Welcome all 2 the day after the 21st of December! Yep, I had a feeling we’d still be HERE. Thanks sincerely to my God for giving me yet another day to get closer to fulfilling my God given purpose..
Always wanted to join a bookclub N yet for one reason or another haven’t. Solution? Starting my own! Whenever I complete a book I’ll post my review here in this category…feel free if you read the book to also post yours here N if you’d recommend it as a must read or not.
I’m going to open this with my number ONE pick/read for 2012. It was recommended to me by my eldest son & is a book that changed my life! Sounds dramatic, right? But it is true. Reading this book changed how I eat, when I eat, how I exercise, amped UP my energy level by 85%, cleared my naturally oily break-out prone skin, got my digestive system running at an elevated level, dropped 4 sizes(yep! and I was only trying to drop 2 sizes..), firmed/toned my body, made my hair healthier, etc.
The name of the book is “The Beauty Detox Solution” by Kimberly Synder. She’s a clinical nutritionist , fitness expert, & founder of the holistic health company called KS 1Life. The concept of the book is NOT a diet but a change in eating to eat healthier. The book quickly became a best seller and I’ve now read it back to back..twice. I believe in testing books before purchase so I borrowed it from the library several times. And was on a waiting list every time I wanted to renew the book..it is that HOT of a read.
I’ve got to add here that starting on the Glowing Green Smoothie drink is how I began 6 months ago..and it took alot of effort to continue past Day 1!. When I first began on the smoothie I had to literally eat it with a spoon! It was that thick when I made it according to the book. And I’d bought all organic veggies N I refused to let that money go to waste. Organic IS expensive..I’ve since tweaked the recipe so now I can actually drink it with a straw. I began with 6 oz a day and I’m now up to 55 oz a day..that I drink by noon. However, because I dropped so much weight(and don’t care to lose anymore) instead of 6 days a week I’m drinking it 3.5 days a week. I suggest starting off slowly and backing off a bit if you lose too much weight too fast like I did…
While I’ve not yet dropped meat from my diet..as the book hints is best(but I love meat too much!) I do take a daily probiotic as suggested in the book. Believe it or not ingesting that many raw greens can back your system UP..or least it did mine at first. One would think it would be the opposite but for me it wasn’t. Taking a daily probiotic packet did the trick for me. There is alot of effort & discipline involved to continue to make this smoothie to consume the amount I consume. Plus! it doesn’t stay fresh long in the fridge..max I’ve let it stay is 1 day. And I’ve not yet frozen it. I only bought organic my first batch. The amount I consume would cost FAR too much…so now I buy pre-cut pre-washed kale(yep, bitter but I use kale because it has the most nutrients…) and spinach. I’ve added an extra apple/banana/and frozen strawberries to the recipe also. Still bitter! but not as bitter as it was. Once the results were so evident to me I quickly grew to endure the taste…it is worth it to me healthwise.
If anyone out there decides to try the smoothie feel free to ask questions here N I’ll do my best to answer them. And as with anything new you implement check with your doctor FIRST. Enjoy the read & please let me know what you think about it…
Berna's Vibe~The Way I See IT.... 
**Googled the glowing green smoothie & found a detailed description in the author’s own words@Kimberly Synder. And IF my review of the book wasn’t enough to convince ya’ll this smoothie is AMAZING for your body..her write up will. At the end I’m also posting the recipe…
>Drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie (#GGS) is a great way to incorporate tremendous amounts of greens into your diet – far more than just eating your veggies. A serving of the GGS contains over 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Kimberly Snyder’s GGSGreens have more valuable nutrients than any other food group on the planet. You might be surprised to learn that greens even have high-quality, easily-assimilated amino acids – enough to build the protein that supports the muscle mass of the mighty, greens-eating gorilla, which pound-for-pound is the strongest animal on earth!
Blending helps make greens’ full spectrum of nutrition readily available to the body. Nutrients are encased inside plant cells and getting their benefits requires these cells’ walls to be ruptured. Greens need to be worked down to a creamy consistency, but most people simply don’t chew that much! Blending addresses this problem, helping your body absorb the maximum amount of nutrition from your greens.
This is the drink that I drink every day, and have all my clients drink to feel and look their best. I hope that it will become part of your daily life as well.
I generally recommend starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.The advantage of making a big batch like this one is time and convenience. Unlike juice, the Glowing Green Smoothie will keep in your refrigerator, as long as it’s covered, for about two and a half days. You can share it with your family or roommates, or have it yourself over that time period. You can also freeze portion sizes of it in glass containers and thaw out the night before in a bind.
