Archive for February, 2010

Power foods? Really?

by Robyn Openshaw on February 16, 2010 in Raw Food with 14 Comments
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I saw a People Magazine article last week about 10 “power foods.” They listed agave, along with the aggressively marketed, uber-expensive acai and goji berries. Now I’m not going to diss acai and goji, which are certainly high in antioxidants.

But if you’re trying to adhere to a budget, do you really want to pay $10 to $60 a pound for these “power foods” from thousands of miles away from your home, when you can buy oranges and apples for $0.69/lb.? Their antioxidant levels may not be as high, but they’re wonderful foods grown close to home that won’t break the bank, and IF YOU EAT THEM REGULARLY they can be an important part of an aggressive anti-disease and pro-energy healthy diet.

Not too exotic, I know. And if you have lots of discretionary income, great. Eat interesting little berries from mountain ranges all the way across the world. (I do really like goji, though I justify the cost only now and then.)

But meantime, common sense suggests that if you stick to greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains grown near you, you’ll be JUST FINE.

As for agave being a power food, no way.

WHAT?! You offer agave in the group buy and it’s in your recipes, GreenSmoothieGirl! WHAT. ARE. YOU. SAYING!

My friends, it is much preferable than sugar. If you get a reputable brand that certifies it to be raw and organic, you should use it for treats that are alternatives to junk food.

But no concentrated sweetener is a power food–except maybe honey, because of its pollen content and anti-bacterial properties. (Still really high in calories. Use it sparingly.)

Anyway, I rolled my eyes at the People article, so mainstream and dumbed down. But I guess nobody wants to hear that boring old broccoli, or almonds, or raw sweet potatoes, are power foods. Yawn. We want something NEW!

People are always writing me, “What do you think of Dr. X’s heart-disease preventing supplement?” “What do you think of emu oil?”

I haven’t studied every new, well-marketed product out there. But keep in mind that for every drop of something-or-other you can squeeze out of the poor emu, or every new pill full of “natural” stuff, there’s a bunch of people sitting around a boardroom strategizing on how a study they pay for can “prove” that you simply must have it to heal 30 different maladies.

I don’t mean to sound cynical. Try it if it’s in your budget. But now and then I like to pull everybody who might be listening, back to the straight and narrow road. That is, simple, whole, unadulterated plant foods. Those we KNOW will heal us and prevent all the awful things we’d rather not die of. If you’re reading the Emu Oil ad online while eating your second Hostess Ding Dong of the day, an examination of priorities might be in order.

Just my $0.02.

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here are a few things I have from the group buy

by Robyn Openshaw on February 13, 2010 in Raw Food with 15 Comments
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Hi, just back from watching soccer and hiking in St. George, and I picked up the big mis-delivered order from Las Vegas as promised, those of you waitlisted whom I told I would get you the almonds, dates, shredded coconut, and cashews.

By the way, we stayed in the most FABULOUS suite, GREAT price, too, in historic downtown:
www.thompsonmansion.com (prices were half what is shown on the website). I highly recommend it to anyone who visits St. George! Big, beautifully decorated, personal service, family owned. And a kitchenette with refrigerator for my cooler full of green smoothies I always travel with!

Turns out I also have

2 boxes chia seed ($117.50 for 25#)
1 box raw pumpkin seeds ($87.45 for 27.5#)
1 box raw sunflower seeds ($40.50 for 25#)
3 gal. coconut oil ($125 for 3 separate gallons)
1 box organic flaxseed ($41 for 25#)

First come, first served–if you want any of this, write me at robyn@oppublishing.net.

Oh, and thanks for all the birthday wishes on Facebook–loved seeing those on my blackberry while I was gone, so kind of y’all!

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by Meghan on February 12, 2010 in Raw Food with 3 Comments
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Happy Birthday, Robyn!!  Have a spectacular day and weekend!!

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Locals, a brand new CSA! Shares available—but not for long.

by GSG Admin on February 12, 2010 in Raw Food with 3 Comments
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I’m excited to announce to folks in Utah County that Dale Allred, the brother-in-law of one of my closest friends (Wendy, who had a LOT to do with the start of GreenSmoothieGirl.com) is starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). It’s a organic, non-hybridized farm, with greenhouses, in West Orem, with 10 acres he is leasing. He’s been in agribusiness his whole life, consulting all over the U.S. and Mexico, and he firmly believes that the way we grow food is unsustainable.
He is selling shares and I agreed to promote the CSA only if my readers got the FIRST SHOT at his 100 shares before he puts the word out elsewhere. I CAN VIRTUALLY GUARANTEE YOU HE WILL SELL OUT LONG BEFORE THE FIRST HARVEST. It’ll cost you about $15 per person, or $30, for a mid-size share to feed two adults. That’s a competitive price, comparable to other CSA’s. Each week you pick up your produce, whatever he’s harvesting that week. He asked me what I wanted and I told him lots of fun things (like Bell Organic does, LOVE them but don’t love the drive up to Draper)—with a heavy emphasis on greens, especially the mild-tasting ones like spinach, kale, collards, etc.

