Low Sugar Green Smoothie

Okay, this smoothie doesn't look too green now does it? Berries and greens blended up equal brown. Although the color may not look too appetizing, the flavor is amazing! Our 4-year old twin boys drink it with a straw. They now race to see who is done first. We hear "done" and then "done" and then "no, I was done first" and then "I'm not playing first game." Just so you all know, drinking your smoothie as fast as you can is not optimal for digestion. It is best to let each sip sit in your mouth for at least 30 seconds to allow for enzymes such as amylase to begin to break down the fruit sugars.

We've been asked many times to offer green smoothie recipes that don't contain too much fruit sugar. Normally we use two tart apples and two pears in each smoothie, but by using berries and citrus instead you can lower the glycemic index and keep the overall FODMAP content much lower. FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates found in fruits such as apples and pears (and many other foods) that can contribute to gas, bloating, and other GI issues for those who are sensitive, or who have imbalanced gut microflora.

The combination of the berries, cherries, and greens create a superfood smoothie! No need to buy expensive, exotic fruits such as the acai berry! Did you know that blueberry consumption can lead to an increase in beneficial bifidobacterium in the gut? They are also effective at eradicating harmful, pathogenic bacteria in the gut. Another reason to make blueberries a regular part of your diet!

Use a glass or stainless steel straw for children. Straws seem to make green smoothies much more fun to drink!

Detox with Spring Greens

Spring Nettles

I'm spending all of my writing time finishing the new cookbook so today I have another guest post for you from a friend and acupuncturist here in Northwestern Washington. Nancy Moore runs a busy acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine practice. She can also be found on her oriental medicine blog. Today she talks about bitter spring greens and why, at this time of year, it is of utmost importance to support our detoxifying organs, the liver and gallbladder. ~Ali

Green is the color associated with springtime in Chinese medicine, which, in the Five Element cycle, is the Wood phase, a time to cleanse and nourish the Liver and Gallbladder systems.

The best remedies for stimulating and supporting the Liver-Gallbladder systems are colored green! Chlorophyll-rich leafy greens have the new, active, ascending nature of spring within them to help detoxify and de-stagnate our bodies in this season of renewal.

Some of these greens also have the bitter taste that is almost completely absent in our diet, which herbalist Jim McDonald feels is essential for health. In a great article entitled “Blessed Bitters” McDonald suggests that many of our modern-day health woes are the result of Bitter Deficiency Syndrome. He states that bitters stimulate all digestive secretions and stomach acid, help regulate the absorption of vitamin B12, normalize blood sugar, promote the production and release of pancreatic enzymes and bile, strengthen the tone of tissues throughout the digestive tract, heal damaged mucous membranes, soothe gastric reflux, aid intestinal peristalsis, and reduce cravings for sweets.

On an emotional level, dark green leafy vegetables and bitters have both a grounding quality and a “releasing” property—calming an edgy-irritable system and helping us let go of sluggish, stuck, negative energy. This makes sense when we remember that a large portion of our “feel-good” neurotransmitters—including serotonin and dopamine—are utilized in the gut, not the brain. Greens, especially those that are pungent (sour) or bitter, stimulate these!

Photo Credit: Nancy Moore

Greens for Liver-Gallbladder Stimulation and Health:

• Arugula 
• Radicchio
• Collards 
• Kale 
• Endive 
• Escarole 
• Mizuna 
• Sorrel 
• Spinach
• Parsley 
• Watercress
• Red or green mustard greens 
• Dandelion greens
• Nettles 

In other words, the same kind of greens you find in an expensive restaurant salad!

The last two—dandelion greens and nettles—are abundant and free greens in this area, both packed full of super nutrients. Dandelion greens (in our local food co-op salad section now, or in some backyards near you) have been used for centuries for general detoxification, liver, gallbladder, and kidney health, joint problems, blood purification, eczema, poor digestion, and breast health. Harvest them in less traveled areas away from animal contamination. Nettles are high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, boron, carotenoids, iron, and the flavonoid quercetin, which has been found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine effects for seasonal allergies. Nettles can be collected all around the area—just wear gloves and cook or dehydrate them to eliminate the stinging properties.

If the bitter flavor of some greens is not appealing, try adding them slowly into the diet to allow the brain and digestive system time to adjust. You can add a little vinegar or lemon juice to mellow the bitter flavor which will also aid in the assimilation of minerals. Adding freshly grated ginger to a dressing “warms up” the flavor of salad greens.

