Green Smoothie fast buddy? [Archive]

Mary Kay

03-20-2010, 11:22 PM

Hi Joyce09,

I'd like to be your buddy. I'm just beginning a GS fast, maybe occasionally raw-juice only during it. I'd like to go about 30 days ---but am allowing myself to be open. Am doing it for health reasons and am really excited that I can also have the bonus of losing weight.

But I have seen others use the fasting as a tool to keep their weight down --And I wonder if they're not bingeing between fasts...and absolutely don't want to do it for this reason. But frankly, after fasting I have always gained back most, but not all of what I've lost and once I was able to, binged my own self. Sigh.

Your reasons for doing it? any specific? or just in general, cleansing.

I am slowly ---er too slowly --kind of stalling ---into a fast this time. Like eating less and less and upping the juices/green smoothies. I'm also gradually limiting any carbs/ sweets. The minute I get a headache, I'm slowing it down with a little solid food. Some cooked, some not vegan, because I am not willing/able to suffer, being a busy mother. I hope to be officially fasting within the next couple days.

I just got a case each of cukes, red peppers and lacinato kale, so I pretty much have to fast to use this up, if I want to keep them fresh without dehydrating or freezing! LOL.

Mary Kay

joyce09

03-20-2010, 11:35 PM

Mary Kay, Glad that you responded. I am doing GS to speed up detox. After being almost all raw for 4 months, I have not had any obvious detox symtoms or weight loss. (To reach my ideal weight, I would like to release 15 pounds which I put on about 2 years ago and have not been able to lose.:( )

I did GS fast for over one week earlier this month and really liked the simplicity of it. I am getting tired of spending so much time planning and making raw dishes. GS fast simplifies things. I was actually quite content in that earlier GS fast, but the sweetness of fruit got to me. I guess I put too little greens and too much sweet fruit into my GS. But I think I will be OK if I take wheatgrass everyday. I did not lose any weight in that GS fast either. My weight remains steady these 4 months.

I hope to go for 40 days.

Aleesha Sattva

03-21-2010, 10:52 AM

Joyce, just so you know... then no food discussion part is "Last night my hubby was eating a burger in front of me and the kids were eating tacos and it was too much for me. I needed to have a bite." Not... I used some kale, spinach and banana in a smoothie.

It's about causing someone else to perhaps have a craving or give into one because of what they read, not about sharing what yummy foods we use to make our juice or smoothie (which are very similar except you don't juice a banana LOL)

So if you decide you want to join us ... please feel free. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x87/recyclinggoddess/fruitline.gif

joyce09

03-21-2010, 11:45 AM

Thank you, Aleesha. I do appreciate your thread rule. If I were doing a water fast, I would not want to see foods mentioned at all in the thread I take active part in. I will join you when I progress to doing a water fast/juice fast. I am glad that we have you around to encourage fast-ers.

Mary Kay

03-21-2010, 12:28 PM

Joyce09, I'm shooting for tomorrow to officially begin no solid food. Maybe I'll go the full 40 days with you....we'll see how it goes.

I think when I've done juice fasts in the past and green smooothie fasts, I've also made the same mistake and eaten too many sweet fruits. I'm going to gradually cut it back to no sweet ones this time.

My health issues did not ALL resolve because of the fruits too. Wanna see if they will this time with little/no sweet fruits.

Also really trying to keep my pH up high. Been doing the cheap way out with some baking soda right before bed. Tested with two diff't kinds of pH strips this morning. FIRST urine was 7.5. Not bad for a first urine.

Robert Young says you should be at least 8 first thing in the a.m. when trying to heal something. That's tough to do without the baking soda --He sells an expensive pHour Salts that supposedly helps too. it's baking soda plus other similar things. I'm just having a hard time believing it's okay to alkalize your stomach acids during the day, so will only do this at night.

He's not my end-all guru, but I'm keeping an open mind. I know someone who cured her breast cancer because she followed him (he was her end-all guru - LOL) and I'm having some breast lymph node issues that I'm hoping were just from a tight bra, but even if not, fasting with a high pH should help it.

Got a full tray of primo wheatgrass and another baby one catching up, plus three cases of stuff, as I mentioned. I'm ready!!! Will start soaking some sunflowers here too for some sunnie shoots. and broccoli sprouts......Hey, I'm trying !!!!

You grow any of your own sprouts/grass etc?

Mary Kay

Aleesha Sattva

03-21-2010, 01:25 PM

Mary Kay, green juices are healing while fruit juices are cleansing and if it's healing you want... the greener the better. Try to add a head of celery to your juicing day as well.

I've tried juicing romaine, not too fond of it but kale is lovely and sooooo green. Herbs are greens as well so a bunch of parsley is a beautiful addition to juice.

Ginger and garlic are good additions as well. Garlic will assist with parasite removal and ginger will warm you if you are feeling chilled.

joyce09

03-21-2010, 04:06 PM

I was trying to correct my ph reading with more greens and vegetables for a couple of years...without much success. Then around the end of Feb. I drank about 12 oz. of homegrown wheatgrass juice per day for about 10 days. And my ph reading shot to over 7! And those days were also the only time in my 4-month-raw period when I felt a surge of energy. But I overdid it and did not want any wheatgrass juice for a couple of weeks afterwards (not because I so disliked wheatgrass juice--it was OK with lemon juice, but because it was so time-consuming to make all that wheatgrass juice). And my ph reading slid back to acid. Now I re-start taking wheatgrass juice. I take about 4 oz a day and hope to do it long-term.

sjpersonal

03-22-2010, 12:50 PM

Mary Kay

03-22-2010, 07:51 PM

joyce09

03-23-2010, 12:00 AM

Hi, I would love to join you as I was looking for such a group. Good luck to us all. Do you plan to post your weight I will update my signature every Monday. I will be taking MSM daily and adding both flax seed and hemp oil to my smoothies.

My exercise routine is doing Slim In 6 in the am walking after work and Curves Saturdays and Sundays.

Glad that we have one more member.
I don't want to focus on weight because it has been my major focus...and my weight has not moved in my four months of almost all raw. I need to release 15 pounds to reach my ideal weight. I will let you know when my weight starts to move. Otherwise I will try to forget about it and just focus on health benefits of GS.

I have been reading GREEN FOR LIFE and am very encouraged.

You grow any of your own sprouts/grass etc?

I grow wheatgrass in my spare bathroom tub.

CathyA.

03-23-2010, 09:49 AM

I love that you use your extra tub to grow wheat grass. You are brilliant!:cool: Not doing a GS fast but I do GS for breakfast and lunch.

Have a fast-tastic day.

sjpersonal

03-23-2010, 11:16 AM

Welcome Sjpersonal. Thanks for the reminder. No time now to go change my signature , but I weigh 140, not 132 like my sig says. I was down to 132 but gained it back. Sigh.

I was hungry today - the first day, but just kept drinking. Didn't work out either....May try to at least get a tiny bit of rebounding in after the kids go to bed.

Oh, btw, Mondays are my check-in/official weigh-in days too....

Mary Kay
Mary Kay,

I had 4 (24) oz cups of GS yesterday and a lot of water. That's right half of my day was spent in the ladies room. I am so greatful that I have a private office with my own rest room LOL! But I hung in there at least unti I got home. My niece decided to make stuffed mushrooms with crab last night. I only ate one and they were not very big so I did not beat myself up. What I did do is make a GS and add a tablespoon of Physillium Husk powder to it. Then I went for my walk.

Yesterday was a pretty good day.

sjpersonal

03-23-2010, 11:21 AM

Glad that we have one more member.
I don't want to focus on weight because it has been my major focus...and my weight has not moved in my four months of almost all raw. I need to release 15 pounds to reach my ideal weight. I will let you know when my weight starts to move. Otherwise I will try to forget about it and just focus on health benefits of GS.

I have been reading GREEN FOR LIFE and am very encouraged.

I grow wheatgrass in my spare bathroom tub.
Hi Joyce, I am not just concentrating on the weight but the weight is partly responsible for some of my health issues, such as my knees hurting and being out of breath trying to get up stairs. I am only 47, the women in my family on my mom's side do not age badly, meaning very very few wrinkles and they do not start getting grey until their late 60's. What we do have a problem with is the spreading of the hips. We tend to be a bunch of short round women, with diabetes, heart problems etx.

This is what I am fighting, so that is why losing weight is a priority for me.

btw, how do you multi quote in your answers, I cannot seem to figure that out.

joyce09

03-23-2010, 11:46 AM

Hi Joyce, I am not just concentrating on the weight but the weight is partly responsible for some of my health issues, such as my knees hurting and being out of breath trying to get up stairs. I am only 47, the women in my family on my mom's side do not age badly, meaning very very few wrinkles and they do not start getting grey until their late 60's. What we do have a problem with is the spreading of the hips. We tend to be a bunch of short round women, with diabetes, heart problems etx.

