Get Your Greenk On

Did you get your GREENK on today? Nothing does a body good like a heavy dose of chlorophyl, vitamins, nutrients and fiber in the form of an absolutely delicious and refreshing green drink (greenk!)! 

Over time, I've made many changes to the way I view and approach feeding my body. A crucial part of this has been realizing that a full stomach does not guarantee a satisfied body. After doing a lot of research about the plant-centric diets of many of our ancestors, I realized that there is much more to feeding ourselves than stopping the sensation of hunger. What you put into your body is what you will get out of it. If you want a strong, healthy, nourished, well circulated, well-cleansed, lighter, glowing body - you need to feed it the right stuff!  I think to some degree we all know this, right? But it is SO confusing to be told one day that extra protein is the "right stuff" and the next day that a heaping pile of vitamin capsules every morning is the "right stuff". It starts to get really overwhelming and really expensive for the average person - you might start to question whether you can even afford  to be healthy. You can.

Remember those ancestors I was talking about? Last I checked (and I could be wrong), they didn't have GNC, Dr. Atkins or $500 juicers. They consumed the plants that grew in their region either in their complete raw form or by grinding or mashing them with berries, water, maybe some seeds or nuts. It was this sort of diet that fueled our race and allowed us to propel forward, stronger and healthier with each generation. More recently, however, we have seen a decline in our population's health - there is much more disease, much more infertility, much more obesity - and it is no coincidence that this decline has occurred as we've filled our food supply with much more crap. For thousands of years, our race advanced on a nutrient dense diet. In the past few hundred years though (and dangerously so, in the past few decades), we have abandoned everything we knew about food and nutrition and traded it in for convenience and artificial flavor, and in the ultimately, disease.

You don't want to be sick and you don't want to be fat. But, the typical American diet is dangerously void of the spectrum of nutrients your body needs to strengthen, detoxify, shed excess fat, fight disease and ultimately, reach optimum health. Your body can't defend against disease or lose weight if you don't feed it what it needs to make put forth those efforts. You can eat all of the "weight-loss granola bars" you want, but you will not see the results you are imagining, until you give the body what it needs at a cellular level. Imagine the cells of your body as a team. They all want  to do their part and run around your body and fight illness and get rid of excess fat. But, they're hungry and tired and drunk on the toxins in your food. They are begging you to feed them the nutrients they as cells need to help you out! This is what I meant when I said that a full stomach doesn't guarantee a satisfied body. I know you want to give your cells what they need, right? 

So, you have this fat and disease fighting team just waiting to get down to business - but, how do you get them going again? A fantastic vehicle for delivering the nutrients to the body in an extremely efficient way is to drink a greenk! There are all different types - some people like to take a shot of wheatgrass; others swear by juicing. My personal preference though is a greenk smoothie.

Why a Greenk  Smoothie?

Digestibility

• When you blend and mash the vegetables and fruits you break down their cells into a more easily digestible form. You still want to chew your smoothie, to secrete saliva and signal the stomach to begin the digestive process. Once the smoothie reaches your belly it is broken down and all of those wonderful nutrients are delivered to your cellular team!  (And it is a lot easier than eating a salad the size of a bowling ball first thing in the morning!)

Fiber

• The different between juicing and blending a smoothie is that juicing expels just the juice from the plant, leaving the pulp and its fibers behind. With a smoothie though, you get all of those fabulous fibers that make you feel full and slow down digestion so you feel satisfied longer.

Sugar

• Juicing is a great way to get a quick shot of nutrients, however, depending on what fruits and vegetables you juice, this quick shot can consequently spike your blood sugar, causing unstable blood sugar levels and hunger to strike again very soon. When you introduce the juices along with the fibers, as in a smoothie, the sugars are released at a slower pace keeping your blood sugar much steadier.

Chlorophyll

• Yes! That stuff in plants that makes them green that you learned about in middle school. Chlorophyll is your cellular team's best friend! The benefits realized by this green molecule are astounding. Not only does is cleanse your cells, leaving them stronger, energized and refreshed, it also detoxifies your blood and colon, helps with inflammation, delivers lots of amino acids, and defends against cancer. Chlorophyll also helps to clean up and support your live function which is essential for weight loss - especially from your midsection. You may not realize it, but your liver plays a key role in removing excess fat from your body. The problem is though, that once excess fat accumulates on the body, it can also build up inside the liver, weighing it down and making it difficult or almost impossible sometimes, for it to get rid of body fat. So, by consuming a healthy and consistent dose of chlorophyll, you are supporting your fat fighting organ by cleaning it out and making it easier for it to do its job.

