Archive for April, 2009

Green Smoothie Testimonials, Part 9

by Robyn Openshaw on April 16, 2009 in Raw Food with 2 Comments
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More green smoothie testimonials from my research:

We love green smoothies at our house. I am a homeschooling mom of four children. Three of my children drink smoothies because they love them, and one child drinks her smoothies because it’s a good health choice. I try to vary the ingredients here and there so that they don’t get bored with them. We drink them first thing in the morning. I also have been known to feed them to neighbor children who then will ask to have more! Also, they are pretty tasty as popsicles: I am sure they lose some nutrition being frozen, but the kids love them!

-Melanie H.

My family and I have been drinking green smoothie for 8 months. It has been our addiction. If I miss a day, I feel it and crave it instead of cake. My kids who are 9 and 6 actually ask me for them, so they have some before school. I no longer have pre-hypertension and I have lost 25 lbs. My husband no longer has to take his cholesterol medication and has lost weight. My best friend now gives it to her whole family and staff everyday. And another friend who just completed chemo will be starting also. Thank you!

-Lisa James

I look forward every morning to drinking my green smoothie because I know that it is a delicious, healthy, and empowering way to start my day. I now have my husband converted and my college-age son who needs good nutrition because most of the other things he grabs during the day are fast, on-the-go type foods. I feel full of raw goodness and do not need to eat anything else for most of the morning.

-Ciel M.

Hi, I’m 17 and a raw vegan and green smoothies have changed my life! I always felt tired and cranky and always a little hungry but as soon as I added green smoothies, I felt AWESOME! They give me everything I need, I love my green smoothies!

-Brendon Clarke-Pepper

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Three generations with green smoothie mustaches!

by Robyn Openshaw on April 12, 2009 in Raw Food with 10 Comments
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These photos were sent to me by Pat M., a GreenSmoothieGirl.com reader, who has converted her son and granddaughter to the GS habit!

Thanks Pat—I love this! Posted here with permission.

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The Smiths, and a tagline for GreenSmoothieGirl.com

by Robyn Openshaw on April 10, 2009 in Raw Food with 10 Comments
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So I have been dating this really great guy named Craig for a while.  (Not my dentist.  Different Craig.)  He told me this week that his favorite band of all time is The Smiths, and they have two songs called

Meat is Murder

and

Whole Foods Saved My Life

Pretty awesome, right?  Sometimes you find something that helps you so much that you want to just tell everyone . . . or write a rock song about it, lol!  I really need to find that last song because I just really can’t imagine the lyrics being too great.  Not the catchiest song title.

But, that said, we just had a logo contest and chose a rather businesslike but fresh-looking GreenSmoothieGirl logo for this site.  And we had another one that my biz partner Kelly and I didn’t dare put on the homepage and brand us with . . . because it’s so darn sexy.  But we want it on a t-shirt.  I’ll figure out how to blog it here and you can tell me if you’d wear a t-shirt with that logo.

We’re looking for a back-of-the-tshirt tagline.  My partner Tim wants a “badass” tagline.  I was thinking  more like catchy, hot, or cool, haha.  Any of y’all have any ideas?  Frontrunners (I think I took this first one from GSG reader Tonya) are

Drink Your Salad

Got Greens?

Helping You Eat Whole Foods

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What my dentist says about whole foods . . . and one really cool testimonial

by Robyn Openshaw on April 8, 2009 in Raw Food with 8 Comments
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I went to the dentist for a cleaning yesterday. My friend Craig is my dentist, and before he looked at my (perfect, cavity-free) x-rays, we chatted about life for a while. He is jealous that I can work from home with the freedom to do things with my kids. He said this to me:

“I would love to take a year off like you are doing at the university. And if I did, I’d start a business like what you’re doing with your books and GreenSmoothieGirl. Because people should know something important about their dental health. That is, it doesn’t matter how many carbs you eat. You can eat fruit all day long. It would not affect your teeth at all. What rots your teeth is REFINED carbohydrates. If people would stop eating sugar, they wouldn’t get cavities. But eat the whole grains, fruits, complex carbs—they’re great.”

So mull that over, as I have been. Someone in the dentistry community should be out front telling people that! And today I got this very eye-opening testimonial in an email. Remember my materials on oxalates in Chapter 1 of 12 Steps? This is interesting:

I have medulary sponge kidney disease that causes me to make kidney stones. My urologist sees me every 6 months to keep an eye on things. I started drinking green smoothies about 5 weeks ago, having 2 a day most days. I lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks, and haven’t gained it back. About 10 days ago I had an ultrasound of my kidneys and 5 days ago I had the usual blood work done. I recently noticed my face (I’m always complimented on my youthful appearance) glowing–and my husband obviously thought so because he reached out to stroke my cheek with the back of his hand. I asked if I had food on my face and he said, “No.” And then he stroked my cheek again.

Back to today’s check-up with my urologist. He was very pleased, saying, “You always have many kidney stones in both kidneys–usually the left has more than the right, but they both have multiple stones. Your scan shows NO stones in the left, and a stone the size of a pin point in the right kidney.” He had to rock the wand forward and back to find it! He said, “You’ve lost weight. You look great! Whatever you’re doing, keep it up! I don’t need to see you for a year.”