This is what I am fighting, so that is why losing weight is a priority for me.

btw, how do you multi quote in your answers, I cannot seem to figure that out.

I totally sympathize with anyone's focus on weight. I have focused so much on weight...and have made myself miserable. So I am trying to get away from this focus. I don't have a scale at home now. I weigh when I go to my gym.

I don't know how to multi quote in a simple way. I quote one person and reply and submit that to the forum; then I quote another person and write my reply andd I copy the whole thing; then I "edit" my first reply by pasting my copied 2rd reply. Is that clear? ;) Pretty complicated. I also wonder how others do it

I love that you use your extra tub to grow wheat grass. You are brilliant!:cool: Not doing a GS fast but I do GS for breakfast and lunch.

Have a fast-tastic day.

Thank you Cathy for dropping by. Please stop by to talk about GS from time to time.

Welcome Sjpersonal. Thanks for the reminder. No time now to go change my signature , but I weigh 140, not 132 like my sig says. I was down to 132 but gained it back. Sigh.

I was hungry today - the first day, but just kept drinking. Didn't work out either....May try to at least get a tiny bit of rebounding in after the kids go to bed.

Do you know the reason you lost weight and the reason you regained the weight?

Were you drinking enough GS? It seems to me GS can be quite filling. Maybe you used too many fruits that could cause high blood sugar rush?

Emma Jane

03-23-2010, 02:12 PM

Damn, I'm sorry I didn't see this thread earlier! I'm planning on starting a GS feast when I get home from college (a week or a week and a half) - so I might join ya part-way thru if anyone's still on it then! Otherwise I'll just start a new feasting thread hehe ;) XxX

joyce09

03-23-2010, 02:37 PM

I'm planning on starting a GS feast when I get home from college (a week or a week and a half) - so I might join ya part-way thru if anyone's still on it then! Otherwise I'll just start a new feasting thread hehe ;) XxX

Certainly all of us will still be on it.

Emma Jane

03-23-2010, 03:17 PM

Good stuff! I'll keep following this thread :D XxX

joyce09

03-24-2010, 02:01 AM

I found the following article in my “personal archive.” I think I got it from the website of V. Boutenko. It is also in her book GREEN FOR LIFE. I just want to share it with my fellow GS fasters for encouragement.

“One day, while reading a book on biology, I became intrigued by the amazingly tough composition of plants. Apparently cellulose, the main constituent of plants, has one of the strongest molecular structures on the
planet, because it is one of the longest and most complex carbohydrate molecules. From this I understood that in order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break down these tough structures. However, cellulose is insoluble. That means in order to get nutrients, its structure has to be broken into the tiniest pieces, preferably down to the molecules. In simple words, we need to chew our
greens to a creamy consistency in order to get the benefits….

After about a month (of drinking GS) when a couple of my warts and moles peeled off my body and when I definitely felt more energized than before, I started sharing my experience with my family and friends. The next thing I noticed was that those little cravings I'd had once in a while for heavy foods like nuts or crackers, especially in the evening, had totally disappeared. I noticed that many of my wrinkles on my face went away and I began to hear compliments from other people about my fresh look. Also my nails became stronger. Another bonus I got was a wonderful taste in the mouth, all the time, even upon waking in the morning. I hadn't had this pleasure since childhood....
Another two months later his (V.B.’s husband’s) mustache and his beard started growing blacker, which made his face look a lot younger. Both of our children
enjoyed including this tasty green drink in their daily menu and even though they were already experiencing great health, noticed even more benefits,like the ability to sleep less, more complete elimination, stronger nails,and most of all the improvement in their teeth, which became less sensitive.

Now I couldn't imagine my life without my
green smoothies, as it has become 80% of my diet.

My web designer began to crave more raw foods as
a result of rather irregular helpings of smoothie and lost 15 pounds in a couple of months. The woman from the office across the road got rid of her ecsema, drinking a cup of green smoothie almost every day.

Green Smoothie Facts:
Green smoothies are very nutritious and easy to digest. The ratio of about 60% fruit and 40% greens is optimal. When blended (in Vitamix or Blendtec) most of the cells are ruptured making the nutrients easily absorbed, starting in your mouth.

Green smoothies are a complete food because they still have fiber which is important for our elimination system. When you remove peel and fiber you are removing antioxidants.

A molecule of chlorophyll closely resembles a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, consuming chlorophyll is like receiving a blood transfusion. Many people do not consume enough greens. Drinking 2-3 cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens to nourish your body.

After a few weeks of drinking green smoothies, most people start to crave and enjoy eating more greens.

Fresh is best, but smoothies will keep for up to three days.”

CathyA.

03-24-2010, 10:06 AM

Great post. Her and her family are a great inspiration. Having and apple, cranberry, banana, parsley GS. Yum.

sjpersonal

03-24-2010, 12:35 PM

I have severak of their books, I also like the Green Smoothie Diet, by, of course sitting at my desk without the book I cannot remember the woman's name. She also has an amazing personal story.

I think that everyone would agree that GS are amazing if one just sticks to them LOL!

joyce09

03-24-2010, 11:23 PM

I also like the Green Smoothie Diet, by, of course sitting at my desk without the book I cannot remember the woman's name. She also has an amazing personal story.

Will you share some insights in that book?

My star drink today is pineapple plus cilantra plus stevia. Yummy.

joyce09

03-27-2010, 12:40 AM

How is everybody doing? Even if you are not doing GS 100%, you are still welcome to stop by to chat about insights about drinking GS.

Here is another article from my personnal archive. I don't know the author--perhaps still V.B..

"Prepare your green smoothie for the day in the morning, one or two quarts. Pour some in a glass and keep the rest cold. Sip your green smoothie slowly, mixing it with saliva.

Keep it tasty so you are always looking forward to the next one.

Don’t add anything to your smoothie except greens, fruits, and water.

No nuts, seeds, oils, supplements, and other ingredients. These slow down assimilation of the smoothie and may cause irritation and gas.

Drink your smoothie by itself. For maximum nutritional benefit don’t consume anything, not even a cracker or candy with it. Eat anything you want 40 minutes before or 40 minutes after your smoothie.

Do not add starchy vegetable such as carrots, beets, broccoli stems, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, etc.

Don’t add too many ingredients such as nine different fruits and a dozen greens. Keep your recipes simple to maximize benefits and keep it easy on your digestive system.

Rotate your greens so the alkaloids will not accumulate in your body and cause unwanted symptoms of poisoning. Fruits do not need to be rotated, but doing so will enhance the flavor and nutrition in your smoothies.

Choose organic produce whenever possible. Don’t over clean produce and you will have no B12 problems. Aphids on kale and bugs on berries are another source of B12. Bacteria is not going to kill you. Chemicals will.

Other Tips:

Use greens by the bunch, sprouts by the handful.

Don’t overlook exercising the jaw or it will melt away.

Try a Green Smoothie Fast without any fats for one week. This allows the liver to rest which may cure some illnesses.

Fat is a vital nutrient. How much fat should a raw foodist eat? You and your own body need to answer that question."

Emma Jane

03-27-2010, 01:31 PM

Don’t add anything to your smoothie except greens, fruits, and water.

No nuts, seeds, oils, supplements, and other ingredients. These slow down assimilation of the smoothie and may cause irritation and gas.

"

:eek: I've been putting cinnamon and a pinch of stevia in mine... do you think that counts, or are the amounts so small that any effect on digestion would be negligible?

XxX

joyce09

03-27-2010, 03:53 PM

Both cinnamon and stevia are fat-free plants and I don't think they will do any harm. I think the author means that it is better not to put overt fat (oil, seeds) into GS for the sake of optimal quick assimilation of the nutrients in the greens.

Emma Jane

03-28-2010, 02:58 AM

That would make sense :o Thanks, joyce :)

XxX

joyce09

03-28-2010, 09:02 PM

Also overt fat (seeds and oil) in GS may delay the digestion of fruits and cause fermentation of fruits.

joyce09

03-29-2010, 01:40 AM

I am to take a break from GS fast because I have been putting on weight.

For about a month my main stay has been GS (including green drinks). About 80% of my intake for this past month has been GS. Also I have taken little overt fat such as avos, seeds and oils. And I have put on 3 pounds. :( I think the problem is there is too much sweet fruit in my GS. (I have used a lot of bananas, papayas, and pineapples in my GS.) So, until I am ready to take in savory GS, GS diet is not for me.

But I like my GS journey. The benefits I have received this month:
(1) I have better skin tone. I look healthier with rosier cheeks.
(2) I have had little craving for heavy raw foods such as seeds or raw breads. I have put only fruits and greens in GS and I am quite content with drinking GS all day long. Now I think I shall be content with eating low-density vegetables (lettuce, cauliflowers) with non-fat dressings. I think my taste has changed.
(3) I have saved a lot of time/energy with GS as my main stay.