Truly Satisfying

• A greenk smoothie fills your stomach AND satisfies your body. And your satisfaction will not be fleeting. By adding this key element to your routine, you will be supporting that cellular team you have at your fingertips, realize greater health, greater strength, greater glow, better skin, better nails and even a healthier weight - I'm speaking from experience here, guys! 

In addition to the health benefits, I just love the customization. If you haven't figured it out yet, being able to adapt recipes to suit my mood is a BIGGIE for me. It's why I like to make hummus varieties, veggie and fruit chips, my own trail mix, chocolate and vanilla almond milks and GREENK SMOOTHIES! First, I'll share with you my mix from this morning and then I'll share some of my other favorites and tips on getting what you want from your new favorite part of your diet!

Spinach-Peach-Parsley-Pear

This a shot of me mixing up my greenk this very morning. I always keep a mixture of greens on hand (spinach, kale, parsley, arugula, cilantro) and try to switch them up throughout the weeks. The darker the greens, the more chlorophyll you're getting. This time I went with baby spinach and parsley (parsley is an incredible detoxifier and naturally freshens your breath- double whammy!) 

Then, I like to use one fresh and one frozen fruit (there is no reason for this other than I like mine as frothy and smoothie-like as possible AND whenever I go to the markets, if I see some great peaches or whatever fruit is in season, I buy more than I could possibly get through, so I chop half of them up and freeze them!) This time I went with half of a local organic peach and half of an organic pear.

I toss that in a blender with a quarter cup of water and 5-7 ice cubes and blend baby blend!

Once it is blended up, I like to add some chia seeds. First of all, chia seeds are not a fad. The Aztecs and Mayans were eating this super-super-food way before hollywood was boasting about it. Chia seeds have tons of soluble and insoluble fiber, nutrients like  iron, phosphorus, and niacin, more calcium per gram than a glass of milk, and omega-3 fatty acids. Also, when they combine with liquid, they expand to a gelatinous form which not only make you feel fuller, which is great, but these such foods grab on to, absorb and get rid of toxins in the body! So, I mix up some chia in water, let it expand, and after blending the fruits, veggies and ice, I add in the chia and give it another spin. 

And that's it! 

I do this every morning and pour it into a mason jar to take with me to work. Sometimes I drink it all, sometimes I greenk half and save the rest for the afternoon - depends how I'm feeling and how hungry I am.

Favorites right now:

• "Apple Pie Greenk" ( Spinach + Coconut Milk + Almond Butter + Pumpkin Pie Spice + Apple + Carrot + Vanilla Exract + Ice )
• Simple Mango Greenk ( Kale + Coconut Water + Frozen or Fresh Mango + Lemon Juice + Parsley)
• Kitchen Sink Greenk ( Toss Together For Favorite Mixins .. A little of this.. A little of that... Keep it heavy on the greens though! )

Some other greenk recipes:

• Kale-Parsley-Banana-Mango
• Spinach-Parsley-Pineapple-Pear
• Kale-Lemon-Mango-Cilantro
• Kale-Grapefruit-Pineapple-Parsley
• Kale-Lemon-Mint-Berry
• Spinach-Vanilla-Almond-Banana-Chia
• Spinach-Orange-Banana
• Cherry-Chia-Kale
• Apple-Berry-Kale-Parsley
• Almond-Apple-Spinach-Chia

Some other great mix-ins: 

• Cacao
• Almond milk
• Shaved Coconut
• Coconut Milk
• Organic whole fat plain yogurt 
• High quality protein powder 
• Almond Butter
• Sunflowerseed Butter
• Flaxseed
• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin
• Pumpkin Pie Spice 
• Green tea
• Chai tea
• Coconut milk

These are just a few combos and ingredients that I enjoy but the options are endless! You can make it sweet, savory, spicy, zesty - whatever - as long as you nourish your body with the key elements we discussed: fiber, sugars, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, gelatinous foods.

Feed your body what it truly craves and it well thank you tenfold from the inside out, I guarantee it.

Share your favorite recipes, greenk photos and questions with us below or on our Facebook page.

Keep it Real and Get Your Greenk On,

LVO