Spent some time working on ways to include my green smoothies into the Kinetix nutritional program. I have to balance out the carbs in the green smoothies (usually a pear and a banana) with proteins and fats. I believe that if I divide the smoothie into 2 servings and have each serving with a cup of 2% lowfat cottage cheese to which I’ve added 1 tsp. of ground flax, then I meet the proper ratios. Took quite a bit of time to measure everything out this morning. Now I’ve got to rush to get ready for work. This is an awful lot of cottage cheese to be eating in the morning. I will have to figure out some alternatives.
Kinetix – Day One
February 8, 2010 at 3:33 am (health, Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: cottage cheese., green smoothies, Kinetix, protein
Green Smoothies and Depression
February 2, 2010 at 10:39 am (Feel Good For Less, Green Smoothies, health, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: antidepressants, depression, green smoothies
Well, since I have been so focused on working out and trying to follow a specific meal plan as part of the fitness plan from my trainer, I have let go of the green smoothies for a while and am noticing how that is affecting me. My mood is getting darker and my life feels more chaotic. While I was drinking green smoothies everyday, I went off my antidepressants. I didn’t need them anymore. Rather than start taking them again, I will be more vigilant about making my green smoothie everyday, starting today. Just finished off a smoothie made of baby arugula, banana and pear. The pear was a bit too young and small so my smoothie wasn’t as sweet as I’d like but quite refreshing nonetheless.
A Recharged Life
January 16, 2010 at 12:45 am (health, Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: energy, green smoothies, half century mark, health, ribose, vitality
As I approached the half century mark, I found that my energy wasn’t what it once was and it was harder for me to get excited about starting new projects. Since I started drinking green smoothies regularly and adding a scoop of ribose to my morning tea, I have felt a return of energy, enthusiasm and vitality. Now that I am past the aforementioned “half century mark”, life has gotten more fun and interesting. I feel like the caterpillar who thought life was over and suddenly woke up as a butterfly!
Reflexology
December 19, 2009 at 9:53 am (Feel Good For Less, health, Massage, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: foot massage, green smoothies, Massage, reflexology
Today’s smoothie was blueberries, pineapple, grapes, kale, spinach, romaine, bananas. It was pretty tasty. I guess I went a little crazy at the grocery store. After not making my own yesterday, I was excited to get back to experimenting with different ingredients.
My neck and shoulders have been feeling really tense lately. When those muscles get really tight and hard, it feels like the blood flow to my brain is constricted and I can’t think clearly. I had been using my heating pad to relax the muscles but now it was beyond that so I needed to get some outside help. There is a new foot massage place in my neighborhood that is having a grand opening special, charging only $20 for an hour massage which includes reflexology and back and shoulder massage.
For those who are unfamiliar, Reflexology is a non-invasive complementary modality involving the use of alternating pressure applied to the reflexes within the reflex maps of the body located on the feet, hands and outer ears. This definition comes from the Reflexology Assoc. of America.
Reflexology is a science which deals with the principle that there are reflex areas in the feet and hands which correspond to all of the glands, organs and parts of the body. Stimulating these reflexes properly can help many health problems in a natural way, a type of preventative maintenance. Reflexology is a serious advance in the health field and should not be confused with massage. This definition comes from the International Institute of Reflexology.
The practioners at the place I patronized, were all Chinese. The lady who worked on me spent about 40 minutes on my feet and 20 minutes on my back and shoulders. I felt a lot better after the session and felt it was an excellent return on investment there.
Green Smoothie Substitute
December 17, 2009 at 5:33 pm (Green Smoothies, Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: energy booster, Green machine, green smoothies
Today I was unable to make my green smoothie, so as a substitute I purchased a Naked Juice Green Machine smoothie drink which is readily available in Starbucks, grocery stores and even in Costco. They are not as ideal as making your own, fresh. But they do serve as a pretty good substitute. Before I bought my high speed blender, I drank Green Machine smoothies on a daily basis and did feel that they were a great energy booster.
Progress Report
December 16, 2009 at 10:40 pm (Green Smoothies, health, Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: green smoothies
Long day today. Started very early (up at 3am) and finishing fairly late (typing this from bed at 10:30pm). A majority of my time was spent (happily) today with my oldest daughter, Suki, who is home from college for Winter Break. I did manage to squeeze in a 30 min. workout at the gym, and so far I’ve managed to keep up with the green smoothie challenge and am drinking a quart of green smoothie everyday. I think the smoothies are giving me the energy to deal with the holiday stresses. Today’s smoothie was romaine lettuce and banana. My favorite is still the spinach, pear and banana combo.
I’ve put together a chart so that I can keep accurate tabs on my smoothies, my exercise, my supplementation and my seafood intake. I will be filling this out at the end of each day.
I had ordered a book from Amazon called, Living with Vitality, by Aaron Lloyd U. Parnell. It came yesterday and is full of seemingly good advice which I will share as I try it out.
Green Smoothie Success
December 10, 2009 at 8:10 am (Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: blenders, green smoothies, greens, recipe
After a few less than successful attempts, I have come up with my first good-tasting green smoothie recipe: one pear, a handful of cleaned spinach leaves, one banana, 2 cups of ice water. Blend at high speed until completely liquidated. Makes one quart. You can drink it right away, but I like to let it site overnight so that the foaminess settles out.
Due to the extra strong cells in the plants, in order to break down the cellulose and make all of the nutrients available to our bodies, it is necessary to really pulverize our greens before consuming them. A high-speed blender, like a VitaMix or Blendtec, which goes up to 240mph, has the ability to do the job on a regular basis, whereas other blenders will eventually burn out from the resistance of the strong fibers in the greens.
I had my partner and my daughter sample this new recipe and both agreed that it tasted good so this one’s a keeper.
The Roseburg Experiment
December 9, 2009 at 8:00 am (health, Nutrition, Physical & Mental Energy)
Tags: boutenko, Green for Life, green smoothies, greens
My friend, Barbara, gave me a book called “Green For Life” by Victoria Boutenko. It is about the benefits of getting more greens into our diet and why consuming them in the form of smoothies is the ideal way to go about it. Boutenko did an experiment involving 25 citizens of Roseburg, Oregon. They agreed to drink a quart of green smoothie every day for 30 days for 30 days and report back with the results. I was impressed as I read the testimonials of the subjects. Almost everyone experienced an increase in energy! There were lots of other astounding results reported (some having to do with male libido!) but I won’t go into that here as my goal is energy – both mental and physical. I am going to try the Roseburg Experiment on myself and drink a quart of green smoothie every day. I will give regular updates on my progress here.