So I guess I will return to GS fast in some future time. But right now I have to seek another diet to deal with my weight. I think I shall focus on low-density vegetables for some time.

sjpersonal

03-29-2010, 11:35 AM

joyce09: I am to take a break from GS fast because I have been putting on weight
======================
Joyce09, sorry to read that you are going to stop participating. I gained a few pounds also this past wee, but I believe that it is due to the hemp and flax seed oil that I add to my GS. I believe that these oils have their benifits I plan to lower the amount that I use to 2 tablespoons per day.

Good luck.

Mary Kay

03-29-2010, 12:36 PM

Joyce09, Oh I'm bummed. You're leaving us? Green smoothies do not have to have a bunch of fruit. I only had two bananas last week and I intentionally had them in a couple smoothies because I was losing weight too quickly.

Initially, I lost 3 lbs the first three days, by going very low fruit, so had a smoothie with a banana in it, and then another with some young coconut water and meat in it.

I lost five lbs last week. am now down to 135. No time to change my sig. LOL, by next week, I'll no doubt be at my 132 sig line....

Began doing raw-juice only yesterday. Will continue for a few days, I think.

Joyce09 and others, weight loss is not my primary goal either, but it's nice to see the lbs falling off.

SjPersonal --you said you added psyllium to your drinks. A tiny bit is okay, if fiber is what you want, but more than a teaspoon will actually soak up your vites and minerals.

Many fasters --like Steve Meyerowits says that when you're doing a bentonite/and or psyllium drink, that's the only time you could actually use store -bought juice, because why waste the good stuff ?- raw, that you labored over, because none of it will be absorbed. The only reason he feels you need to add any juice is just to make it more palatable.

If you want to cleanse, maybe try doing psyllium separately. Make sure you chase it with water/drink enough....

My thoughts. Hope others will stick around. I'll still be here, even though I don't have much time to check in often....

Mary Kay

I

sjpersonal

03-29-2010, 03:55 PM

Mary Kay: SjPersonal --you said you added psyllium to your drinks. A tiny bit is okay, if fiber is what you want, but more than a teaspoon will actually soak up your vites and minerals.
================
I must have mis (typed) I do the physillium husk shake seperately usually before I go to bed. I never use fresh juice for that it is usually Aloe Pulp Juice with honey. Then a large glass of water.

5 lbs. great, congrats to you.

joyce09

03-30-2010, 12:52 AM

Green smoothies do not have to have a bunch of fruit.

The problem is that I don't seem to enjoy GS that does not have a bunch of sweet fruit in it.

Happy fasting, GS fasters. I will keep watching how you are progressing.

sjpersonal

03-30-2010, 03:19 PM

The problem is that I don't seem to enjoy GS that does not have a bunch of sweet fruit in it.

Happy fasting, GS fasters. I will keep watching how you are progressing.

I have to agree with you there, I am trying to add less fruit, but they do taste better sweet.

Mary Kay

04-01-2010, 12:10 AM

Maybe? you'd like to go for more savory smoothies, which is what I've been doing. Last week, I only had two bananas total, for the whole week, and maybe two apples total.

I did do grapefruits though, usually mixed with wheatgrass most mornings.

And my typical smoothie was: 1 whole cucumber, 1 whole red pepper, couple tomatoes, stalk celery, 1/2 bunch of kale, sm handful spinach, 1/2 clove garlic, Mrs. Dash, --maybe a little lemon, and/or salt.

LOL, I bought a case each of cukes, red peppers and lacinato kale....so that I would be inspired to use them.

Don't know if this helps, but I'm trying to keep some buddies around!

I did juice whenever I could though. I also wanted to do juice only for the past couple days, but just plum ran out of time. Like, "I'm running out the door, I've got five minutes and there's just no time to juice...better take a smoothie for the road.".....etc.

I actually wanted to slow my weight loss down---well, I think I mentioned that in an earlier post.

Hope some of you stick around!

Mary Kay

joyce09

04-01-2010, 10:12 PM

I did do grapefruits though, usually mixed with wheatgrass most mornings.

And my typical smoothie was: 1 whole cucumber, 1 whole red pepper, couple tomatoes, stalk celery, 1/2 bunch of kale, sm handful spinach, 1/2 clove garlic, Mrs. Dash, --maybe a little lemon, and/or salt.

I actually wanted to slow my weight loss down---well, I think I mentioned that in an earlier post.

Hope some of you stick around!

Mary Kay

Your weight loss is inspiring. I think I will try some savory GS and see if I like it.

How does grapefruit with wheatgrass juice taste like?

BTW, three days after I ended my GS fast, today I found I lost the weight I thought I had put on during my GS month. So, my "weight gain" was probably just the fiber weight of GS.

Mary Kay

04-02-2010, 10:31 AM

joyce09

04-04-2010, 02:06 PM

I've gotta say, I'm using pink grapefruits and I'm afraid to check just how much more sugar they contain than white....but I ALWAYS dilute my wheatgrass...can't stand it just straight.

I like this combo.

And I'm glad you're going to give it a try....YAY!

MK

Hi, MK, are you still going strong? What benefits have you reaped besides weight loss?

I tried blended grapefruit mixed with wheatgrass juice. Yes the grapefruit does mask the taste of WH juice. I like blended pineapple with WG juice better though.

I have had two big glasses of savory GS this morning. They were OK, but not something I can live on. I will continue to try new recipes of savory GS everyday. Hopefully as I am taking in more greens I will eventually like savory GS.

joyce09

04-04-2010, 08:42 PM

And my typical smoothie was: 1 whole cucumber, 1 whole red pepper, couple tomatoes, stalk celery, 1/2 bunch of kale, sm handful spinach, 1/2 clove garlic, Mrs. Dash, --maybe a little lemon, and/or salt.

Mary Kay, I tried two GSs largely based on your recipe but using what I have at hand. I also added stevia instead of salt. And I liked it! I am very encouraged. I will continue to explore savory GS recipes. I hope to find a half dozen savory GS recipes that I like.

Mary Kay

04-05-2010, 11:10 AM

Weekly check in here. I did want to slow down my weight loss, however, overcompensated....Only lost 1 lb last week and at one point, had even gained a couple lbs.

I had licks of things --didn't have any outright meals, neverthelss I cheated. Like, I made flax crackers and ate two, then the worst was when I got a mature coconut for my son (who likes young ones) and ended up making coconut milk in the Vita-Mix with the meat and strained it. I drank four cups! Now, I do believe coconut is good for you, but not when you're trying to cleanse and omit fat.....sheesh. Got a few stomach rumblings, and had diarrhea the next a.m. Nothing serious though. At least now I'm cleaned out, LOL.

This showed me though how quickly your body stops producing those fat-digesting enzymes when you don't have any. Of course, I went crazy with the coconut milk, but I actually had only a small amt of fat sev'l other times, and the same thing happened, but on a much smaller scale. So, I'm certain my body has stopped producing them.

So this week, I'm shooting for a happy medium. Well with no cheating/no fats/proteins. Well, I will allow myself to taste some things I'm making, and if it's a microscopic amt, may not sweat it. If I keep tasting it though, I'll spit it into the compost pile....

So that's my resolution. Publicly posting should force me to uphold it!

I really want to go all juice for a couple days, but I'm a busy mom, and with the garden etc etc, I'm just going to have to settle for the much quicker smoothies most of the time.

Oh, and I did work out some last week. Longest one was two hours. I walked part way to the gym, had a nice easy upper body/ab work out, then jogged home It's only 1.6 miles, and my hip had just begun to heal from running a while back and it hurt it again....I'm seriously thinking it's osteopenia --early osteoporosis....

My blood labs showed I was probably peeing out bone---(and I had inflammation in my body) I'm thinking it's got to be raw dairy that I was consuming, so this cleanse should help all of the above.

I have far more things to say, but have a lack of time....How's everyone doing? Joyce09, I assume/hope you're still around. Would love to hear your "report." Anyone else?

Mary Kay

joyce09

04-07-2010, 10:37 PM

Mary Kay, Thanks for your report. Keep going strong and give us reports. I am very interested in knowing how your savory GS fast shall go.

I am not fasting right now. I have been experimenting with savory GS and drinking several glasses each day. You have inspired me to drink savory GS. I am hoping that, as I take in more and more greens, I will develop a taste for savory GS and incorporate it into my life. I want to develop a long-term menu for healthy living.

I was reading Green For Life this evening. It says that Ann Wigmore pracitically lived on blended foods the last few years of her life. (I think she died in her 80s because of a hotel fire.) She was without grey hair and she slept only 2 hours a day. That is inspiring.

Mary Kay

04-12-2010, 12:03 PM

Still going strong here. Well, with little cheats here and there, with the exception of one biggie, that I'll tell about in a bit.

Am down to 131 - nine lbs less than when I started three weeks ago. . Maybe I'll finally get around to changing my sig line, once I'm below 130.

My big cheat this week was that I ate somewhere betw 1 - 2 c of raw choc avocado pudding I made for the kids/dh. I put in spinach, carrots and other things for them - not vegan, but raw, but in small amts.