Here’s the site to get your share: heritageharvest.net.

Besides being organic and having a great location, the most exciting thing about Heritage Harvest is that it will be YEAR ROUND because Dale knows all about winter growing. And if you sign up for a share now, you’ll have right of first refusal for the next season, and the next. I believe the seasons are 14 weeks long. Can you believe he’s planning to have organic tomatoes and bell peppers harvesting at the END OF MAY, in the first season? I have never gotten any before late July at the earliest! I am really excited about this, can you tell?
I’m announcing this FIRST to my super loyal blog readers who I love THE MOST. Next week I’ll send an email to my 450 email list of locals. So jump on this opportunity. “Go in” with a friend on a share if you’re not sure about it.

Because GSG.com readers could probably easily sell out the shares, Dale wanted to know what I want from him. I told him I’d like to see his web site feature recipes and ideas to USE the produce, especially uses that don’t required heating the food (and therefore killing enzymes). Also check out your Chapter 5 of 12 Steps to Whole Foods.

So jump in now and let your friends know. Let’s lock up all 100 shares for all you GreenSmoothieGirls out there (and GreenSmoothieGuys):

Heritageharvest.net

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Crazy times in Peru. Can you help?

by Robyn Openshaw on February 10, 2010 in Raw Food with 1 Comment
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You know I went to Peru with my daughter to serve the Sunflower Orphanage near Urubamba. After we were there, it poured rain in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, nonstop for 4 days and 4 nights. You may have heard about people being airlift-rescued out of Machu Picchu.

The hotel we stayed in? Destroyed. The restaurant we ate in? Destroyed. 30,000 homes gone. The Amazon rose to 4 times its normal height–and even when we were there, I stared at it for the 90-min. train ride to Machu Picchu, as it is the wildest river I’ve ever seen.

I’m glad to report that the orphanage (well located high on the hill) and all the kids are fine. The kids cleaned and widened the drainage systems the week before (Leo might be inspired?). Other families whose homes were destroyed climbed up to the orphanage for safety. Their school is okay. But the farm we planted in, that feeds the kids, was washed out. The clothes we sent have been given to many displaced people living in tents.

Another orphanage close by was destroyed, and 12 orphans desperately need a place to stay. Could you help by sponsoring a child? Here’s the link to do so, and may God bless you for helping:

http://www.genhu.org/greensmoothiegirl.html

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Doing a green smoothie clinic / book signing FEB. 19

by Robyn Openshaw on February 9, 2010 in Raw Food with 29 Comments
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Locals:

Runner’s Corner and Beyond Sports: Taekwondo are jointly hosting a GREEN SMOOTHIE CLINIC AND BOOK SIGNING that I will be doing on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.

(That’s a Friday. It leaves time for you to catch dinner or a movie afterward. Class is one hour, and I’ll stay after to sign books and chat / answer questions.)

It’s free, and you’re welcome to come!

139 S. State St. #13
Lindon, Utah
(turn at the China Lily)

I hope to meet some of you locals there! If you want to invite someone, just point them to this blog entry for details. The class will be very information-dense, and fun!

Reply on this blog if you’re planning to come so I can get an idea how many, okay?

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God created the Earth. Who created HMO’s?

by Robyn Openshaw on February 6, 2010 in Raw Food with 6 Comments
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My friend Claudia sent this to me two years ago and I just stumbled on it again:

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God’s great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, “You want chocolate with that?” And Man said, “Yes!” and Woman said, “and as long as you’re at it, add some sprinkles.” And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, “Try my fresh green salad.” And Satan presented Thousand-Island dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts.

God then said, “I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them.” And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it “Angel Food Cake,” and said, “It is good.” Satan then created chocolate cake and named it “Devil’s Food.”

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald’s and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, “You want fries with that?” And Man replied, “Yes! And super size them!” And Satan said, “It is Good.” And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.

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to answer the question “Do I have more almonds” . . .

by Robyn Openshaw on February 4, 2010 in Raw Food with 2 Comments
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Amanda asked, do I have any almonds left?

Well, no. And there are NONE to be had until we do the group buy again in the fall.

