The Green Smoothie Experiment

Day 3 Juice Fast for Peace

2010-06-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Gabriel Cousens is running a week long "Juice Fast for Peace" in New York City this week - so I've decide to run my own at home. You can follow my exploits at http://detox-juice-fast.blogspot.com/

High Liquid Diet

2009-09-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a fab summer, but hectic. I'm still dreaming of being more organized, creative, and attracting divine abundance! I picking up one of my old notebooks yesterday and discovered a "to do" list from about this time last year. Most of which I never achieved. So it's time for a bit of soul searching, and set myself some new more exciting goals.

With Joe now happy back at school - and loving his new teacher - I have so much more time to work, and some space to work out what I want to do next.

September is a glorious month when the sun shines. Loads of apples on the trees this year, and plenty of blackberries for the forager too.

Beetroot and celery are in season and hence much cheaper to buy. I'm completely addicted to apple, celery, and beet juice for breakfast. I make one for Dave too and this morning it made him sing - not too sure if this is a good thing but it's much better than him being grumpy! I made up a green juice for later at the same time - Plantain, apples, and celery today.

We've all been enjoying green smoothies. Joe's been off them - but he actually asked for one for breakfast the other day so miracles do happen! And Dave read an article a week or so ago about how good hemp seed is for you - and so he can't get enough of them at the moment. He usually things of flax and hemp as things to make longbow strings out of.

Our current favorite green smoothie is orange juice, bananas, some hemp seed, and lots of baby spinach. I use some of the baby spinach fresh, and some frozen to give a cool icecreamy milkshake taste. I also use fresh parsley instead of the baby spinach for a bit of variety.

One day an another miracle will occur and Joe or Dave will make me a green smoothie;)

Feasting on Wild Fruit

2009-08-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Nature is being very bountiful this summer - the old apple trees at the bottom of the garden are groaning under the weight of the apples this year, and the hedges are full of wild plums and blackberries.

Last weekend we were camping in the countryside outside oxford and feasted on wild plums as we walked - delicious.

The first of the blackberries are ripe and juicy - although there are still plenty that are in need of a bit more sun please!

I've had a break from nut milks. When the weathers hot I do like juices and fat-free smoothies, but now it's cooled off again the green smoothies are back.

I'm still finding it difficult to eat lightly in the evenings, and my morning yoga practise is just not happening - on the plus side I've been enjoying doing t'ai chi again:-).

One more week and I'm off to France with Dave and Joe for a fortnight. We usually go camping but this time we're house sitting. 2 weeks of fresh food, yoga, t'ai chi, running, and playing with Dave and Joe.

Lots of Juice

2009-05-19T04:08:00.000-07:00

It was brilliant being able to cycle with Joe to school again. I do hate taking the car - although I'm glad we've got one. Out bodies are designed to move, but for the last month, with one thing and another, I've been a lot less active than usual.

Lovely Hot Weather

I bought a £10 electric citrus juicer to make it super easy to have fresh orange juice whenever we want it. It's been a big hit with Joe as he can now make his own orange juice.

Adapting Green Smoothies

I usually love creamy green smoothies made with nut or seed milk. With the warmer weather and sunshine I'm enjoying fat-free green smoothies and juices. I'm currently addicted to watermelon blended up with baby spinach - so quick to make, and so juicy.

Not a good week.

2009-05-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Joe's hip is inflamed again so I am busy worrying about him. It seemed totally better, so I - in hindsight stupidly - agreed he could do volley ball club after school. And then when he came out of school he was running around and jumping with his friends and laughing his head off having a wonderful time. But the next day he couldn't get out of bed. God I felt/feel bad about it. I know he will get better again, he just needs to take it easy and let his body heal, but it's very frustrating for him and for me.

And the food?

I'm loving my juices at the moment - carrot, orange and ginger juice is going down a treat.

As well as eating whole fruit I've been making up fruit salads for all of us - Joe loves them. I chop up whatever fruit I've got around - oranges, grapefruit, apple, banana, pineapple, and sprinkle on frozen raspberries and blueberries. I usually serve a bowl of romaine lettuce along side so we can help ourselves to some greens too.

Do you eat when your stressed?

I'm tending to feel thirsty rather than hungry - hence my love of juices.

