4 Must-Have Greens To Add to Your Smoothie and Why?

What’s the key to maintaining a healthy eating routine that doesn’t get dropped at one passing glance from a chocolate bar? The answer: simplicity.

Rather than following a complicated recipe that’s brimming with hard-to-find ingredients, having something that’s on hand and effortless will do wonders for keeping your health goals on track.

And why not start your day off on the right foot? A fantastic option for this is a vitamin-packed smoothie filled with greens. “Raw greens are full of healthful phytonutrients and live enzymes that can boost the nutritional content of your smoothie,” notes Monica Tangry, Registered Holistic Nutritionist who works as an independent contractor for Finlandia Health Center. Greens also help increase the amount of fiber in your smoothie. Added fibre is always a bonus for your digestive track and adding greens to your smoothies is a fantastic way to balance out your smoothies, particularly in the morning, explains Tangry.

Greens are everywhere, so what kind to go with?

Tangry suggests four options that will not only boost your day and well-being, but will also simplify your meal prep:

1. Spinach –  This easy to find green is rich in potassium, protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A, B, C and B-12. “Spinach is an overall powerhouse green that can lower blood pressure, is anti-cancer, improves skin, and is highly alkalizing,” explains Tangry.


2. Romaine – Romaine is mild in taste, making it the perfect addition to a smoothie because it goes undetected. Along with the minimal taste interruption, Romaine will add an assortment of vitamins and minerals.


3. Celery – While easy to find, this one is for a high-speed blender. The good news? “Celery is full of insoluble fiber (the stringy stands) – the kind that does not get broken down by the body and so passes through the intestinal tract like a broom, sweeping and cleaning out toxins and waste,” notes Tangry. Celery may have a strong taste, but it also has anti-inflammatory benefits for our bodies. “[It] can help relieve symptoms of conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis,” say Tangry.


4. Kale – Last but not least, bitter greens include star players such as kale, dandelion, arugula, carrot tops and endive. “The high chlorophyll content make these amazing detoxifiers that support liver health, cleanse the blood, alkalize the system, improve bowel function, clarify the skin, stabilize blood sugar and promote natural weight loss!” notes Tangry.

Choose from any of the above green suggestions and toss them in your blender for a meal that’s delicious and simple.

Tangry’s Favorite Simple Smoothie Recipe: 

• Almond milk


• Spinach


• Frozen fruit – Fresh is always great, but a small handful of frozen berries will keep your smoothie cool and still provide healthful nutrients


• Sea vegetable powder – is a green superfood powder made up of different sea-vegetables from the ocean, and promotes a healthy weight, hormone balance, as well as a healthy mood


• Pinch of cinnamon – adds taste and also stabilizes blood sugar


• Protein powder – Opt for a raw food plant-based protein powder to up the nutritional content of a smoothie.

The Benefit?

What does Tangry have to say about an effortless, lean-green, smoothie machine? “It keeps me full and satisfied all morning until my next meal, without having to snack.”

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Guest Post by Tess Bercan, a freelance writer, traveller, admissions director and above all a dog lover. She lives with her Maltese pup in Vancouver BC and is constantly looking for ways to create a positive and balanced lifestyle: one that supports health, clean eating, and joy. Tess’s research and writing has appeared in Everyday Diabetes, Green Lifestyle Market, and Think Health Magazine.

Connect with Tess here: www.tessbercan.com

Article Sources: 

1. Monica Tangry: mtangry@finlandiahealth.com


2. http://www.joybauer.com/food-articles/leafy-green-vegetables/


3. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270609.php


4. http://simplegreensmoothies.com/rotate-your-greens


5. http://www.greenthickies.com/10-best-greens-for-green-smoothies/

4 Must-Have Greens To Add to Your Smoothie and Why?

How a lot of portions of fruit and greens are we consuming?

In accordance to a new report, we ought to all be aiming for at least 7 portions of fruit and veggies a day. That is fairly a feat when you think about a lot of individuals in the United kingdom are presently struggling to get their five a day. So how much fruit and veg are we presently consuming and what else did the report reveal?

The examine, carried out by researchers at University College London, analysed information from far more than 65,000 adults aged 35 years or older, who responded to the Wellness Survey for England. Researchers then followed up participants for an regular of seven.7 many years right after their initial participation.

What did the study find?

The discovering that much of the press have concentrated their target on is that eating at least 7 portions of fresh fruit and greens a day was linked to a 42% decrease danger of death from all triggers. Although the NHS have stated that the United kingdom media have reported the study final results properly, they do stage out the following:

Even so, they all reported figures for all brings about of mortality, excluding any deaths that occurred in the first yr of the examine.

This meant that the chance of death they reported (42%) was reduced by a higher extent than when these individuals had been incorporated in the examination (33%).

The research located that men and women who ate 7 or a lot more portions of fruit or vegetables a day had a 33% diminished chance of death from any cause, a 25% reduced threat of death from cancer and a 31% decreased danger of death from cardiovascular illness, in contrast with folks who ate much less than 1 portion per day (a portion is defined as 80 grams). Researchers adjusted their examination for sex, age, cigarette smoking, social class, Physique Mass Index, training, physical activity and alcohol intake

They also found that greens may reduced chance much more than fruit and that eating frozen or canned fruit was related with an enhanced chance of death.

The five a day mantra, as the NHS describe in their Behind the Headline evaluation, has constantly referred to the the minimum recommended level they advise. Or as they put it:

When it comes to fruit and greens, as extended as you watch your calorie and sugar consumption it is quite considerably the case of “the a lot more the merrier”

How much fruit and veggies are we at the moment consuming?

In accordance to the Foods Statistics Pocketbook 2013, published by the Division for Setting, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), fruit and vegetable consumption is falling. Mona Chalabi wrote in September last year:

The average United kingdom home now manages four portions per particular person per day, while the poorest ten% have just two.9. Back in 2005 however, factors looked diverse – the typical particular person was eating four.four of their five a day, and even the poorest ten% have been having 3.5.

The chart beneath demonstrates fruit and vegetable consumption for guys, ladies and kids.

The National Diet regime and Nutrition Survey, which samples around one,000 men and women aged 18 months upwards residing in the Uk and involves an interview, a four-day dietary diary and blood and urine samples, found that only 31% of adults aged 19 to 64 years and 37% of older adults (aged 65 years previous and above) met the 5 a day recommendation. Those aged 19 to 64 years consumed on typical four.1 portions per day and older adults ate 4.4 portions.

Along with providing details on the approximate fruit and veg consumption per person per day, the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2013 also looked at the modify in meals rates.

The report stated that foods prices had risen 12% in true terms because 2007 and highlighted a thirty% increase in price for fish, fruit, greens, bread and meat because June 2007. They also found that in the year to June 2013, fruit and vegetable rates had recorded the most significant increases at 7.5% and five.two% respectively.

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How a lot of portions of fruit and greens are we consuming?