Here’s the kicker: in the past he asked me to stay away from “high oxalate” foods such as kale and spinach since my kidney stones are calcium-oxalate stones. But, what greens have I put in my green smoothies? Kale, spinach and beet tops. And I’m better than I’ve been in YEARS AND YEARS, in terms of kidney health.

Go green smoothies!

–Cindy

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ask your questions about illness prevention and food storage

by Robyn Openshaw on April 6, 2009 in Raw Food with 14 Comments
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I am thinking about developing a telecourse on

Bulletproofing You and Your Family Against Illness and Emergency

It would cover strategies to quit getting sick (and how to treat a minor cold or virus naturally if you do get sick), and what to store against emergencies so you have good nutrition even in difficult times such as job loss, natural disasters, or economic downturns.

Would this be of value to you?  If I develop this course, what questions do you have I can answer?

Last chance, locals, to place an order in the group buy–I am extending the date you can order and postmark your check till WEDNESDAY:

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/nbulk

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Let’s talk about food and sex

by Robyn Openshaw on April 4, 2009 in Raw Food with 8 Comments
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No, this isn’t that episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza tried to combine the two in a feverish fantasy . . . and if you can’t handle some frank talk about an important part of your life, WARNING: hurry and get out of this blog and come back tomorrow.

Did you know that what you eat has EVERYTHING to do with your sex life? For you women who are having a hard time convincing your husband to get on board with your conversion to whole foods, this essay might be just the ticket.

Food affects your sex drive profoundly. And I can prove it. I now have over 175 respondents in my green smoothie questionnaire now, polling people who’ve undertaken a green smoothie habit for at least 30 days:

http://greensmoothiegirl.com/poll.html

So far, 17 percent of my respondents have reported an increased sex drive as a result of drinking green smoothies. And keep in mind that not all respondents are sexually active, and some already had a very high libido so they ignored that question. Therefore, 17 percent is likely a lower number than what you can expect, those of you considering joining us in the Gospel of Green..

Guys, your wife isn’t as into it as you are? There’s no drug better than a quart of green smoothie a day (and kicking Hostess to the curb). Give it a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If you want even more sexual energy, toss some maca or bee pollen in the blender.

In my experience working with people on their nutrition, I have found that being even 10 or 15 lbs. overweight can dramatically affect your sexuality in a negative way. So, green smoothies are an aphrodisiac–and donuts and Doritos are very literally the opposite: a sex-life stomper.

How?

First of all, you don’t like how you look 10 lbs. overweight. If you don’t like what you see in the mirror with your clothes off, you aren’t likely to be sexually willing, confident, playful, adventurous, and energetic. And what is the best way to lose ten pounds? Dieting? No way!

Just start eating the right foods like you learn to do in 12 Steps to Whole Foods. No calorie counting or carb-gram-obsessing necessary. Eat whole plant foods (and stop eating processed foods) and you’ll naturally be satisfied with whatever you eat in the right quantities.

That’s because you don’t have endocrine disruptors, hormone inhibitors, and addictive chemicals in the form of refined sugar, MSG, food dyes, refined salt, and much more destroying your sex drive and your sexual performance.

Second, when your energy is depleted, as it always will be on the Standard American Diet diet, you lose the sexual interest and stamina you once had. Sexual dysfunction happens the same way all degenerative disease does: it is linked to lifestyle choices. Your reproductive system, after all, is affected by the same things your cardiac, circulatory, and endocrine systems are—they are are inextricably linked, as they are all part of one complex organism.

When you eat lots of raw plant food, and go easy on (or eliminate) meat, dairy, and processed stuff, your body has its energy reserves available for all the fun and rewarding things in life.

For an experiment, eat at Tucano’s or Rodizio’s (or a Brazilian restaurant where they bring around meat dishes and offer you some until you can’t eat anymore). How amorous do you feel that night? I’ll answer for you: you don’t want anything except SLEEP. And the sleep you do get is troubled, and you feel sick all night.

Now try eating 100% raw plant food for a day, or longer than that. Watch what happens to your libido. And a great sex life leads to a great relationship, from which all good things flow.

I hope you give this a try. I hope my bravest readers will let us know what your observations are after your experiment on these words. Blog anonymously if that’s what it takes!

HAVE FUN! (And I mean that in the wildest, most passionate way possible.) Have you forgotten what that means? Then start drinking a DOUBLE SHOT of green smoothies!

–Robyn

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Green Smoothie Testimonials, Part 8

by Robyn Openshaw on April 2, 2009 in Raw Food with No comments
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Locals only, Sat. night midnight the group buy ends.  Here’s the link to get VitaMineral Green and agave cases, gallon pails of coconut oil, and nuts/seeds in #10 cans:

http:/www.greensmoothiegirl.com/nbulk

More green smoothie testimonials from my research:

I have been drinking green smoothies for almost a year now. They are delicious and refreshing. I have had to travel during that time period which caused me to abandon my smoothie for 10 days and I have REALLY felt the effects (fatigue). I will never stop drinking green smoothies!

–Anon.