Next day, my rosacea had flared up. Now I have read that avocados can be rosacea triggers but am HOPING this is not the case. I'd rather the trigger be chocolate --then that would give me one more reason to curb it. I put in such small amts of the other things, that I'm discounting them....for now. Well, one was a splash of raw milk, and I am def not discounting that from other inflammatory probs, but it was such a small amt, that in this recipe, I'm thinking that's not what did it.

I told my kids about it (avocado was their first solid food!) and my dd said that I could tell which one caused it by eating them separately --- avocado again, then waiting a few days, then eating chocolate again, and waiting. Cool that she could figure that out, eh?

And more news: Got the last of my mercury amalgum fillings out this morning. Ka-ching. Cost a bundle over the course of the last year, but no doubt, worth it.

Next project: to test our well water......

Oh, and more on a personal note - with regards to the cleanse....I've been calling them savory green smoothies here, but I guess a better term would be "blended soups." Someone pointed that out and I did a big "Duh."

Anyway, the cleanse has still not helped my dizziness. I'm wondering if there's still just a little too much "sugar" in what I'm ingesting. And I'm thinking that as soon as the wheatgrass I planted as a cover crop in my garden gets large enough, I'm going to start snorting it mixed with some copper for my inner ear....Someone said it could be parasites in my ear,,,and copper kills them......

I still have a couple trays of wheatgrass that I'm drinking, but once there's an abundance from the garden, I'll use it for that.

All for now!

Mary Kay

joyce09

04-15-2010, 12:36 AM

Mary Kay, You are so inspiring!

Do you think that part of your weight loss may be water loss because you are not taking in salty foods? I know salty foods can add several pounds of water weight for me.

tashaleeministry

04-15-2010, 11:46 PM

hi all, i am so happy there is a GS fast thread going on and i am IN!
i am a type 1 diabetic and have been upping my intake of green smoothies because they are the first thing that has worked well for me in my 1.5 years of raw foods...but i believe that i am supposed to be doing ALL green smoothies...i am doing a 6-month "experiment" as i train for my half-ironman triathlon and consume green smoothies only...but i pretty much believe i am supposed to live on green smoothies for the rest of my life...at least 40 years, like the Israelites lived on "manna" (means "what is it"- God provided nourishment, not exciting foods!) for 40 years as they wandered in the desert.
SOOO...all that being said, i am having a really hard time getting into the habit of only green smoothies...pretty easy to drop by the grocery store for something more exciting...so i gave my hubby my credit card this evening, asked him to do the grocery shopping for a while, and look into support for getting into the green smoothie habit.

about the salt bit above...i absolutely retain weight and my face and legs get fatter if i have salt! (i did a water fast in february and lost so much of what i didn't realize was salt/water weight! then started experimenting with dressing recipes because i missed it...and wow, the edema and face "fat" is back!)

AND i wanted to tell joyce that i have tried some blended soup recipes and really thought maybe i could learn to like it but just DON'T! however, i have found 6 combos so far that are very easy for me and i like. i have to weigh/measure my fruit ahead of time and freeze it so i know how many carbs i am getting for insulin purposes. so i have those 2-cup containers full of various kinds of organic fruit in my freezer...very handy for my smoothies. i use all organic stuff. oh, i prefer romaine hearts because they are more watery perhaps, and the flavor is less strong (love the flavor in salads, not GS's!) :)
here are the combos i like:
-1 container of bananas, 1 (8-oz, i think) bin romaine hearts + distilled water
-1 container of blueberries, 1 bin baby spinach
-1 container of pineapple, 1 vine tomato, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 bin romaine (tastes like a shishkabob to me)
-1 container strawberries, 1 red bell pepper, 1 bin romaine (i never liked peppers, but i am amazed that i like them in these, it covers the green taste and is a change from the sweet smoothies, but still tastes good!)
-1 mango, 1 red bell pepper, 1 bin romaine
-partial celery stalk, container granny smith apples, container bananas- yummy!
i have a few other combos to try- i would like to get 7 so i can assign one to each day, so i need one more that i like...perhaps involving oranges...

thanks all for being here, this will help me immensely to get going!!!
tash

joyce09

04-16-2010, 01:47 AM

Tash, Great to have you join in. I will be very interested in seeing how your long-term GS diet works out.

Thank you for giving your story about salt-water connection.

Thank you for the 6 GS recipes. I actually would love doing GS fast--if I could use fruits without limitation. But I put on weight if I take only sweet GS (GS based more on fruits than greens)! Right now I am having several glasses of savory GS and then some salads and fruits each day. I hope I can progress to a savory GS fast. I don't dislike savory GS, but I just cannot live on savory GS all day long, not yet.

I also like bell peppers in my GS. But organic bell peppers are so expensive these days. A medium one is $3!

Mary Kay

04-16-2010, 03:18 PM

Hi ladies,

No Joyce, it's not because I'm not adding salt---because I do occasionally add salt to my "soups." I know, I know, there are those who believe salt is BAAAAAD, but I'm not one of 'em. In moderation, anyway---Celtic and Himalayan mixed is what I use....

Oh you will be so jealous when I tell you that in about an hour, I'm going to go pickup a case of red bell peppers ---from an organic co-op, I'm in. I got a case a month ago, and just used the last one yesterday! Am also getting cukes, gpfts - mostly for me, and avos and oranges for my family. WOOT WOOT!

You too are right. I just love those sweet peppers in things. Was a little worried about the nightshade aspect of it all, and asked a doc about it. She said that if I didn't have any joint problems, that they'd be good. Her opinion anyway.

I was also concerned about the rosacea being affected by the nightshades, but it doesn't seem to be.

I'm going to start adding a tiny bit of essential fats. I'll still be at a fat deficit, but just enough to keep my hormones working. I'm 54 and still getting my periods, so I'd like to keep what little I still have going. LOL

In the past when cleansing and not doing ANY overt fats, past two or three wks, I've lost my pds and this is fairly common.

Interesting that you feel you need to eat smoothies for the -rest of you life- is it? Do you really mean no solid food? Nothing wrong with smoothies, IMO, but none-nada---solid food? Doesn't seem natural to me.....

would also like to hear of your progress...like you started out at x units of insulin and now you're down to y....etc.

Glad you've chimed in!

Mary Kay ---

Mary Kay

04-16-2010, 03:24 PM

Oh this is so sad/funny. The phone just rang after I pressed "submit reply," and it was my co-op friend telling me they were out of red bell peppers!:mad::eek::(:eek:

Mary Kay

tashaleeministry

04-16-2010, 11:40 PM

had 2 green smoothies today and think i may have another cuz i am kind of hungry. was thankful to not have my credit card today as i surely would have bought something else. good night!
tash

tashaleeministry

04-17-2010, 09:45 PM

today had 2 spinach/blueberry smoothies. i feel like my body is cleansing! ready to lie down in bed so i don't have to be so aware of my intestines! :)
good night!
tash
ps- as far as units of insulin go, overall my insulin needs decrease when my body fat goes down, when my consumption of fat goes down, when i exercise more... since i don't think i will ever get off insulin entirely, i am not focused on that so much as i am focused on keeping my blood sugars regulated. ups and downs and extended highs are not good; those are things i have struggled with on raw. but green smoothies have kept my sugars absolutely fabulous! i do the insulin for the fruit carbs, and then my blood sugar is consistent through the rest of the day. i wear an insulin pump and have fasted to set the basal levels (what my body needs all through the day and night when i am doing nothing). so maybe insulin needs will get lower if my body fat goes down, but what i am striving for and happy about is that i can consistently keep my sugars in range while using green smoothies. :)

joyce09

04-17-2010, 10:47 PM

Tash, continue to go strong! I hope to join you soon.

joyce09

04-18-2010, 12:21 AM

Am down to 131 - nine lbs less than when I started three weeks ago. . Maybe I'll finally get around to changing my sig line, once I'm below 130.

Oh, and more on a personal note - with regards to the cleanse....I've been calling them savory green smoothies here, but I guess a better term would be "blended soups." Someone pointed that out and I did a big "Duh."

Mary Kay, do you think your weight loss is due to calorie reduction, or cleansing and healing of your body?

Have you gotten other benefits than weight loss? such as glowing complexion and improved energy?

If the savory GS is warm, I will call it soup. If it is cold, I call it savory GS.

Mary Kay

04-18-2010, 08:37 PM

Hi Joyce,

To answer your questions: I'm losing weight due to fat/calorie reduction --no doubt. I ate a lot of fat. I wouldn't do so many carbs, so I subbed with fat.

As far as my complexion ===My rosacea has flared up if I've done something "bad" or even if I've been saintly. Like yesterday, I had my worst cheating episode yet, and ate a bowl of popcorn with nutritional yeast on it, and had pretty bad rosacea this morning. Now I don't know if it was the nut. yst or the popcorn. Prob the popcorn. I'm thinking I'm not agreeing with grains.

