Why are green smoothies so popular for health coaches to recommend? First, greens are the most lacking food from the SAD and are full of essential micronutrients and phytochemicals with powerful anti-inflammatory and detoxifying agents that can help alleviate everything from acne to anxiety & depression and autoimmune disorders.  My mother is a case in point.  Having been diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, she will be having surgery for macular degeneration soon.  Thank God for modern medicine to return eyesight when our body can no longer handle the stressors we impart upon ourselves.  When we ignore our body’s signals, they do get louder. 

But surgery is only one half of the equation.  Having surgery, without stopping the causative factors is like plugging up the sink without turning off the water.  You can stop the water from draining, but unless you turn the water off, you will eventually have a mess on your hands that you cannot control.  In the case of macular degeneration, the body will eventually give up and blindness will occur.  In the case of insulin resistance and diabetes, unless you change the diet, blindness, neuropathy and Alzheimer’s await you.   Unless we learn to lower inflammation and detoxify the body, heart disease and cancers await us. 

So how do we turn off the faucet?  In the case of autoimmune disorders, we need to heal the gut.  Tomorrow I will be discussing this in more detail at Georgetown’s famous studio, Yoga Del Sol, Washington DC.  We first must learn how to discover what foods we are sensitive to and then we add in new foods to crowd out or eliminate the offending foods.  We learn how to turn off the water faucet that is negatively affecting our beautiful and unique bodies.  

This process gives us more energy and empowers us to be our own best Doctors.  This is why I’ve created a 6-week group program titled Energy & Empowerment.  I created this program for my mother, for my children, for my friends struggling with chronic disease, for my clients that I love who cannot afford individual coaching but could benefit from a group program.  Please call me for a Discovery Call session if you want to learn more.  Included in the program is a 90-minute assessment with a Naturopathic Physician and customized herbal tinctures to maximize the bodies healing process. 

Basically the formula is the same for all chronic dis-ease.  1. Discover & eliminate the causes. 2. Heal & repair the gut. 3. Learn and practice new skills for life long change.  

The process is fun and empowering. 

So back to Smoothies.  Now that we know the “why”, here’s the “how.”  To make smoothies healthy and delicious is as simple as 1, 2, 3!  Think Greens, Protein & Fat, and Fruit.

Choose between:
1. Greens, any kind will do. I like washed mixed greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, & Swiss chard.  Be sure to rotate them in your diet.
2. Essential fat and extra protein for satiety and to make it smooth and creamy.  My favorite choices include: avocado, almond butter, handful of any kind of raw nuts, and or coconut oil
3. Fruit. I like ripe bananas and organic mixed berries, fresh or frozen.  Other choices include organic green apples, or kiwi, mangos, organic peaches, pears, pineapples, and prunes.

 Simply put something from each in the blender, add ice and or filtered water to achieve the consistency that you want and ENJOY! It only takes minutes, you can make a big batch and save some for an energizing afternoon pick me up instead of that cup of java.