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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Ways to Eat Your Greens

I am always recommending that people consume 2 bunches of leafy greens (about 2 lbs.) a day and the most common responses I receive are, "Why are greens so important?"Followed by, "How do I prepare them?" I decided to prepare a list of ideas and recipes for you to get you started. Once you get the hang of it I am sure you'll be creating awesome recipes yourself.

If you don't know the importance of eating greens I recommend the book Green for Life . I just watched Greens Can Save Your Life and it has so much valuable information. It's incredibly important to vary your greens. Here is a list of common leafy greens that you can use in the following recipes. The cool thing about adding two bunches of leafy greens to your diet is that it gradually squeezes out the "junk" that we shouldn't be eating. Instead of just eliminating foods and wondering what to eat I like to start by ADDING to your current diet and then after fitting in your quota of greens see how much room is left for the other "stuff".

Juices/Liquid

  • Wheatgrass Orange Juice
  • Green Lemonade or a fast version I use is: 2 T lemon juice, 1 packet of stevia, 2 T of juiced greens & 8 oz water.
  • Check out Mehgan chugging down this green drink version with TONS of Vitamineral Green. WOW!
  • Kale & jicama juice: juice 1 bunch kale w/ 1 jicama (peeled) This tastes much like an unripe banana. Don't ask how, but it does!
  • Green Juice: 1 bunch spinach, 1 head celery, and 1 cucumber ( this is a common juice prepared at Tree of Life)
  • RawModel's Spicy Green MSM Tonic

Smoothies

Savory Green Energy Soups (Benefits)

Salads

  • Alexis's Massaged Green Salad ( mash it together with your hands)

    1/2 (or more) bunch kale chopped
    1 ripe mango chopped
    1/2 ripe avo chopped
    1 small, ripe lemon juiced
    1 jalapeno diced
    1 green onion chopped
  • Check out this video w/ my kids preparing a Massaged Greens Salad
  • Prepare Zucchini Hummus ( minus lemon, cumin, paprika & added red bell pepper, & cayenne pepper ) and massage it into a green of your choice. I like spinach myself.
  • Courtney's Spirulina Salad

Snacks

  • Shake a bag of lettuce with a squeeze of lemon or lime in a bag and eat them fresh like chips.
  • Kale Chips

Dessert

If you have a favorite green recipe, don't hesitate to share it in the comments below!

8 comments:

Brittani said...

The recipie is simple, but I was pleasntly suprised when I drank it this morning!

1 Banana
6 grapes
1 small honey apple
1.5 cups of spinach
Water

It was just the right amount of sweet!!!

Caroline said...

Because of your blog, I started incorporating more greens into my diet (a couple months ago) and I notice a big difference in my hair and nails so evidently I was not getting enough calcium before...yikes!

I could live for green smoothies...I never make a smoothie sans greens anymore.

About Me said...

Great post, Lori! Spirulina salad woohoo!!!

R3 Method Show said...

I always put my wheatgrass shot in my smoothie, but never thought of putting in in oj. THanks a mil!

anne said...

i loved "green for life", that book changed my life. i can't think of a better way to start your day, than with a green smoothie. those babies are delicious and addictive!

Jenni said...

I just wanted to thank you for posting the massaged green salad recipe/idea. I loved the video of your kids making it - and I was so inspired I made the salad too. I have made it twice in the last week and am surprised at how full I am. I had no idea that you could mash down that huge pile of spinach into such a tiny serving. No wonder you get so full! Anyway loved the recipe - thank you for your wonderful blog. I'm a new reader and really enjoy your posts.

Jim said...

Hi Lori

Any advice on ensuring you get the right amount of protein through a raw food oriented diet?

You cover a lot of health benefits of fruits and vegeatables but I try and follow a paleo oriented diet (aka Mark Sissons and marksdailyapple.com). All the paleo thinking points to more meat and fat requirements in our diets.

I am concerned to learn more about how to get enough protein on a raw diet. Your daily diet plan looks like its a bit skewed to fruit and veggies, but i don't see where the protein kicks in.

Thanks!!

Jim

Lori Painter said...

Jim, I know it sounds crazy that I don't eat meat. I do however eat plenty of amino acids in the form of raw leafy greens that convert into protein in the body. I do consume fat from avocados, nuts, & oils however in the past I consumed far too many. I would suggest you read a book called 80/10/10 by Dr Douglas Graham. There are also several informative videos on protein myths on youtube if you search that title. Please feel free to email me for further info.