But even when I've been good --like in the past I did a raw-juice fast and didn't cheat, my rosacea would come and go, for no apparent reason.

AND furthermore, I have recurrent shingles, which comes and goes and did so while doing the raw-juice only (without cheating) in the past. I get a VERY mild case though, which usually is gone within a couple days.

So, no, frankly, for me, I don't notice a healthier glow and my skin seems to be just the same.

Neither one of these skin probs are as bad though, if I do digestive enzymes and HCL and I've slacked off on them, so will up them.

HTH,

Mary Kay.

Mary Kay

04-18-2010, 08:40 PM

Tash, so is that ALL you had was blueberries and spinach today?

Thanks for sharing your progress with us.

My fasting glucose was 98 just prior to this cleanse. I'm also working to get it down to the 80's. I don't have diabetes/nor am I pre-diabetic etc though, nevertheless, I had ALL SORTS of tests done prior to this cleanse.

Mary Kay

joyce09

04-18-2010, 09:40 PM

Hi Joyce,

To answer your questions: I'm losing weight due to fat/calorie reduction --no doubt. I ate a lot of fat. I wouldn't do so many carbs, so I subbed with fat.

Mary Kay.

But one cannot lose more than 1.5 pounds of fat per week on a calorie reduction diet?

Interesting that you don't have a healthier glow, I do (GS has been 50% of my diet in April and 80% of my diet in March), even though I haven't lost weight.:rolleyes:

Mary Kay

04-19-2010, 10:38 AM

Hi folks. I'm finally below 130. Today I was 129. That's two lbs less than last week.

Joyce, I think my case with rosacea is different. I have heard many people say that when they cleanse, their skin gets better. Some say it gets worse before it gets better, but most say it's better.

My pH went down the other day as well--maybe it was a day when I didn't do enough greens? Anyway, this could have lowered my immune response, and maybe this could explain the shingles...

And my skin is a tad dry.

I'm going to start adding teeny tiny bits of fat this week. A little flax oil here, Udo's oil there.... Just a tiny - but still at a fat deficit compared to usual.

Dh said this morning that once I get to my goal weight of 115, I'll probably be able to barely eat at all. Look, I'm cheating a teeny tiny bit --like yesterday my entire "food cheating" was one almond that came out of the D and a tiny lick/taste of some raw bread/crackers I made last night. Other than that it was an all-juice day. Anyway, with 99.9% juice and smoothies, I'm still only losing 2 lbs a week.

But again, I'm not doing this for the weight loss. I'm doing for these reasons:

ear infection/sloshing/dizziness for two yrs
parasites - blastocystis hominis
fatty liver
bad fat profiles cholesterol was good, but LDL's were an unhealthy type
candida and other bacterial imbalances
inflammation in my body
lowering fasting glucose
fibrocystic breast ---not sure if cleansing will help this, but couldn't hurt.
AND
weight loss

Geez, it's nice to make a list. And to look at that list, you'd think I was rather unhealthy! Which I don't appear to be.

And I'm not that much overweight, but my reckoning is if someone is overweight, then they are not healthy --there's some of this stuff happening in their bodies as well. I just tested to prove it, is all. Sigh.

I have not heard that you can only lose 1.5 lbs of fat per week, and am not sure I buy it. Do you? Look at those people on Biggest Loser, for example.

Finally, my breasts have lost a little too. I'm rather big breasted and it's the first place I gain, and the last place I lose! those people who want larger breasts/breast implants can have 'em!

Hope you're all doing well and that you all have a good week.

Mary Kay

joyce09

04-19-2010, 09:42 PM

Mary Kay, Your weight loss is so inspiring.

But how did you get to be able to stay at savory GS? Did you get there gradually? Or you just jumped into it and have "forced" yourself to stay with it? Or you just naturally like lots of greens?

tashaleeministry

04-19-2010, 09:42 PM

yesterday my energy was waaaay down. i was thinking that perhaps i needed to consume more fruit, but realized today that i just need to SLEEP.
i have been having 2 green smoothies per day- 1lb of greens plus whatever fruit is in the smoothies.
feeling better now...i went back to sleep for a long time this morning.
good night.
tash

joyce09

04-20-2010, 12:42 AM

Tash, It looks like GS is doing something good in your body. Keep up with the good work.

Mary Kay

04-20-2010, 09:01 AM

Joyce, I don't have to "force" myself to do the green savory smoothies at all. and yes, I did gradually move into them. The minute I add a banana or something sweet, my ear starts sloshing.

I'd say the base of my smoothies/soups is not water mixed with greens, but of cucumbers. Oh, and btw, I'm not doing mostly smoothies either. I'm doing mostly juice. and I've been working on recipes late at night that use the pulp! Came up with some awesome bread/crackers!

My typical day is starting out with grapefruit juice and wheatgrass mixed with a few other wild greens.

Then for the rest of the day, I'll juice. If no time, I'll do a smoothie.

2 cukes
2 celery stalks
1 - 2 carrots
1 red pepper
bunch of kale (abundant in my garden now - overwintered - and primo!)
wild greens (dandelion and heal-all are abundant now)
maybe a tomato
maybe garlic/maybe ginger/maybe none
occasionally lemon or lime

I'll save all this pulp and keep it separate to make things with, then juice wheatgrass and add it to the juice, but compost the wheatgrass pulp.

If I want an Italian tasting one, I may add a bunch of sundried tomatoes/powder and some Italian seasoning. --this is usually done to smoothes. I'll add some frozen tomatoes from last yrs' garden in the blender too, if time.

Really! these aren't bad at all. The majority of the liquid bulk in them comes from cucumbers.

Am getting the new OmegaVRT juicer tomorrow, I hope, so this should speed things up. I've had a Samson up till now. I often run the pulp through twice to eke out every bit of moisture! But this also mixes up the pulp to use in recipes.

HTH,

MK

joyce09

04-22-2010, 01:03 AM

Mary Kay, thanks for sharing. Thanks to your example, I am inching towards greener GS. I have gotten rid of bananas now. But I still have to use pineapples or oranges in my GS. Today I am 50% GS and 50% lightly dressed lettuce/cauliflower salads.

Just a couple of months ago I loved cucumbers in my GS very much. But lately I just could not stand the flavor of cucumbers. I don't understand.

I do hope all your weight loss is fat loss. But then you said you drank juice instead of GS when you have time. Well, if most of your intake is juice, I just wonder if part of your weight loss could be due to the temporary reduction of solid foods in your body. I mean after a juice fast has concluded the fast-er could pick back 5 pounds of weight once she resumes eating solid foods which contain fibers, etc.. What do you think?

katchmoleen

04-22-2010, 10:02 AM

Been watching this thread. I plan to GS fast for a few days next week so will join you then. You all are amazing!

joyce09

04-22-2010, 12:23 PM

Would love to have you join us. I thought you were taking a break from this board for Bible study, etc.?

Mary Kay

04-23-2010, 02:50 PM

Hi Katch --Would love to have you as a buddy!

Joyce, I absolutely agree that when doing a juice fast in t he past, I automatically knew I'd put on 2 - 5 lbs due to fiber/poop in my body etc. But I'm getting just enough green smoothies to get some fiber, so I am pooping. I'll bet though, this could explain 2 - 3 lbs, but since I've lost 13 lbs ---and I daresay, looking better --er in clothes anyway...LOL ---that I have TRULY lost weight. I even see it in my boobs, which is the last place I lose, as I've mentioned.

I actually have a goal that I didn't put in my sig, but wanted to ---I want to be 125 by Apr 30th, as I have to go on stage in front of a bunch of people, and at least wanted to look a little better.

I honestly think though, that I've slowed the cleansing process down a bit, by having small licks of things here and there - as well as the fact that I'm still doing fiber in smoothes. I'd guess that out of five weeks of doing what I'm doing, I've probably only gotten four weeks "cleanse-worth" compared to if I'd done only a raw-juice fast. But I don't have to worry about elimination (pooping), and am rather liking this type of cleanse, though it may be a tad slower.

LOL, I wonder if I'll be able to look at another cucumber when this is done too!

Mary Kay

katchmoleen

04-23-2010, 03:26 PM

I finished the Bible in 90 Days program on March 30 and needed some support getting back to all raw. So here I am. I am 5 days in now and feel much better. Ready for a GS fast.

joyce09

04-23-2010, 11:44 PM

joyce09

04-23-2010, 11:45 PM

I finished the Bible in 90 Days program on March 30 and needed some support getting back to all raw. So here I am. I am 5 days in now and feel much better. Ready for a GS fast.

Glad to have one more GS buddy!

90 days always slipped away since you said byebye last time?! How time flies!

Mary Kay

04-25-2010, 09:19 AM

Hi Katch,

Don't know anything about the Bible in 90 days program....So, did you spend all your spare time reading it? Attend meetings etc? Just curious. and did it inspire you to "get healthier" etc?

