Green Smoothies

Day Seven and I got my first, "your skin is looking good" comment!

One of the big things, apparently, about eating raw food is the "raw food glow." A certain glow the skin gets when a person eats raw food - hence "raw food glow." Truthfully, I don't see the glow myself and just as my friend was looking at me the sun was setting giving just about everything that rosy early evening hue. But hey, a compliment is a compliment.

I bought the book Green For Life yesterday.

Victoria Boutenko wrote this book after being raw for seven years (and curing her entire family of severe illnesses) only to notice certain symptoms of decreasing vitality. After completing months of intensive research, Victoria discovered she wasn't eating enough greens. In fact she was hardly eating any greens.

Despite her revulsion of the leafy green giant - feeling nauseous just at the smell (I'm sure a few of you can relate) - she continued to experiment with the food until she arrived at not just a palatable but a pleasurable solution: the green smoothie. By mixing greens like lettuce, kale and celery with bananas, apples and mango she was able to drink more than a daily portion of her body's nutritional requirements. After a month or two she even began craving what she had once despised. Of course, when one experiences such a transformation it is nearly impossible not to want to sing it from the rooftops. And that is what she did. Or more accurately, write it from her desktop and distribute it via planes over the rooftops to people around the world.
To learn more go to: www.greenforlife.com.

Given my love of veggies (I come from a rare breed) and my passion for nutrition I knew this was a book for me. And so today, having spent sufficient time yesterday reading and skimming recipes, I sampled two of Victoria's savory green smoothies - lettuce, lime, red onion, celery and avocado in one and kale, dill, garlic, and lime in the other. Suffice to say only one brave neighbor (a fellow green juicer) was even willing to try it. But I quite liked them both. I did, however, have to add dates to the latter as it was just a little too bitter for me (I do have a bit of a sweet tooth as you may recall).

I have wondered lately if, as adults, we don't intellectualize our taste buds. Knowing something is good for us and therefore wanting and even liking it. I mean if tomorrow someone told me kale, garlic, dill and lime wreaked havoc on my system, would I no longer appreciate the taste? Hard to say. I imagine thousands of people would, at the very least, be greatly relieved.

I'll make another tomorrow and take some pictures. You won't be able to taste it but at least you can see it and judge for yourself.