Feeding your skin with Smoothies!!!!
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Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:22 am

jom wrote:

cm5597 wrote:

Interestingly, I find that the more fat I eat, the stronger my sweat smells....When I eat a low fat, raw diet, it's rare that my sweat smells Smile

I believe the same is true of farts. Beef farts are the smelly ones and those from eating fruit, vegetables and beans are not smelly farts! Laughing

Uhhhh, Broccoli? Major smelly farts, even when I'm eating clean.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:23 am

If I eat a lot of garlic and fatty foods, that happens to me too.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:26 am

Girls, which blenders do you use?

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:29 am

i have an old osterizer and as long as I only fill it half way and have a lot of liquid in with the ice and add one cut up piece of food at a time it does fine. So far. Smells hot when it is done though.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:30 am

I wanted to ask if anyone had the quisinart one. I saw it at a store here for 59. and wondered if it was worth it?

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:06 pm

I've used a Vitamix daily for nearly twenty years - am on my third one, trading the first two in to the company for upgraded models. I certainly don't use it to it's full potential, primarily making smoothies & nut butters.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:43 pm

I have a cuisinart and it works really quite well.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:11 pm

I love my Vitamix blender, but I haven't yet found a blender that is incapable of making a decent green smoothie Smile

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:26 pm

cm5597 wrote:

I love my Vitamix blender, but I haven't yet found a blender that is incapable of making a decent green smoothie Smile

From what I read before making a purchase was that the smaller motor blenders need water and blend parts of the smoothie at a time. The larger motor models will blend it all at once in next to no time. Also on reviews people talk about burning up their motors within months(now that could be from not doing a gradual blend and over taxing the motor) the L equip 228 for the money and power it is a wonderful buy. I have priced them from 89.00 to 150.00-160.00.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:42 pm

My cuisinart is barely two weeks into smoothies and is doing great. I would be nervous to blend in carrots and celery and things like that though so it has limitations. working great for tomatoes, spinach, etc.

free skin care · Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:27 pm

My L'Equip 228 (kudos to Toby for the rec!) is doing a great job blending everything up at once, including celery and frozen-solid grapes. At first I was nervous about overtaxing it so added the ingredients in gradually, and frozen things a bit at a time, but I discovered it had no trouble handling everything at once. I do turn the power up gradually and back down gradually, but it blends everything smooth superquick.

I generally put the greens & softer bits in first and end up with the frozen things near the top so by the time the hard stuff gets near the blades there's already a smooth slush. It might be harder on the blades if I put the more solid ingredients in first.

Next week I'm going to see how it handles carrots. I'm also going to try blending up hot soups w/ lots of veggies when the weather gets cooler.

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:21 pm

The information on this thread is wonderful, and I thank all of you for it. I'm just finishing my second week of green smoothies, which I started after reading the information provided by Toby and Claudia. I have also bought both green smoothie books. I have several questions which I'm hoping you experts can answer.

1) In one of the books, the author recommends that you add nothing to green smoothies except fruit, greens and water. I've been adding yogurt, oil and whey protein to mine. Do you think that's a mistake?

2) I know nothing about detoxing but have read some of the symptoms posted here, some of which I think I've experienced. Could someone recommend a good book on this topic?

3) I read with interest the discussion about leg cramps and potassium, because I had to get out of bed one night this week to get rid of a cramp. This week, I also developed a crick in my back which has now moved up to my neck. I'm wondering if that's something that goes along with leg cramps.

4) I just bought a Blendtec because I was wearing my old blender out - I had to rock it in order to get the blades to catch the fruit. I used the smoothie setting today, but after running it twice on that setting, I still had a big chunk of frozen banana when I poured it out. For anyone who has the Blendtec, do you use a different setting?

Thanks so much for your help.

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 3:24 pm

Hey Skippie,
First welcome to the forum wave

You can learn a multitude of information here and also spend a
ton of money Laughing

Now as an owner of the blentec, I think I know what you are referring to and what I find is I need to add water...maybe 1/2 cup and then my greens, fruit, and ice on the top.The heavier things on top push things drop better. Also it operates the best with some water.

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:18 pm

Hi Skippie Smile

Welcome to the forum, too!

Skippie wrote:

I've been adding yogurt, oil and whey protein to mine. Do you think that's a mistake?

