Health Benefits of Collard Greens and Green Smoothie Recipe
19 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment
in Green Smoothies, Nutrition Tags: antioxidants, blood pressure, breast cancer, calcium, camu, cancer, cataracts, chlorophyll, citrus magic, collar greens, Diabetes, fiber, Green Smoothies, heart disease, heart health, magnesium, Nutrition, ovarian cancer, stevia, sweetleaf
Collard greens are one of favorite leafy greens! The taste is somewhere between kale and cabbage. For many years my family and friends would laugh at me because I was always cooking up a pot of collard greens. I knew that collard greens were a good source of fiber and the taste was so delicious.
It’s important to get fresh collard greens and make sure that the leaves are a bright green. No wilted or yellow leaves. I prefer purchasing organic leafy greens. However, if you buy conventional be sure to use a good veggie wash. I recommend Citrus Magic to help remove dirt and pesticides.
Health Benefits of Collard Greens
Collard greens provide amazing health benefits for your body. They are an extremely nutritious dark, leafy green vegetable loaded with lots of vitamins, minerals, and cancer fighting antioxidants. The nutrients of collard greens include high levels of folate, fiber, chlorophyll, calcium, vitamins A, C and B. Collard greens are a good non-dairy source of calcium which is essential to good bone health. Vitamin A is essential to a healthy immune system.
The amazing number of nutrients and anti-oxidants are what makes collard greens essential in helping to prevent many types of cancer, such as breast cancer, colon and ovarian cancer. The high level of beta-carotene also helps prevent cataracts and heart disease. The high level of magnesium makes collard greens very beneficial to your heart health. Eating collard greens helps to lower your blood pressure and regulate your blood sugar.
Well, I still love cooking a pot of collard greens but one of my favorite green smoothie recipes includes collard greens. I love the fact that I’m getting an abundance of health benefits for my body without cooking, which removes many of the nutrients.
Green Smoothie Recipe
1 cup water
1 Frozen banana
8 Frozen organic strawberries
1 mango
3 leaves organic collard greens
Organic baby spinach (handful)
2 packets of SweetLeaf stevia
1 Pure Camu fresh pack
1 tbsp flax oil
Add ingredients into blender in the order listed above and blend until smooth. Enjoy this creamy and delicious smoothie!
Everybody knows that it’s important to include lots of dark, green, leafy vegetables, like collard greens, in your diet every week.
Have you tried green smoothies yet?
If so, let me know what you think.
To Your Health ~
Melissa
How Sweet It Is: Healthy Natural Sweeteners?
18 Jan 2010 5 Comments
in Diabetes, Green Smoothies, Nutrition, Weight Loss
Are you someone who is health conscious like most people and looking for healthy alternatives?
Well, controlling sugar consumption is one of my concerns. I am not diabetic, but diabetes has affected several members of my family. Several years ago, I started my quest for healthy natural sweeteners. The reason for my quest was mainly in a continuous effort to be healthier.
I was never a user of the colored packets. You know what I’m talking about – - – the pink stuff, the yellow stuff, and the blue stuff. For many years there have been concerns and research reports on the excessive consumption of these low-calorie artificial sugar substitutes being harmful to the body.
Well, I’ve found a couple of natural sweeteners that I feel are healthy natural sugar substitutes. I use them to sweeten my coffee, tea, oatmeal, pancakes, green smoothies and other desserts and beverages. I’m referring to Agave Nectar and Stevia and understand that you can also use both for cooking and baking. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’ll have to keep you posted on that.
Agave Nectar
Agave Nectar (also known as Agave Syrup) is a natural sweetener made from the wild agave cactus plant and commercially produced in Mexico. It has a low glycemic index and has a consistency a little thinner than honey. It supplies the natural minerals iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The glycemic index and glycemic load are lower than any other sweetener on the market. Agave is sweeter than sugar and suitable for beverages and cooking. It is a great sweetener for cold beverages, such as iced tea because it dissolves quickly. Madhava is one of my favorite brands.
Stevia
Stevia is a powerful natural sweetener that comes from the leaves of a native South American plant. It is a non-caloric herb that has 300 times the sweetness of sugar; a pinch goes a long way. Stevia is available as a liquid and white powder. You can cook with it; and use it to sweeten your foods and beverages. It can also be used in preparing jellies, jams and sauces.
Stevia is attractive as a natural sweetener to people who are controlling their intake of carbs. It also has health benefits: it has anti-bacterial properties, and prevents high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
I have tried several brands and find that you have to experiment to figure out which one works for you. I prefer the powdered form and especially like adding stevia to my green smoothies. My favorite brand of powdered stevia is SweetLeaf. If you like the liquid form of stevia click here.
So, I would love to hear your opinion on these natural sweeteners. Also, are there any other healthy sweeteners out there that you can recommend?
Green Smoothies Can Help Lower High Cholesterol
06 Jan 2010 2 Comments
Many years ago, my doctor informed me that my cholesterol was too high and required medication to lower the LDL (bad cholesterol) level. I decided against taking his recommendation and to take matters into my own hands by educating myself and making healthy lifestyle changes. I developed an exercise routine that included cardio and strength training. I also learned to eat more nutritious foods and include more fiber in my diet.
My efforts paid off tremendously. By the time I went back for my next doctor’s visit I had successfully reduced my cholesterol level without medication. Another healthy benefit was that I avoided the expenses associated with taking medication.
Too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to heart disease and stroke. These are major causes of death in America. The fear of high cholesterol is a condition that has created great fear around the world. In the book ‘Selling Sickness: How the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients’, Ray Moynihan enlightens us about how nations everywhere have spent more on cholesterol-lowering drugs in recent years than any other category of prescription medicines.
The tendency to have high cholesterol increases if it runs in your family. However, many people are experiencing high cholesterol levels due to unhealthy habits, such as lack of exercise, diets that include processed foods and are high in saturated fats.
Drinking green smoothies is a healthy habit that will help towards maintaining and reducing cholesterol levels. Green smoothies are loaded with nutrients and fiber. They are very easy to make and taste delicious. A green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with leafy greens added. This is an excellent way to get more healthy greens into your diet and help manage your cholesterol level.
Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko is an excellent book to help you get started if you are new to drinking green smoothies.
We must empower ourselves to take control of our health with education and motivation to develop healthier habits to avoid taking medication if possible.
To your health,
~Melissa