Ongoing cleansing is a critical way to reach your highest potential of health and beauty. The Glowing Green Smoothie retains all of the fiber of the greens and fruit, rather than removing it. In nature, vegetables and fruit are found with both their fiber and juice intact, and we can’t improve on nature. Fiber is critical for ongoing cleansing by sweeping out toxins on a regular basis, helping to keep your digestive tract and body clean, and also keeping you more full so that you tent to eat less heavier and/or acidic foods throughout the day.
Note: I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.
>>GLOWING GREEN SMOOTHIE
1 ½ cups water(I add 2 cups WATER)
1 head organic romaine lettuce, chopped(I use KALE)
½ head of large bunch or ¾ of small bunch organic spinach
3 -4 stalks organic celery(I do NOT use organic veggies at ALL)
1 organic apple, cored/chopped(I use TWO)
1 organic pear, cored/chopped(I don’t use pears, I use 1/2 cup frozen strawberries)
1 organic banana(I use TWO ..)
Juice of ½ organic lemon
Optional: 1/3 bunch cilantro & 1/3 bunch parsley(I use PARSLEY)
Add the water & chopped head romaine, spinach to blender. Start the blender on low & mix until smooth. Gradually move to higher speeds while adding celery,apple, & pear. Add cilantro/parsley if desired. Add the banana & lemon juice last.
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Hey Berna. So is the smoothie a meal replacement or addition? Do you juice or blend? I’d love to take my health to that next level, but I love to eat. I’m a healthy eater, but I could always do better. Sounds like this plan did wonders for you though. Is the idea to keep consuming the smoothies for the rest of your life?
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**Hey Sis! Well, I use it as a meal replacement…It is all I consume from the time I rise in the morning till noon. Even on workdays during the week I carry a big plastic sipper cup(with a lid & straw). BUT by noon? I am starving! I’ve often said I’m so hungry I feel like I could EAT my arm off if I don’t get something solid by noon. As long as I’m sipping on the drink it keeps the hunger away though…I’ve heard some people use it as an additional meal though & they eat breakfast with it. I don’t..which is probably why I lost so much weight so quickly! Mind you I was only wearing a size 11/12 so I wasn’t over weight to start with.(I dropped down to a size 8 within the first 4 months of the smoothie! And I do NOT want to get any smaller or I’ll look anorexic) But I was feeling bogged down(and I’m naturally hyper so feeling bogged down isn’t normal for me…) and bloated, etc…And I use a blender. BUT if you use a blender make sure you buy pre-chopped(which I do cause its less time consuming to make..) or cut the greens prior to blending it. And I chop everything pretty small and add slowly as I’m blending it…
I loveeeeee food also. I enjoy a good meal. Especially when I don’t have to cook it, LOL. Most week days I either eat a Lean Cuisine meal or a light sandwich. But when I feel like it I do normal light lunches with friends. And for dinner? I eat whatever I please…which translates to a really yummy home cooked meal. I’m not big on desserts; but when I have a taste for something sweet I eat IT. I probably will do the smoothie for the rest of my life. That is how goooood its been to me N for me…My goal was, since my 50th is quickly approaching, to be in the BEST possible shape. Physically, health wise, emotionally , and spiritually. My doctor says I’m very, very fit and healthy. I have NO health issues. Nor do I take or have to take meds for anything. I’d already dropped carbonated drinks(I used to be a Diet Pepsi-holic) from my diet about 6 yrs ago. Gave up any social drinking about 10 yrs ago. And I exercise daily. Work out in the mornings/light work out in the evenings. Long , long walks on Saturday mornings…I say all of this to say to get the same results I got isn’t just drinking the smoothie 6 days a week. (about 58 oz per day) But even IF that is all a person is doing I imagine would also get excellent results..How can it not? We cook alot of nutrients OUT of our veggies..even when steaming them. When consuming them raw in great quantities is like getting a TON of vitamins poured into your body. Daily…
Also I don’t do milk or many dairy products. I’d already quit drinking milk about 20 yrs ago. I went from Soy milk to Rice milk to Goat milk and now I drink Almond milk…And also remember most things that are white foods aren’t good for us. Like rice, pasta, bread…I do 100% wheat or all grain bread. BUT I eat alot of rice…love chinese food! lollll. (and Korean & Thai food and thats alot of rice) Again, if you implement these sort of food options to your diet little by little it gets to be a routine very quickly. It is peoples’ eating styles that have America the leader in obesity/over weight rates. IF I can do this , as much as I love food, anyone can
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**I’ll pop back on later to see if you’ve stopped through yet to read my response..N if you still want to try the smoothie(me & a friend call it the green monster lol!) then I’ll post the recipe here
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I’d like to give the smoothie a try, so please do post the recipe. Am curious to see what kind of results I’ll get.
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@Bupe Rose..Hey there! 🙂 Scroll UP to my last comment in this topic and then scroll to the bottom of my comment and there is the recipe…(Did I also mention that drinking this slows the process of GRAY hair coming in??? Yep, I love this smoothie!!!)
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