Above all, open yourself to new tastes, ideas, and experiences in this amazing season of growth. Go green, baby!

by Nancy Moore, Licensed Acupuncturist & Herbalist

Spring Chives in my Garden

Some recipes using greens you might like:

Spring Green Smoothie

Beet Pear and Almond Salad

Raw Kale and Avocado Salad

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Harvest Green Smoothie

It is harvest time and we are working on ways to not only preserve the harvest but also to use up nature's bounty while it is nice and fresh. Green smoothies are a great way to use up fresh produce. Plus, they are the perfect vehicle to deliver raw, digestible green vegetables to your children! We began giving green smoothies to our children when they were around nine months old. We always made them without lemon until they were at least twelve months old because citrus can sometimes be harsh on a baby's digestive system.

Offering smoothies when they are young primes their taste buds and other sensory organs, such as the eyes, to like and beg for these drinks. Children who don't get them when they are very young sometimes have a harder time adapting to drinking something bright green when first introduced. Our 3 year old twins love green smoothies. You can watch them help prepare a smoothie with Tom in this video when they were two years old. The other day, I told them that I was going to make a green smoothie but I was still busy in the kitchen with another project. One of my twins said...."mommy when are you going to make the green moothie......momMY, PLEASE make the moothie NOW!" After I made it they each gulped down about 12 ounces. If your child isn't fond of green smoothies, try making them with mostly fruit and maybe only one kale leaf, then, over the days and weeks that you make them, slowly add more greens to let your child's taste buds adapt. Keep trying! Sometimes it takes 15 times of tasting something new for your child to accept it. A straw can also make smoothie time fun! I don't buy plastic straws, but if I were ever to buy some I would purchase either stainless steel or glass drinking straws.

Collard Wraps with Raw Sunflower Pate

A few months ago I soaked a bowlful of sunflower seeds overnight with the intention of creating some sort of yummy pate to be wrapped up in a collard green. I wasn't quite sure how it would evolve but I trusted it would be, at the very least, edible. After rinsing and draining the soaked seeds I pulled out nearly every ingredient imaginable from the refrigerator. Now time has taught me to not go overboard and to just stick with a few ingredients when creating recipes. So I chose three (not including salt, pepper, and herbs) and tossed them all into the food processor along with the soaked seeds.

Both Tom and I were more than delighted with the results. Our toddler boys couldn't seem to get enough! A few days later I measured ingredients and whirled the food processor once again to figure out the amounts. We've made these wraps a number of times since then and even demonstrated them at a recent Elimination Diet cooking class. We never seem to get bored with them.

To make the collard greens pliable for wrapping I decided to blanch them. Just sixty seconds in boiling water creates an awesome flourless wrap folks! If you don't decide to use the filling ingredients below I hope you will venture into trying the wraps with whatever fillings you desire.

Turkey and honey mustard? Smoked Salmon with Avocado Mayonnaise? Refried Beans and Brown Rice?

The trick is to find very large greens with out too many slug bites or insect damage (holes)!

Raw Super Green Salad

We're back with fabulous elimination diet recipes. Oh how I adore the lovely lemon. I can't tell you how excited I was to taste lemon juice once again. This flavorful dark leafy green salad is a staple in our house this time of year. It utilizes hardy and super nutritious greens such as kale and collards. The lemon and salt help to break down the green's tough fibers creating an easy to chew raw salad.

I like to serve this salad along side my Quinoa-Salmon Burger recipe or use it to stuff inside Collard Wraps. Another way to use this salad is to take a large handful of it and process it in a food processor along with a few cups of cooked black beans (well-drained), a little chili powder, and sea salt to make "refried beans." I make quesadillas by placing a few dollops of the bean mixture inside of two brown rice tortillas. Simply cook on both sides in a large, hot skillet with a little olive oil, cut with a pizza cutter, serve with carrot sticks and you have a nutritious lunch for your children!

Winter Green Smoothie

This is one of the green smoothies we make in the winter. It is chock full of healing dark leafy greens, cabbage, fruit, and cranberries! Adding the tart green apples and tart cranberries make it palatable without lemon juice.

This smoothie is ideal if you are following The Elimination Diet. I've been enjoying it all day today! I think my toddler boys each drank 2 cups this morning. I couldn't pour it fast enough!

We own and use a Vitamix 5000 series for making our smoothies. If you don't have a high-powered blender then you'll want to make sure your blade is very sharp. You'll also want to half the recipe below.

What's Your Ideal Meal?

I recently received a birthday gift in the mail from my mother-in-law. It was a colorful apron that she picked up during her travels to Salt Lake City. On the pocket reads: "One World, Everybody Eats."