BUT. We mistakenly shipped an order to Las Vegas, and I am going there Valentine’s Day weekend for my daughters’ soccer tournaments. I will pick up the 250 lbs. of almonds (five boxes), as well as a box of cashews, dates, and shredded coconut.

LOCALS, if you want any of that, first-come, first-served, write me at robyn@oppublishing.net. I’ll keep a waitlist and let you know when I’m home with it on the 15th.

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junior affiliate?

by Robyn Openshaw on February 2, 2010 in Raw Food with 1 Comment
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So I was volunteering in the lunchroom and recess at my 4th grader’s charter school. One of the moms came up to me and said she was a GSG.com fan and had my 12 Steps program and recipe collections. To prove it, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a whole cucumber, and took a bite. (LOL!)

She said, “Know how I learned about your site? Your daughter Libby walked up to me two years ago in the lunchroom and said, ‘Hey. My mom has a web site. It’s called GreenSmoothieGirl.com. You should go there.’”

I couldn’t stop laughing! I told 12 y.o. Libby later that day when she got home all about becoming a GSG affiliate. Let’s see what she can do in school cafeterias, ha! (The best part is that she is my most resistant child, nutritionally.)

I’ve approved lots of affiliates in the last two days, from Norway to New Zealand to Tanzania. They have a green smoothie dog web site or a P.E. certification web site; they are a health coach, a network marketer, a handmade soap maker, a healing center owner, a detox specialist, a La Leche League counselor, a bunch of family bloggers, a celiac blogger, a jewelry designer, and lots more.

Welcome all–I love the diversity!

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Affiliate program official kick-off today

by GSG Admin on February 1, 2010 in Newsletter, Raw Food with 2 Comments
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My newsletter went out this morning about our affiliate program (see below), and I just went in and approved tons of new affiliates. It’s fun to read about their varying backgrounds, web sites and marketing strategies! People who have signed up so far today are a doula, a chef, a natural beef rancher, fitness instructors, a green smoothie blogger, VitaMix and BlendTec demo reps, a bath/beauty product developer, a holistic doctor, and herb store owner. Others own web sites dedicated to high school soccer, green living, raw food, cooking, dog training, homeschooling, vegetarians.

You are all so welcome on my site and I am honored that you would promote my information products to the world. I hope to help you in the one thing we all have in common: a desire to help others be healthy.

Here’s the newsletter that went out this morning:

We have been working on this so long, with hundreds of folks waitlisted . . . thank you for being patient . . . drum roll please . . .

Please join the GreenSmoothieGirl.com affiliate program!

What’s an affiliate program? I’m so glad you asked!

Many popular web sites have one. If you are an affiliate, you get your own unique URL. You send people through that link to join 12 Steps to Whole Foods, or get recipe collections, or anything else on the site. And you get a commission of 20% of all purchases on information products, payable monthly via PayPal.

Any time someone you’ve referred, through your link, comes BACK to the site and makes a purchase, they are “cookied” and therefore track to you forever, and you continue to be paid 20%–or 30% if you reach $1,000 in any month.

It’s a beautiful thing if you have a blog or web site, or if you teach classes, or if you run a co-op, or if you do BlendTec or VitaMix Costco demos. Or if you’re just a big green smoothie fan and want to share the love. We regularly get mail saying “I send everyone to your site.” You can now be compensated for that as well as help people implement good nutrition in their lives.

If you sign up as an affiliate, you can click through to a link to get your own customized business cards with your unique GSG URL on it.

Here’s the link to sign up.

After you sign up, you can grab some banner ads to put on your web site or blog. Just talk about whatever your favorite products are and put the banner ad out there for people to click on. It’s really simple! Our affiliate program has a robust back end where you can log in and see your sales as the month progresses.

Then, if someone you know buys 12 Steps to Whole Foods: The Complete Course, you get paid $30. This can be truly residual income, since you don’t have to touch the product or even the customer to make sales.

If you are a doctor or health food store owner, by purchasing physical product to stock in your practice or store shelves (minimum $449), you get a 30% discount, a reseller option within the affiliate program. (That’s 3 full-course kits, or 6 course manuals.) My information products teach people how and why to use the products sold in health food stores. Just indicate in the affiliate signup process, in the marketing plan section, that you want to be considered as a reseller, and you’ll be sent a coupon code for 30% off purchases that meet that minimum.

We need more people out there helping others learn to eat whole foods. (We as a culture have forgotten how!) Everything I’m doing on this site is to that end. I hope the affiliate program incentivizes you to spend a little of your time doing so. MANY of you who read this site are incredible in the way you teach and inspire others to eat a high-raw, whole-foods lifestyle! GO YOU!!

To Your Health,

Robyn Openshaw

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