2014

Natalia K, "Feeling tired? 12 Health transforming benefits of Green smoothies", Available Online at Green Thickies.com, October 2012