The only one I know who quotes the bible as far as raw foods is Paul Nison. Did you find passages that were pertinent to your raw journey?

No prob if you don't have time to answer....I'm just interested, is all.

Mary Kay

katchmoleen

04-27-2010, 05:15 PM

Hey guys, I am on day 2 of my green smoothie fast~ had a lot of cravings yesterday but today is going fine. My daughter is doing it with me. Unfortunately she cannot have bananas, and I don't really like smoothies without them, so we make our own smoothies.

Joyce, the BI90D program took me about 45 minutes a day, reading 12 pages a day. I finished right on schedule. I would not say it inspired me to be raw, I just don't see that there. My opinion is that anyone who tries to make a case for the raw diet from the Bible is really fabricating things to suit their own agenda. But it did inspire me to continue to be more disciplined.

joyce09

04-28-2010, 01:42 AM

Mary Kay

04-28-2010, 01:51 PM

Lost another two lbs this week. Am now 127. Wore some tight jeans the other day and was looking pretty good. Not great yet, but even my 7 y.o. daughter noticed!

Am going to work out in about an hour while the kids are in ceramics. WOOT WOOT!

Someone asked me if I had any cravings and I said "Yeh, food on a plate, please." LOL

Seriously though, in the past, I would start having food dreams, but so far, it hasn't happened this time. I'm finally below where I was one year ago. So, if you look at it that way, it's taken me one year to lose 2 lbs!
**********

Go Katch!!!

Go Joyce!!!

...in my cheerleading outfit!

Mary Kay

tashaleeministry

05-07-2010, 01:35 PM

are you guys still here?
tasha here...really need help getting back into my green smoothies...had a little temper tantrum with God and am once again convinced that obedience is better!
but having a lot of problems getting started again!!!!!!!!!
so will be checking in.
love
tash

joyce09

05-11-2010, 06:04 PM

Mary Kay, three cheers for your continued weight loss. That is very encouraging to me.

Tash, How are you doing? Come back with whatever form of GS diet. You don't have to do an all-out GS fast.

For the past two weeks on average I take in 1 and 1/2 vitamix of savory green smoothies each day. I have lost a couple of pounds. This is the first time I ever lose any weight since I started my raw diet about half a year ago. So it is encouraging. Finally I have found a way to move the scale down and, most importantly this is a way I can stay with for a long time. I am not yet ready for a savory green smoothie fast. But I am happy that now I have no problem drinking a good quantity of savory green smoothies almost everyday. And my skin has a healthier glow.

Mary Kay

05-12-2010, 12:21 PM

Hi folks.

Computer will be down for another week, so I'm on a friend's computer. Lost another lb. Am now 126.

Tash. Any greens you add via smoothies etc ---is good. Am getting my cheerleading outfit back on for you too! and I dare say, it's beginning to look good on me....LOL

Will try to get to the library, to friend's etc to check in with you gals, until my puter gets fixed.

Hae been wanting to write you, just couldn't.

Mary Kay

joyce09

05-13-2010, 07:43 PM

Today I met with a friend whom I have not seen for several years. She kept saying I look younger than before. I know my skin has a healthier glow since I increased my intake of greens through GS, but really I did not expect such compliments. Just want to share this to encourage my GS buddies.

katchmoleen

05-13-2010, 09:57 PM

Hey guys, I am starting a seven day green smoothie fast tomorrow. See ya there!

joyce09

05-15-2010, 10:33 PM

Katch, how are you doing with your GS fast?

Mad Mex

05-18-2010, 01:25 PM

After a few sad SAD days I feel like cleansing.

Today I started a GS-fasting, lets see how long it will last min 10 hopefully 30 days.

Saludos,

Marcel :cool:

joyce09

05-19-2010, 12:07 AM

Marcel, Keep us posted about your progress. Happp fasting.

My goal is to drink 1 1/2 vitamix of savory green smoothie/green juice before I eat anything else, starting from Wed.. I hope to do this for weeks.

joyce09

05-23-2010, 11:52 PM

Is anyone still drinking plenty of GS?

This past week I have found GS with fresh zhucchini very pleasing to my taste. Before I was worried that I couldn't finish all the zhucchini that has been produced in my garden; now I am afraid my garden cannot produce zhucchini fast enough for my GS.

Shels

05-24-2010, 01:17 AM

Is anyone still drinking plenty of GS?

I sure am! Todays was a banana, two kiwis, a handful of parsley and four handfuls of spinach. SOOOO delicious! :D

Mary Kay

05-24-2010, 03:18 PM

My puter is still down.

I'm still here though! Hanging in. I'm now down to 122!!! I am just about 5 ft 3 and never checked my waist before I started, but I'm now at the point for my height where anything above it is considered fat...My point is 31 1/2 inches and that's what mine was this a.m. This gives me even more encouragement.

Still doing the same. Mostly juice. Lots of wheatgrass, and some savory/soup type smoothies. I cheat and have licks and tastes of things. Very, very little sweet fruit. Like, one banana a week in a smoothie....And am upping my fat a tiny bit. Will do a blood test as soon as my nose becomes unstuffed so I know there's no inflammation left from the cold, to see where I'm at.

Caught a cold/had a fever and was down for the count for 1 1/2 days this wknd. Am back at what feels full strength now, but nose is stuffed up.. sorry to only talk about me...on a friend's computer and only have a min. Wanted to update you and hopefully give you all some encouragement. ...I see some new faces here! How great! When I have more time, want to read/ hear all of your stories...No t ime now....

TTYS,

Mary Kay

joyce09

05-24-2010, 10:59 PM

Shels, Glad to hear a new voice. Hope to read more from you in the weeks to come.

Mary Kay, You are absolutely an inspiration and an encouragement. I cannot yet do savory GS fast. But now I am able to drink only savory GS during daytime until evening. 1 & 1/4 vitamix of savory GS/green juice a day is no problem for me now. When organic produce is cheaper and I can acquire red bell peppers without spending too much money, I hope to drink more of savory GS. I do know savory GS is very good for my health as I get a glow.

tashaleeministry

05-26-2010, 11:05 AM

joyce, what do you use in a green smoothie with zucchini? i will probably need to do some of those once our garden starts to flourish.

i read two of victoria boutenko's books (green for life, green smoothie revolution) and one by robyn openshaw (green smoothies diet), stuff on green smoothies. very very motivating indeed!

i have been doing green smoothies every day with some fresh fruits and veggies. but definitely a green smoothie or two. i think it was very helpful to read those books.

thanks all.
tash

joyce09

05-26-2010, 10:47 PM

joyce, what do you use in a green smoothie with zucchini?

#1 one part of tomato and 3 parts (by volume) of tender zhcchini (or very young tender acorn squash) and a moderate amount of garlic leaves from my garden (I guess garlic will do as well) and stevia and just enough water to get the vitamix moving.

#2 one part of grapefruit and 2-3 parts (by volume) of zhcchini (or very young tender acorn squash) and a moderate amount of garlic leaves and stevia and no water.

Thses two are savory smoothies with less calories than sweet GS. I would imagine that tender zucchini would taste good in any sweet GS.

I refrigerate all the ingrediants and water before making GS, because I find cold GS tastes better than room-temperature GS.

Mnbordergirl

06-01-2010, 03:16 PM

joyce09

06-02-2010, 12:18 AM

Still Looking for a Buddy? If so can I jump in? After have a SAD friend stay with me, I am now back to get on the greeen smoothie fast and juice wagon. Today is day 2 and the DETOX zits, headaches, and cloudy mind detox symptoms are pushing in.

I feel so darn gross and want to whap my head agains the wall.

More pals are always welcome. Give us reports regularly to encourage everyone involved.

My goal right now is at least one but hopefully one and a half vitamix of green smoothies a day. I have been trying to make use of the bounty harvest of summer squash from my little garden in GS.

Soose

06-02-2010, 05:09 PM

May I jump in here, please? We are at this point on a GS and juice combined fast, after 5 days water, a couple of days juice. This seems pretty easy now.

My husband (also eating solid raw's at work) and I are loving the savoury salsa green smoothie.

My ds doesn't care for it. He will drink the standard sweet/fruit GS we make, but I can only get a couple of ounces of the savoury in him. He will however drink diff greens in carrot juice.

I know he really needs to increase his tolerance for blended greens. (He eats plenty of greens normally in salads and dishes while not fasting, and normally he eats all the ingredients in the savoury salsa smoothie.) Hmm, I wonder if I make the carrot and/or apple juices he likes with greens -- and add to the blender with greens, so he gets the greens as though in a smoothie? That sounds convoluted, lol. Hope you understood what I meant! :) We'll give that a try!

joyce09

06-02-2010, 08:38 PM

Soose, Welcome to the GS company.

What is this savory salsa green smoothie you love? Do you have a recipe?

Nikkan18

06-02-2010, 09:23 PM

Am starting tomorrow!!! a lot of inspiration :p

Soose

06-02-2010, 10:42 PM

Soose, Welcome to the GS company.
What is this savory salsa green smoothie you love? Do you have a recipe?