But in the evening if I'm stressed I sometimes feel like eating chocolate and escaping into a good DVD. I did this last night - watched "The Devil Wears Prada" and ate half a bar of organic milk chocolate. The film was an enjoyable bit of escapism, but as soon as it stopped I was right back feeling stressed again. And the milk chocolate left a bad taste in my mouth although I did enjoy it at the time.

To sleep perchance to dream

When I eat lightly I have the most vibrant dreams - not always pleasant, but fairly lucid so I can usually alter the dream reality if I don't like what's happening. But if I eat later in the day, and especially if I have a heavy cooked meal I don't remember my dreams at all. Do I still have them?

Eating Lightly

2009-04-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

One day I had a healthy active boy, and then the next day he couldn't get out of bed.

One of his hips was causing the pain. He was carried into the Doctors and diagnosed with "irritable hip" - the membrane of the hip joint is inflamed. We were told to let him rest it completely, and take him back in 3 days if he wasn't much better.

It's not known what causes it - but the good new is that in most cases it's better in a couple of weeks and doesn't come back.

The next day it was a bit better, and now and he wants to run again!
He's back at school - under strict instructions to take it easy so no football for a couple of weeks.

Aside from the worry - and the missing work - it was lovely to have him home for a few days. It reminded me of when he was little.

For a few days he living off juices, smoothies, watermelon, and wild Alaskan salmon fish cakes (Neither raw nor vegan but hopefully better than fish fingers). Oh and some cup cakes that his friends brought round!

And how is the quantum eating going?

The warmer weather definitely makes eating raw and lightly much easier. It feels right to eat this way when the sun is hot.

Watermelon is my latest delight. Its high water content make it a fabulous thirst quencher, and I have been eating it, blending it on it's own, and using it instead of orange juice in my smoothie recipes.

I've not had ginger for a month or two now, but the last couple of days the weather has been cooler, and my throat has a tickle in it - so I've added it to the shopping list!

Easter Holidays

2009-04-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's a weird thing time. It feels like the schools just broke up yesterday, and also like Joe's been on holiday for a month. Joe and his mates take great delight in beating me at football. It certainly helps keep you fit!

Old Habits Return

I returned to my old habits of eating an evening meal with the family over the Easter Holidays - to be sociable more than any other reason. I find it hard to stop once I start doing this. My energy levels have been generally good - lots of running - but I tend to be groggy early on and really miss feeling that fresh early morning feeling.

Although I always eat lots of raw fruit and veg, I've also been eating some wholemeal bread and my eyes are itchy and dry. It's a hayfever/pollen thing and a very good reason for me to not have any more.

Creating New Habits and Returning to Quantum Eating

So I'm going to return to juice for dinner this week, and hopefully I'll be up early again bright eyed and fill of the joys of spring!

Experiments in Light Eating on the Raw Food Diet

2009-03-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Spring is fab - warm sunshine brightens the soul and gives pretty much everyone a boost - and the clocks go forward tonight:). I love the light evenings. Joe just wants to stay outside and kick a ball around. Ran round Kingley Vale early last Saturday, and hopefully it'll be bright and dry tomorrow so I can go again.

8am Breakfast

Fresh juice for everyone, and a spare juice for me to have at 10 o'clock as I get thirsty around then.

I started out this week completely in love with fresh carrot and celery juice, but for the last few days I've had a major crush on grapefruit juice.

10am Morning Splash

Hmmm, more juice - usually grapefruit through a straw.

12-2pm A different sort of liquid lunch!

Usually a pint of green smoothie. Sometimes for a change I'll make a raw pie, or have a pure fruit smoothie with soaked almonds or hemp seed. I'm a big fan of berries and love to add blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries to my smoothies. This time of year I tend to use frozen berries as I've still got some blackberries in the freezer from last summer.

Plus I've been growing lots of sprouts, and love to eat them fresh from the sprouter, as well as whizzing them up in smoothies. I also enjoy eating whole peppers, carrots, and greens. Eaten fresh they taste good just as they are. My body just loves the liquid in them.

2-6pm

It depends what I've been up to what happens now. Sometimes I like to have a wheatgrass shot, sometimes an apple and wild green juice - the warm weather has meant the garden is full of nettles and cleavers.

Evenings

If I'm thirsty in the evening then I just drink water. Looks so simple when I right it down!

So how's it been?

The hardest part is not eating with Dave and Joe in the evening. I'm not hungry, but the restless part of me that's used to numbing out on heavier food wants to eat.