I have been telling all my friends about the green smoothies and converted several of them to start drink them on a daily basis. My friends are all west coast dancers and energy is important for the 4-5 hours of dancing we do 2-3 nights weekly.

–Anon.

I have had an iron deficiency most of my life and the green smoothies have helped tremendously! I am losing less hair in the shower as a result. My daughters (age 6, 7, and 10) love the green smoothies! They even ask for them now and love watching me make them. It is so good to be able to give them a way to get good veggies in their diet without fighting with them. Thank you for changing our way of life.

–JoAnn Y. in Denver, CO

I have become so converted to green smoothies that I became concerned as to how to continue them in case of disaster or hard economic times when I might be unable to purchase fresh produce. So I started dehydrating the spinach, kale and parsley I grew in my garden this year. I then powdered the dried leaves and now use it during the winter to make my green smoothies.

For the juice base, I use frozen raw apple cider that my husband grinds fresh each fall with his leftover apples (he is a fruit farmer). It is now January and I use the following recipe for my super green smoothies:

I rehydrate in 1 cup hot water the following: 2 tsp. powdered kale + 1/2 tsp. powdered parsley or 2 1/2 tsp. powered spinach. Blend well and let sit for about 10 minutes until cooled. Then add 3 cups apple juice (raw, unpasteurized), 2 frozen bananas, 1 1/2 Tbsp. freshly ground flax seed, and water and ice to the 7-cup mark and thoroughly blend. This is a great option when I cannot get to the grocery store.

–Cindy P. (Alpine, Utah)

Green smoothies are now a daily part of my life! I have much more energy now and GS is a complete meal, more nutritious than eating out! I have been a vegetarian for 30 years and this has definitely improved my health! As a teacher (now retired) and a lifeguard for the Kentucky State Park System for 32 summers, green smoothies help me to stay in great shape!

–Steve House

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I have more energy at 42 than I did at 22!

by GSG Admin on April 1, 2009 in Newsletter with No comments
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Thanks again for signing up for my free newsletter.  See, I was just like you might be.  I found myself in a place I hated: sluggish, 15 pounds overweight, suffering with a variety of health problems . . . and I was only 25 years old!

But that’s a story you already know well, because millions of people can tell that story.

Where I’ve come since then is the tale you’ll find much more interesting, I think.  Because it represents the way out of the nightmare for you, too.  The mess that is the modern American lifestyle of overweight, energy drain, and failing health.  There’s only one way out of that mess.  It’s a straight path.  And it’s the road less traveled.

I am teaching, on GreenSmoothieGirl.com, my recipe collections, my blog, my 12 Steps to Whole Foods course, and my new book The Green Smoothie Diet, and this newsletter what that path is.

I got to that straight and narrow path through a fairly zigzaggy way . . .

But first, the cataclysmic moment when I knew something had to change.  I had a 15-month old baby who was desperately ill.  He was just fine until I quit breastfeeding him at 7 months old.  Then, on formula and then eventually cow’s milk, he was mucousy and coughing, constantly ill, sickly and miserable, up all night wheezing.  This went on for many months.

The pediatrician gave Kincade lots of syrups and pills and inhaled drugs.  He was always drugged up.  The meds may or may not have sometimes slowed the symptoms (I never was really sure), but one thing was certain: my little boy wasn’t getting healthier.  And the doc told me the steroids were “guaranteed” to stunt his growth.

After quite a few months of this, I realized one thing very clearly, even if a lot of other things were still fuzzy for me.  And that things was, doctors were not going to solve my little son’s health problems.  After this information settled in for a while, in a terrifying way, I made a second realization: I, and I alone—not doctors or anyone else–was responsible for finding the information that WOULD solve Kincade’s problems.

A series of coincidences (that I now believe were inspiration, not coincidences) led me to study nutrition.  I learned that a diet rich in raw vegetables and fruits, with whole grains and legumes and nuts and seeds as complements, might help my son.

Little did I know that it would actually save the whole family—including children not yet born.

A radical shift took place, not over a year or over an extended period of time, but literally overnight.

We were done with steroids.  Done with bronchodilators.  Done with cough syrups.  Done with late-night emergency room visits.  Cold turkey, just like that, we were done with fatigue, and all-night coughing, and stressed-out-Mom tears, and “What do I do?” after-hours calls to the nurse, and counting breaths per minute, and rocking a baby who was turning blue.

All because I got him off dairy products and sugar and white flour . . . and onto green smoothies and whole foods.

What we undertook was a lifestyle of eating—in this order—greens, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and unadulterated oils.

That sounds like drudgery, but more than 250 recipes and dozens of video demos in my course show you otherwise.  You can eat like a king—food with vibrant, complex flavors and textures—enjoying life . . . while returning your body to a state of health!

I developed GreenSmoothieGirl.com to make your path less zigzaggy.  Writing and developing recipes for 12 Steps to Whole Foods http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/12-step-blog/12-step-program/ was a labor of love to flatten that learning curve for you, so it doesn’t take you 15 years of trying hundreds of different things.  You can do it a much more linear way!

To Your Health,

–Robyn Openshaw

p.s.  I’ll tell you more about my story later!

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