Hi, Joyce. :) Thanks for the welcome -- I lurked during fasting. :)

Well, we've made a fresh raw salsa for a long time, usually in the food processor, with about 5 roma tomatoes, 3 scallions, and one whole lime juice. Then sometimes we'd add in some cilantro or cukes or something hot, garlic, salt -- just to taste and depending on the crowd. (My ds does not like celery in it but I do.) But many times it was that simple. We use it on most salads.

So I was hoping my ds would like this. I just started with the basis of tomatoes/scallions/lime, and added in greens, garlic, a little purple onions, the celery, some sea salt... let me see... today I added in part of a carrot. [Edit -- forgot the yellow or red bell pepper!] I'm finding the onion is too strong for me -- or maybe the greens I've used are too pungent.

I've not been using a recipe, just doing this to taste and based on what I have, trying for a variety. I'm sure with your experience you get the picture and ya'll have probably already made these lots.

We call it a savoury salsa GS because around here, we've made the fruit sweet GS's so long, when I say GS everyone thinks sweet. I've tried for a long time to come up with savoury recipes we would like but it didn't work right, don't know if our taste has changed or if I was making a mistake somehow. My dh and I are really liking this!

Thanks for letting me join in! :) We're not drinking as much as your goal for now, consumption is just down for all of us. But in terms of percents of all intake, GS is way up there for me, which is happy! :)

zozodarko

06-03-2010, 02:08 AM

I am on day two of my raw food challenge, and to be quite honest I am burnt out. I don't have any raw recipe books and I don't like using recipes online that are not rated. BUT! I want to join your green smoothie fast. My Keratosis Pilaris, known as chicken skin, seems to be flaring up really bad. I need healing from within. I am going to juice for as many days as I can. Can someone copy and paste some of your favorite green smoothie recipes? I could really use some help.

Soose

06-03-2010, 07:27 AM

Hi, Z. For a sweet GS, this is the winner here:

A few chunks of pineapple.
Half or whole mango.
One banana.
Baby spinach to tolerance (we use about 5 cups in a blendtec!)
Juice of a whole lime
Water (depends on how thin you want it)

And I looked up my email to a friend for our first savoury salsa GS (which we've just started eating):

4 roma's
full lime juiced [note, out of limes, so used citric acid this morning]
2 scallions
stalk celery
2 collard (or other) greens
little purple onion
cilantro
red bell pepper (a whole one)
little garlic
sea salt

I think green smoothies are a very good way to start raw foods. Good luck!

joon4yu

06-03-2010, 10:10 AM

I'm starting my GS fasting today: spinach, frozen banana, coconut oil and water,vanilla flav. Today is a good day to be good to yourself.:)

Soose

06-03-2010, 11:08 AM

Hi, Joon4yu, good luck with the day! :)

Made our standard sweet GS this morning and I feel tired a couple of hours later. I did not put flax in it, I'm sure that would have helped. Had the same problem this weekend with the melon juices or smoothies first thing in the morning. TMS -- too much sugar.

So even though I'm not hungry, I've made a savoury GS and it's helping.

It's much easier to GS fast after a water/juice fast -- this feels indulgent to have so many options and so much food! :)

joon4yu

06-03-2010, 11:59 AM

Oh forgot about agave nectar for sweetening. I would like sometimes do a diff smoothie than a sweet one. Any suggestions? :)

joyce09

06-04-2010, 12:20 AM

Wow! Suddenly we have a GS fan club!

Soose, Thank you for sharing savory salsa GS. I am interested in trying out savory GS recipes.

I think Mary Kay's savory GS is good-tasting. Here is her recipe in her own words:

2 cukes
2 celery stalks
1 - 2 carrots
1 red pepper
bunch of kale (abundant in my garden now - overwintered - and primo!)
wild greens (dandelion and heal-all are abundant now)
maybe a tomato
maybe garlic/maybe ginger/maybe none
occasionally lemon or lime

If I want an Italian tasting one, I may add a bunch of sundried tomatoes/powder and some Italian seasoning. I'll add some frozen tomatoes from last yrs' garden in the blender too.

goldielocs

06-22-2010, 05:16 PM

I'm starting my GS fast right now. I'm on summer break from teaching so this is the best time for me to deal with detox since I don't have to work. I need to loose about 40 lbs. before my December graduation and I also need to kickstart my exercise program. I've been vegetarian since the beginning of the year so this would be a great time to transition to raw.

I have stocked up on berries and frozen them. Spouts had a WONDERFUL sale last week. I also have some kale, spinach and banana to work with so that should get me off to a great start.

My family is on their own for food- lol. My hubby will just have to cook.:p

ajewell924

06-23-2010, 05:04 PM

Hey there!
So I was raw for about a year & now eat about 75% raw, all vegan though! I am going on vacation in 2 weeks and have been eating a little poorly lately. So in order to feel better & more comfortable, I'm going to be GS fasting for that duration!

I will include green smoothies, green juices, and the occasional piece of fruit when i really want something to chew on! I would really love a partner to do this with to keep me motivated & responsible! Anyone interested?
Even if you're just interested in GS fasting for a week, I'll partner up with you!

Let me know! Thanks
:D

tashaleeministry

07-01-2010, 06:08 AM

hey all!
i have been including my green smoothies in my food intake pretty much daily for a while now but still seeing that the best for my diabetes blood sugar control is ONLY green smoothies. i have been doing a variety of fruits in them and a variety of greens, and feel SOO good when i am doing this.
i don't hear of many others doing this and it feels pretty lonely at times. (often i don't think to get on the forum because the only one i want to read is this thread and there is not necessarily a post every day.) SOOO i just started a yahoo group for daily accountability/support for "green smoothies only"...i like that it comes to my email inbox when someone comments on my post...not sure i am allowed to post a link on here? but email me at totleeha@gmail.com or facebook friend me (tasha haerer rouse) and i could send you the link if you are interested.
thanks all for the inspiration here!
tash

Mary Kay

07-14-2010, 06:16 PM

HIIIIIIIIII!!!!!! I finally fixed my puter. It's been broken for mos and I've been so busy......

Joyce09, I'm so flattered you like my savory GS! Haven't had time to read all posts, but will catch up. No time to change my signature, but I'm now at 120 lbs and am still continuing.

Was thrown from a horse on Jul 4th, so am recuperating. Good thing I still had a few extra lbs on my butt as padding....LOL I went to the hospital and everythihg....no time now, but will visit/fill you in again soon!

I haven't had a full meal since Mar22nd, and have lost 20 lbs, for you newcomers. I've cheated though, with bites of this here or there. Was cheating too much and stayed at 122 for about a month, but am now coming down again.

Want to do a bunch of blood tests to check my results and will share here after I lose another 5 lbs.

Am not doing this for the weightloss ONLY have more important reasons...Ate too much fat before, had some inflammation stuff etc etc...and I was probably 95% raw before. am probably 98% raw now....

Hugs everyone....have 5200 emails to go through and erase!!!

TTYS,

Mary Kay

Mary Kay

07-21-2010, 02:10 AM

Hi folks!

Not much activity here, so I see Tash, how you could've gotten lonely and started a Yahoo Group!

Ajewell924 - I'll be around a little bit more often now that my puter is fixed....How was your vacation?

Joyce09, how ya doing?

Mary Kay, who's finally updated her signature!

DoxyDame

07-21-2010, 05:12 AM

Does a 'Green Smoothie' need to be all veggies? Or does it just have to look green when yer done w/ it? :P

I'd like to join, how long will the fast last?

CathyA.

07-21-2010, 10:28 AM

I use fruit and greens. And it doesnt have to be green.

Mary Kay

07-22-2010, 09:16 PM

Hi DoxyDame,

I wouldn't guess there'd be any hard-and-fast rules to join in on this discussion. Like, you wouldn't even need to be doing a "fast."

Ive been going since mid-March ---haven't had a meal/dish of food since then. However, I've been having bites of things all along. For the first two weeks, I had no overt fats or protein. Now, I'm having a few nuts or - like today some almond milk - as well as incorporating some small amts of fats.And only recently have I been incoporating a little bit more sweet fruit.

Tonight I made a corn chowder smoothie sort of concoction in the Vita-Mix and included half an avocado, for example.

So, I don't mind, if you only are just doing a green smoothie here or there, etc. I can't imagine Joyce09, the OP would mind either, if I may be so bold!

The more here, the merrier, IMO.

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-07-2011, 03:57 PM

It is long overdue for me to do a GS fast. Anyone wants to join this GS fast thread? I will commit for 10 days for the present. My aim this time is to take in various greens, not just a couple of my favorite greens.

Mary Kay

09-07-2011, 11:45 PM

Okay. Seven to ten days. I'm in.

I have been doing very high gs and juice with very little solids for a long time now...Kind of a "cheater" style since literally last March, and after an event this weekend where I may have some small samples of food, I will commit.

