Everything Goes With Green

Archive for the ‘Supplements’ Category

Ever heard of the Green Monster?  It’s not what you think. The Green Monster is a cute name for the popular green drink movement. If you’re a newbie and haven’t heard about or tried a green drink, well you need to know there are two kinds. One made using fresh vegetables, the other using a powder comprised of dried greens.  The reason it’s important to drink a green drink in the morning is because this is one of the quickest way to ensure your body is alkaline (check out Alkaline Diet).

The first option, which is the traditional green drink is to use organic fresh green like spinach or kale.  Here are a couple of my favorite recipes from http://greenmonstermovement.com/?page_id=39

Virgin Green Monster

Ingredients:

• 2 cups organic spinach
• 1-1.25 cups milk (yo ur ch oice of soy, hemp, almond, or rice milk, stay away from diary)
• 1 tablespoon flax (optional)
• 1 banana
• ice

Directions

Are you a Green Monster first-timer? Have no fear! This recipe is fool proof. Even the       biggest skeptic will love this one. Place the ingredients into the blender in the following order: 1) Flax, 2) spinach, 3) banana, 4) milk. The reason for this order is so the heavier ingredients weigh down the flax and spinach and keep it from flying up around the blender and sticking to the side. Blend everything on the highest setting for 1 minute or so. Finally, add ice and blend on the ice setting. Pour into a large, fancy glass. Sit back, gulp it down, and be prepared to have endless energy!

Blueberry-Banana Green Monster

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups organic spinach
• 1-1.25 cups milk (your choice of cow’s milk, soy, hemp, almond, rice, etc)
• 1 tablespoon flax (optional)
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• ice

Directions:

Place the ingredients into the blender and blend like a mad person! Pour into a fancy glass and gulp down the delicious antioxidants. There’s no better way to start your day!

‘Amazing’ Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster

Ingredients:

• 3 cups organic spinach
• 1-1.25 cups milk (your choice of cow’s milk, soy, hemp, almond, rice, etc)
• 1 tablespoon flax (optional)
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup juicy cantaloupe
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Wheat Grass
• ice

Directions:

Place the ingredients into the blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Add ice for a margarita effect. Who needs Air Conditioning, anyways? Now lace those sneakers up and hit the pavement with boundless energy!

No Milk, No Problem! Iced Pineapple  Green Monster

Ingredients:

• 3 cups spinach
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 package Vega Smoothie Infusion
• 3 cubes ice

Directions:

Are you ready for a tropical, icy dream? If you need an instant cool-down, this green monster is for you! Place all ingredients except ice into the blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Add ice and blend on ice setting. Be prepared to blow your mind with intense pineapple flavour!

Super Chia Detox Green Monster

• 1.25 cup PC low-fat soy milk
• 1/4 cup water (or a bit more to thin out)
• 2 cubes ice
• 1 T chia seeds
• 3 organic kale leaves (or use spinach)
• 1 squirt Kyolic Liquid Garlic extract
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Wheat Grass

Directions: Are you looking to cleanse and energize? This superfood green monster is just what the doctor ordered. It is filled with superfoods like garlic, chia seed, cinnamon, pumpkin and more. You won’t know what to do with all your energy! Add all ingredients into the blender except ice and blend your little heart away. Add ice last and crush on ice setting. Pour into a huge fancy glass and enjoy the dextoifying powers!

‘Peppy’ Carob Green Monster

• 3 cups steamed spinach
• 1 cup your choice of milk
• 3 cubes ice
• 1/2 t pure peppermint extract (or 3-4 fresh mint leaves)
• 1-2 heaping T of carob powder (adjust amount to your taste)
• 1/2 banana
• 1 T chia seeds (or flax)
• Kyolic garlic extract

Directions: Do you feel draggy in the mornings? Do you want to awake with a fresh peppermint zing? I know I sure do! This chocolate-y peppermint green monster is so delicious and minty, you will be hooked in no time. Feeling scandalous? Try adding a bit of Bailey’s for a delightful night cap.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bomb Green Monster

• 1/2 serving PC extra-firm organic tofu
• 3 cups steamed spinach (I made a big batch yesterday and put it in a glass pyrex dish)
• 1 T PC Just Peanuts Peanut Butter
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1/2 T carob powder
• 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate infusion powder
• 1 cup PC low-fat soy milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 cubes ice
• 1/2 T coconut oil
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 small banana

Directions: Are you looking for a super creamy, decadent, smooth, yet super healthy green monster? Then, this one is for you! Tofu, peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and banana come together to create one of the creamiest green monster’s Angela has ever made.

The Second Type of green drink is to use a powdered green drink like Greens Plus by Genuine Health. This is great if you are someone on the run, the only downfall is you don’t get the enzymes from living raw food like you would by making your own drink. That being said, I notice a huge difference if I don’t take my Greens Plus everyday. My favorite flavor is watermelon. Mix the powder with some alkaline water and you have a green drink for the road!

Powdered Green Drink 

Delicious Omega Supplements

Have you heard the buzz about the amazing benefits of Omega oils? It doesn’t matter where you turn, it seems as though everyone from Dr. Oz to Oprah are touting the benefits of omega oils. I don’t know about you, but I hate taking fish pills that taste nasty and are hard to swallow. Fret no more friends! Barlean’s has created an amazing product that is definitely on my top 10 favorite lists – Omega Swirl.

This delicious product tastes like a smoothy, has a great texture, provides your daily dose of omega’s and is something I look forward to taking because there is no added sugar. Omega Swirl is  is sweetened with Xylitol and not sugar to give it it’s great taste.  No xylitol is nothing like aspartame if that is what you are thinking. Xylitol is naturally occuring in fruits and vegetables and does not spike insulin levels like sugar does. For more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol.

So what exactly are Omega Oils? Well firstly there are three types: Omega 3, 6, and 9. Omega 3′s are the building blocks for our cells. Omega 3 and 6′s are necessary for the synthesis of prostaglandins, which help regulate blood clotting, body temperature, blood pressure, reproduction and immune function. In addition, our brain’s are composed of 60%fats, and approximately half of that fat is DHA omega 3.

According to Omega-3.us, here are seven proven benefits omega oils that you should know about.

1. Freedom from pain and inflammation. Omega 3 fish oil fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body’s inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, prostatitis, cystitis.”

2. Better brain function and higher intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with omega 3 fish oil with DHA. For adults, fish oil improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You’ll swear you’re getting younger and smarter.

3. Feeling better with much less depression. Making you smarter is not all that fish oil does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield UK, along with many other research studies, found that fish oil supplements “alleviated” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis. [Journal of Affective Disorder Vol. 48(2-3);149-55]

4. Lower incidence of childhood disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to fish oil supplements.

5. Superior cardiovascular health. Fish oil’s DHA, EPA and DPA have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help lower cholesterol, tryglicerides, LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy.

6. Protection from heart attack and stroke. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes what’s known as a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. Research shows fish oil fatty acids break up clots before they can cause any damage.

7. Reduction of breast, colon and prostate cancer. And finally, fish oil has been shown to help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer – breast, colon and prostate. Science tells us that it accomplishes this in three ways – by stopping the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, by inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and by killing off cancer cells.

Barlean’s can be found in any health food store in the refrigerated section. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!