I am in the process of breaking the habit of eating bread and other grains, and find it much easier to simply not eat them at all. I've made lots of tasty raw crackers in the past which are an excellent transition food, but I find I only really want high water content foods at the moment.

Other times when I've gone raw I've made the mistake of eaten raw fudge in the evening to fill the void, but while I still love a bit of raw fudge (sun-dried fruit and nuts or seeds ground up into soft sticky fudge), eating too much of it, or eating it when your not actually hungry is numbing too.

As I live on raw high water content food I'm aware of my senses sharpening and feeling more alive.

It feels strange not eating in the evenings. But I'm kind of enjoying it - more energy and feel lighter. Very restless though - lots of decluttering going on!

The Goal

Next weeks goal is continue eating most of my food before 2pm, plus a juice in the evening. I'm not ready to give up my evening juice as I still feel a need for dinner replacement.

I'm also committed to practising 10 rounds of sunprayers and 15 minutes of pranayama in the morning, and half an hour of t'ai chi later on in the day. Can I manage a 30 minute run too?

I'd love to get myself organized so I have time to do 60 minutes of drawing or painting every day - but one step at a time!

Green Smoothie Heaven

2009-03-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

My love of ginger has not returned. Instead it has been replaced with an appreciation of frozen berries. Big pump juicy blueberries that I've had in my freezer all winter, just waiting for the right moment to tickle my taste buds.

Here's my new favorite spring time green smoothie recipe.

I read Tonya's book - "Quantum eating" with an open mind. It has inspired me to continue with the green smoothie experiment, and use the next few weeks as a spring detox and get joyfully back into yoga and t'ai chi.

My cunning plan is to continue to enjoy a fresh juice for my breakfast. I love doing this as both Dave and Joe really enjoy fresh juice first thing in the day. I'll make another juice to have about 10.30 and then a green smoothie for lunch sometime between 12 and 2pm. And thats all!

I had a georgous sunday morning last weekend - I think it must be the spring sunshine and warmer weather, but the first time in ages I got up and cycled to Kingley Vale (The nature reserve where my husband works) and ran up to the top and back. It was beautiful weather - sunny and completely still. I love the spring!

Warm weather ends love affair with ginger.

2009-03-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

It's perhaps not surprising that with the warm weather we've been having lately my taste buds have changed.

Ginger now tastes disgusting - after being totally addicted to it for months.

And the though of putting soaked dates in my smoothie to sweeten it makes me feel queasy:~

One day I made my favorite morning carrot, lemon and ginger juice, and added some left over broccoli stems and a couple to stalks of celery as I often do.

And the juice tasted nasty:(

At first I thought I'd either overdone the lemon, or that the broccoli was making it taste bitter, but began to suspect the ginger when I realized that I had no desire to put it in my lunch time smoothie.

So the next day I left the ginger out and bingo - delicious juice again:)

A Little Light Reading

I've just ordered "Quantum eating" by Tonya Zavasta - which I've been resisting for a while, but as Dave came home with a new Ian Banks the other day I decided it was time for a treat!

Green Smoothie Challenge Update

I'm still totally in love with green smoothies and fresh juices, and have at least one of each every day.

BUT I am struggling to eat lightly in the evenings.

I usually cook (and uncook ) for Dave and Joe in the evening.

And while I no longer feel particularly hungry I often find myself eating with them.

The truth is that I'm more frightened of all the raw emotions that I'm going have to deal with than I realized.

Why do I find the truth so scary, when deep down inside I really want to experience it?

The Green Smoothie Experiment continues...

2009-02-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Spring has arrived early - gorgeous sunshine and bumblebees in the garden. Saw a red admiral catching some rays on the cycleway - but still no sign of frog spawn in the local pond. The pond's so full after all the rain it's overflowing.

The boys had there t-shirts off in the garden playing football - the first blast of vitamin D in a long time!

Lots of green smoothies as usual this week - but I've still not mastered eating lightly in the evenings. I'm working on the habit of having a juice for dinner instead of steamed vegggies/salad/cooked carbs. I'm going to treat myself to a delectable veggie juice for dinner!

Green Smoothie Experiment Days13-17

2009-02-13T06:44:00.000-08:00

Woooosh, there went another week! They do seem to go zooming past these days.

Lots of lovely green gingery smoothies and plenty of delectable juices this week. My current favorite's grapefruit juice, followed closely by carrot juice with lots of ginger!