So glad you are inspiring me!

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-08-2011, 12:29 PM

Hey, Mary Kay. Glad to have you as a GS fast accountability partner. So you have been on GS and juice mostly since last March (do you mean March 2010?). Have you noticed notable benefits of this liquid diet to your health and skin?

My first GS fast day was fine. I used beet green and found it quite palatable.

Mary Kay

09-08-2011, 11:23 PM

Joyce09,

No, it's prob been since about March 2011...if I'm remembering correctly --maybe a few months later ...however, sadly, no, I don't notice a change. I am NOT a vegan, but have been since then to try to see what is causing inflammation (I have slightly swollen knuckles ever since an accident that are not subsiding --and was tested and hadslight inflammation in my body). I have organic chickens and I'm not even eating eggs --I have raw milk delivered to my door once-a-week, and am not drinking any etc. I'm not doing gluten, and honestly, there's no change.

My next thing to eliminate is nightshades. I tried eliminating nuts for a while, but don't notice any diff. One other thing --prob the main thing: I'm certain I have candida. That could be playing a large part in all of this. So I'm going to wean from sweet fruits, and not do any nightshades either. Stupid timing on the nightshade elimination --just when there's an abundance of tomatoes in the garden etc....Sheesh.

I had a little nut pate tonght and honestly, I've been so "good" lately, it was a relief to "cheat a little" with nuts. But I think I did because I know that next Monday, I'm going to have you to report to in the event I slip up! It's nice to be accountable. KWIM?

Thanks again,

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-09-2011, 05:43 PM

Mary Kay, I am sorry to hear about your swollen knuckles. Do they hurt badly? So the organic eggs and raw milk are for the rest of your family? I hope one week of GS fast will do you some good.
Do you know of this website:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3163/2
It tells the inflammation factors of many food items. Maybe it could help you decide which greens /fruits to take in.

My Day 2 went fine except for one “unconscious slip.” Last evening my hubby brought home a small box of chocolate balls—a gift from friends. Now chocolate is the one cooked food I allow myself, when it is free; I don’t buy it myself. I at once ate two small balls before I remembered I was on a GS fast. I decided to forgive myself. LOL

Mary Kay

09-12-2011, 10:10 AM

That is so funny about the chocolate. I've done the same...almost grabbed a plum that was on the table yesterday, but caught myself.

I started yesterday and was trying to write you, but was unable to post! IDK, but maybe if I hadn't committed to you, I might not have done it this time. THANK YOU!

Re my knuckles on my pinky fingers: thanks for your concern, but it's barely noticeable--but it is indicative of inflammation and concerns me.

I'm allowing myself a little bit of sugar --like a banana in a smoothie. Then eventually to eliminate it.

And to answer your question...yes, at this point the raw milk and eggs are for the rest of my family.

Last night I had a heavy/cheater "smoothie" --like a thick soup. I'm going to allow myself a little bit of fat this time, but no overt proteins. My soup had 1/2 cob of corn, and 3/4 avocado (part of it was bad) as well as cukes, spices....it was good. I figured I needed some calories, and I guess I must've because I still woke up with a slight headache.

You?

Thanks again for inspiring me. I weighed 128 this a.m.

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-12-2011, 10:03 PM

Mary Kay, how are you doing?

By your standard, every smoothie of mine may be considered a "cheater" on the sweet side. I do think I used too many bananas. Actually they made me hungry too soon. I am switching to canteloupes now.

I am not weighing. The scale never does me any good. So I am weighing myself only once a month now. I guess I am around 120 pounds. But my focus this time is not on weight, but on health. I just do not look or feel as healthy as I want to be. I think I may need more greens. So this GS fast.

Strangely, I looked my best when I stayed at my sister's for one month this june. Her family is not raw. So I focused on cooked greens and cooked seafoods (great cooking by the way) while I dined at her table. After I came back home I have been all raw. But I don't look as rosy as when I stayed at her house. This happened last year too. I do not know how to explain it. I know by reasoning that raw food preserves all nutrients. But I simply looked the most healthy and rosy-cheeked after I dined at her table for one or two weeks.

Oh, I have to add something: Now I think of it, I looked the best the May of 2010 when I did very green GS fast for 2 weeks. The GS did not taste very good because I used tons of greens. But my face did glow within a week. I just cannot bring myself to do it right now. sigh.

Mary Kay

09-14-2011, 12:20 AM

I hear ya' on "not being able to do that many greens." Of course I'm doing a lot of greens, but I'm really leaning heavily on cucumbers. Like I'm doing 1 cuke, 1/2 avocado, 1 carrot, 2 handfuls of mild greens or 1 handful of strong greens, spices, part of an avocado, coconut aminos, sea salt & pepper....Well, that's what I've been mostly doing.

This time, a big part of the reason I'm doing this (but not the only reason) is for the weight loss. I weighed 127 this morning! I still have a fair amt of bellyfat though...You can see my ideal weight below.

Because fish was so beneficial to you....maybe it's the EFA's that helped you? Are you doing any EFA's now?

Just curious.

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-15-2011, 12:14 AM

Mary Kay, I feel glad for you that you lost one pound already. That must have encouraged you.

I think you are right about EFAs. I think I also lack proteins. My raw diet relies too heavily on sweet fruit. I am adding flax seeds to my smoothies now. I will consult your savory GS recipe and try adding more greens.

I dare not focus on quick weight loss now. This summer I see for the first time serious wrinkles trying to take residence on my face. That shocked me into focusing on health. Weight loss can wait.

Mary Kay

09-16-2011, 10:18 AM

LOL, I love how you worded it "...serious wrinkles trying to take residence on my face." I had a former employee, who is 20 years younger than I and was practically anorexic and fat phobic. I saw her a year or two ago, and you know? She had way more wrinkles than I. I can't really say that I have true wrinkles. It is so hard to know who to believe re how much fat to ingest.

As far as fruit, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo had a profound little article called something like "Fruit - Friend or Foe?" --well it was profound for me anyway, and was really just a basic little article. It said something like:'

You know how Mercola says no more than 25 g of sugar a day,
Dr Cousens says xxx
Dr so-and so says y
Well they all disagree. Who's right?

In my practice I've found that it depends on how you got to having problems, and your genetics as to which is right for you. I've seen someone thrown for a loop with just a little fruit, while others could consume a lot.
********************

Just wanted to throw this out there. I think I'm one of the ones who can only consume a little. But consume too little and I get a headache--your brain needs some sugar...but also, there's the potential candida die-off. So, I'll just try to keep reducing the fruit, and go with Robert Young's theory of subbing sugar with good fats--because you do need calories for energy from somewhere....

I had a thermography because I suspected fibrocystic breasts, and was correct. The main thing the lady said to do was to eat good EFA's....So I should be doing this anyway. I'm sure they're getting better, but haven't had another thermography.

Yesterday, I did have some fruit. Had a high calorie smoothie for lunch --banana, avo, carob, vanilla greens..I even cheated and put half a spoon of cacao in it...prob shouldn't have, but wanted a real treat. Then last night, I was processing peaches for the D and had a peach smoothie with vanilla...peaches, greens, vanilla...so kind of sweet.

Oh, and I haven't mentioned my real cheats. I tasted the peaches yesterday, and this morning ate a small amt of the dried peaches...sigh, but I'm not beating myself up.

I want to juice, but I'm so so SO busy, it's just so much quicker to mix up a quick smoothie. Sigh.

Going to a potluck in Sun...a holistic mom's group --ex group, there's no longer a group in our area --but there will be all wholesome, REAL food there, but not all raw....I'm going to see how I feel about it, and will make no promises to myself one way or the other. However, if I do eat something, I'm going to continue on this because this one week, just wasn't enough. When I do finally quit, I will again be a non-vegan, but I want to test (blood) as I add things back to see if any are causing problems. I'm going to increase the protein, and only do tiny amts of cooked grains, and tiny amts of fruit....My plan.

What's yours when you finish this short GS fast? At 120 lbs, I'd guess you don't have much, if any weight to lose --well, unless you're
4 ft 9in! !! LOL

Mary Kay

joyce09

09-17-2011, 11:21 PM

Mary kay, Fruit consumption indeed is a profound subject for me. After years of confusion, I finally got it into my head that everyone is different and I just have to experiment with it myself. Well, much sweet fruit causes weight gain for me, so does moderate good raw fat, so does moderate raw grains....The only thing that results in weight loss for me is calorie reduction. It is as simple as that. HAHA.
My short GS fast certainly did not result in any weight loss. But I feel good about it, believing it did somthing good for my health. I had a little itching all over my body for a couple of days earlier this week. I do hope it was detox.

I am not looking for weight loss any more. But I desire to transform my fat weight into muscle weight. So I am getting more serious about weight lifting. I will also pay attention to Omega 3 fat and protein intake.
I hope your Sunday potluck shall be fun and leaves only good memory.