So what do you eat, I ask?

We are all so genetically, biochemically, and just plain old individually unique. As Dr. Jeff Bland always says: "The food of one can be the poison of another" or something to that affect. Tom and I eat very differently, what works for him doesn't work for me and what feels good to me makes him sick!

As we age and become wiser, hopefully we listen to the cues of our bodies and consume foods which will truly nourish us....as individuals.

Think about this:

1. Do you experience digestive upset after eating?


2. Do you experience "brain fog" shortly after a meal?


3. Do you tire easily?


4. Are you anemic?


5. How about overweight/underweight?


6. Do you have recurring headaches?


7. How about arthritis?


8. Do you have skin rashes?


9. Do you frequently get sick?

If you answered "yes" to any one of these questions chances are that your current diet might not be serving you. Take some time and write down your diet for a few days to really see what you have been consuming. About 10 years ago I took a serious look at my diet. I would have answered "yes" to about half of these questions then (#'s 1,2,3,6, and 9 to be specific). I decided to detox and change my diet. After a number of different cleanses I followed The Body Ecology Diet book by Donna Gates. That did the trick, I felt energetic again and my digestion was strong...still is strong! Tom has an excellent 28-Day Elimination and Detoxification Diet in our Cookbook that has helped hundreds of people identify problem foods and find a diet that works for them.
Once you have identified "problem foods" then you can move on to enjoy the plethora of tasty whole foods that are available. I live in just this world. I know what works for me so each day I am free to choose a meal, an ingredient, a dessert, a snack that my intuitions call forth. In addition, as a mother who cooks for her family, I work to incorporate every one's needs for a meal.
Let's see...Tom is vegan, doesn't eat sesame or gluten among other things, likes things spicy, no sweets, loves beans and rice; Gracie cannot tolerate gluten, loves mushrooms, green smoothies, quinoa, and nuts; Lily wishes she could eat bread all day every day, loves potatoes and butter, hates eggs and dairy (except butter), asked for a green smoothie in her lunch today; the babies don't eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, and nuts among other things but eat a lot of what I do feed them, they love green smoothies, salmon, and quinoa and frozen berries for a treat, and drink mama's milk throughout the night, they got a rash from lemons and limes so don't eat that anymore - at least not for now.
Our food choices change throughout the seasons. In the winter we eat hearty, warming cooked foods to keep our bellies full and our bodies warm. I just cannot bring myself to eat a cold salad in the winter (at least right now), I prefer to drink green smoothies at room temperature and eat lots of cooked dark leafy greens such as, kale, collards, and chard. When spring comes and the tender greens begin to sprout from the ground, our bodies are signaled to eat more bitter, raw greens such as chickweed, dandelion, and bittercress. We become more active, and gently detox from the fall and winter. Summer is full of fresh fruits and vegetables and so we eat a lot of raw foods during this season. When fall turns the corner we begin to eat warming root vegetables, soups, and stews once again.
Not only do our food needs and tastes change throughout the seasons, but even through days and weeks....and well, our lifetime. Listen to your intuitions, if you don't already, and trust them. Ask yourself what your body needs daily. Asking questions is like a daily meditation practice or yoga practice. You will know what is best for you! There is no perfect one-size-fits-all diet out there, only a gazillion options for you to choose from.
Here is my ideal meal (at least at the moment):
Wild Alaskan King Salmon (I buy it from a local fish market), Roasted Yams, and Apple Spiced Collard Greens (from my Cookbook). That's it, no bread, no dessert, just this perfect meal.
For the salmon pictured above, I drizzled it with a few teaspoons each of honey, lemon juice, and olive oil and then sprinkled it with Herbamare, dried thyme, and freshly ground black pepper. I baked it at 400 degrees until it was done. I never watch the time, but will occasionally check it with a fork for doneness. Take it out of the oven when the thickest part of the fillet is still a little underdone because it will continue to cook when it is out of the oven. This ensures that it doesn't get overdone and dry out from too much cooking.
The yams I peeled and cut into half moons then tossed in olive oil and sea salt. The trick to cooking these properly is to only place a single layer in the pan (use two pans if need be). I cooked them at 400 degrees until done, about 45 minutes.
The collard greens I rinsed off and then cut chiffonade, which is a technique of cutting where you stack the greens on top of each other and then roll them tightly. Slice them with a sharp knife into long, thin strips. I cooked them according to my recipe for Apple Spiced Collard Greens from my Cookbook.
Please comment below and let us know what is Your Ideal Meal!