I'm still totally addicted to ginger - seem to be adding more and more of it to my juices and smoothies. Can you have too much ginger? I hope not!

However I'm still not having much success with eating lightly in the evenings - my body is so used to having a juice for breakfast, followed by a green smoothie for lunch, and then a salad and cooked carb meal in the evening. I find those cooked carbs so comforting in the winter - I just wish I woke up feeling fresh after them!

I have devised a cunning plan for next week. I love starting the day with a fresh juice, and I'm going to follow that with a green smoothie for breakfast. For my lunch I'll have a large crunchy salad, a raw pie, or another green smoothie, and finally another delectable juice for dinner. Will this work for me? Only time will tell!

Day 12 of the Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-02-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Fab weather for Joe's party - bright sunny and very little wind. The boys (and adults) all had an exciting time feeding the sheep, building dens, exploring the woods, and making the campfire. Thank you!

On the food front I started the day with a blast of grapefruit juice, and then got swept up in the party. Joe has decided he's a pescatarian at the moment and requested veggie sausages. There were baked spuds and carrot and cucumber sticks - and of course there was birthday cake (not raw, but home made).

I'm still in love with baby spinach and had a pint of spinach, orange, banana, and almond milk for dinner.

Just been reading up on the many problems faced by people on long term strict vegan diets - I'm not a strict vegan by any stretch of the imagination - I'm not big on dairy products but I do enjoy a soft boiled egg now and then, and was a pescatarian myself for many years. Veganism is it is a beautiful philosophy, but there do not seem to be any healthy long lived vegans. I think a bit more research is called for.

Day 11 Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-02-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Lots of lovely juice today - grapefruit juice this morning, and then I made up a large batch of carrot, ginger, celery, and coriander juice - delicious. Tomorrow I'm going to go for a bright orange carrot and ginger juice, and then use apples as a base for my green juice so that the colours are beautiful as well as the taste.

I treated myself to a lovely organic mango, and was just about to make a lovely mango and spinach green smoothie when Joe and Dave (my son and husband) appeared and we all shared the mango. It was very delicious - we could just have done with one each! It's times like this when I wish that I could grow mangoes here in England, and be a lot more sustainable.

I think my ideal diet would be loads of fresh juice or juicy fruit, a green smoothie or juice, and a crunchy salad, or raw desert for variety. There are some savory greens (like coriander) that are lovely in salads (and juices) but that I'm not so keen on in smoothies.

Savory raw energy soup with curry spices can be lovely in the winter - especially if you gently warm it up. But I'm missing crunchy salads at the moment, and looking forward to eating them again in a couple of weeks:)

It's my sons birthday party tomorrow, and were taking him and a group of mates out on my husbands nature reserve to feed the sheep and make dens and bonfires! So fingers crossed for some beautiful sunshine.

Days 7-10 Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-02-06T03:50:00.000-08:00

Lots more green smoothies, but definately not enough juice over the last few days. I'd really like some juice now (9.15pm Friday) but it's very chilly in our kitchen so I'll probably just have a cup of herbal tea, or just some water.

I'm looking forward to fresh raw grapefruit juice for breakfast tomorrow. I experimented with using grapefruit in my green smoothies today, and it was very refreshing but rather tart - even with ripe bananas and soaked dates added!

I'm currently reading B.K.S. Iyengars Light on life and dipping into it tonight came across the phrase "It is by tapping the source of infinite will and intelligence that we discover in ourselves the guts to penetrate the inner recesses of our Being". What I'm trying to do at the moment using both raw foods and yoga is to tap into this source.

Day 6 - Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-02-02T04:05:00.001-08:00

The more it snows - tiddle pom - the more it goes - tiddle pom - on snowing - Winnie the Pooh of course. Lots of snow and snowball fights here today.

7.45am - Favorite blast of grapefruit juice (2 juicy red ones with the pith on). Delicious way to start the day.

10.30am - Green smoothie with apple, orange, banana, parsley, lime, ginger, soaked dates, and almond milk. Very lovely and deeply satisfying.

2pmsih - Another pint of lovely green smoothie.

4pm - Shot of wheatgrass juice, and a tall glass of carrot juice with parsley and coriander.

I felt amazing after the juice - really clear headed, and was lucky enough to have the time to practise yoga for over and hour. Bliss!

Still didn't manage to get through the day without a 8pm snack (toast). I want to get into the habit of having another juice later in the evening as well, as I could feel my body was thirsty.

Days 4 and 5 of the Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Busy weekend - snowing outside - it's not often we get to go for walks in the snow down in the south of England!

I've enjoyed fresh grapefruit juice, and lots of my favorite green smoothie plus a tofu veggie curry (Saturday), and some kale and potato soup (Sunday), so not being very consistent on the all raw front - or the eating lightly after 2pm! I find it harder to be all raw when its freezing outside, especially with my husband cooking up curries. I'm sure this is a psychological need rather than a physical one as I can feel my body is thirsty rather than hungry.

It's set to be cold for the next few days so it will be interesting to see if I am able to treat myself to vegetable juice for dinner this week.

Day 3 of the Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-01-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Three green smoothies today, but I missed my juice:(

9.10am - First green smoothie of the day. Made a large batch - one for later, and some for Dave. Used Kale today - not my favourite - but nice with vanilla and soaked dates. Looking forward to having sunflower greens in a few days time. Nibbled on some chichkweed while I was gardening.
1pm - Second pint of Green Kale Smoothie
6.50pm - Hungry and thirsty so made up an orange, hemp seed, and parsley green smoothie.

Temperature is still going down outside, but I'm actually feeling quite warm at the mo.

Definitely making fresh juice tomorrow as I'm feeling thirsty again, and water doesn't seem to satisfy the thirst.

Day 2 of the Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-01-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

Doing well, but the weather is set to go colder so we shall have to wait and see.

8am - My favourite green smoothie. Made 2 pints - one for now one for later.
12.30pm - Green pinta numero 2
6.10pm - Fab coriander attack juice. Felt great after this.
9pm - An apple and a carrot to munch on for something crunchy:)

Day 1 - The Green Smoothie Experiment Begins

2009-01-28T23:10:00.000-08:00

Feeling very positive at the moment. Started the day with my favourite green smoothie -

11.15am Ginger Lime and Spinach Green Smoothie. If you'd like to know the recipe visit my green smoothie recipes.
2.30pm My second pint of smoothie of the day which I kept in the fridge until I was hungry.
6.10pm Carrot and Celery juice with ginger and lemon. Carrot Juice Recipes

Felt thirsty all day, and drank quite a lot of water. Really enjoyed my juice.

About 9.30 I was busy making Joe's packed lunch and tidying up the dinner stuff after my t'ai chi class when I decided to eat some of the lentil dhal that Dave and Joe had for tea. It tasted nice, but I wasn't actually hungry - just restless.

Part of me still feels that I am depriving myself even though I much prefer, and actually crave the smoothies, juices, and salads that I love to eat.

By being mindful of why I am eating, and how I feel afterwards, I think this will pass. Maybe if I tell myself I have to eat it (the cooked food) then I'll not want it any more!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be happier keeping light in the evening. It felt good all day, although I was glad I was working at home as I kept needing the toilet with all that water!

The Green Smoothie Experiment

2009-01-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

In a quest to increase my connection to the divine, discover the truth, and indeed lose a couple of pounds I am about to embark on a magical journey.

A long time lover of the raw food diet, I've lately been eating more cooked starches. It's a chilly January here in the U.K. and the whole grains leave me warm and comfortably numb. But deep down inside I desire to feel fully alive again, and I know that eating a totally raw food diet will awaken me.

So what are Green Smoothies?

As well as being wee green men that rather fancy themselves, green smoothies are what you get when you blend ripe juicy fruit with fresh vibrant greens such as baby spinach and parsley. To learn more check out my green smoothie recipes

Green Smoothie Addict

I am a total Green Smoothie addict, and love to have at least one a day, often two, sometimes three. I nearly always blend the fruit and greens with almond milk or shelled hemp seed to make a delectable creamy green goo.

And the Green Smoothie Experiment?

It's a simple experiment to see what will happen when I live on green smoothies and fresh juice for 21 days.

Smoothies for breakfast and lunch, and juice for dinner. All raw plant based ingredients. That said, I use soaked dates to sweeten my smoothies, and Thor only knows if these are actually raw or not, but that's not a problem for me.

Eating Lightly in the Evenings

Both Gabriel Cousens and Tonya Zavasta, two of my favorite raw foodists eat lightly in the evenings, and when I've done so in the past I've been able to leap out of bed in the morning and practise my yoga. I also know this is way easier said than done, which is why I've set up the Green Smoothie Challenge to provide some extra accountability and resolve.