Hmmm..."mistake" is an interesting word. Any smoothie that contains greens, I would consider a big success! You are doing great! Smile

But I think I know what you are asking, and to answer that question, my personal experience is that you won't get quite as many benefits if you add yogurt, oil and whey protein, especially if you add them into your morning green smoothie, as that is when the body is still doing significant house cleaning.

You might want to try experimenting with doing it both ways and seeing how you feel.

Skippie wrote:

I know nothing about detoxing but have read some of the symptoms posted here, some of which I think I've experienced. Could someone recommend a good book on this topic?

I don't know a particular book just on detox, but there are lots of free explanations and stories online if you just do a search on "detox"

Also, a book I would highly recommend for anyone interested in detoxing and eating a healthy diet, but one that allows you to pick your level of flexibility/rigidity with food is "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose (and no, you don't have to even eat mostly raw foods or green smoothies). Her theory is that "weight = waste", so the way to get healthy cells and lose weight is to allow the body to detox, and the way she says to do this is to "eat quick exit foods in quit exit combinations". In other words, she promotes eating foods that are easy to digest and leave the body quickly and to eat the foods in certain combinations (food combining). I experimented with lots of her recommendations, and even though I think some of the theory she provides is either a little off or unscientific, her suggestions do work extremely well and she is totally right on about what foods promote the most cleansing. For example, for those interested in maximum detoxing (but on a sustainable daily basis), she says to eat only raw fruit and veggies until dinner, and I found that eating the exact same things but in this particular order made me detox even more and (after the main detox episode) feel even better! Her website iswww.detoxtheworld.com.

Skippie wrote:

I read with interest the discussion about leg cramps and potassium, because I had to get out of bed one night this week to get rid of a cramp. This week, I also developed a crick in my back which has now moved up to my neck. I'm wondering if that's something that goes along with leg cramps.

Yikes, that doesn't sound good! I don't know whether that could be related. But anyone with cramps should get a blood test done and ask their doctor to check their electrolyte and other mineral and nutrient levels (e.g., sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamin D, etc.) For the vast majority of people, a frequent cramp is unlikely to be potassium deficiency, and more likely to be a deficiency in another mineral.

Smile

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:34 pm

A quick report/warning...

So... my mom is here visiting me. She and I are constantly on a quest as of late to include more and more fruit and veges... Anyhow. She has been telling me about a beet salad that she's madly in love with. That I must try it. I HATE beets... But ok... I'll try it. We picked some up at whole foods, the beets are softened through steaming or boiling, chopped up and tossed with a vinaigrette. YUM! OMG! YUM!

Here's the warning... Beets, when eaten en masse, will turn your urine BLOOD RED! Did you know that? Well now you do.. so don't have a heart attack! They are great for the ol' kidneys... Cleansing!

free skin care · Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:32 pm

I finally did a shop yesterday and bought up big on fruit and veg.
So I've just tried my very first ever smoothy and OMG it's delish!!
I can't believe I've done Ok on my first attempt.
I used:

Spinach Apple Banana Smoothie

1 handful of baby spinach
1 handful of mixed lettuce leaves
1/4 tomato
1/4 apple
1 banana
Abit of water to mix
Not alot of different veges yet but it's a start. I blended it bit by bit and my blender's done good!

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:05 am

Thank you so much, Toby and cm5597 - you guys rock.

I'll try your suggestion with water, Toby. I haven't been using water because I add ice to my smoothies, but I guess I could do both. I actually liked the crunchiness with my old blender because I felt like I was eating a meal. I also read, I think in one of the green smoothie books, that you should take your time drinking a smoothie even to the point of refrigerating it for awhile so you body has time to process the greens.

The reason I added all those other things to my smoothie is because I have my smoothie when I leave home at 6:00 and was trying to stay full until lunchtime. But I can try it without on the weekends.

I appreciate the recommendation about the book, cm5597. As you seem very knowledgeable about the subject, I value your advice. Does detoxing ever stop, or is it a continuous cycle?

Thanks again - I'm sorry I can't add hearts yet as I just joined yesterday.

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:45 am

cm5597 wrote:

For example, for those interested in maximum detoxing (but on a sustainable daily basis), she says to eat only raw fruit and veggies until dinner, and I found that eating the exact same things but in this particular order made me detox even more and (after the main detox episode) feel even better! Her website iswww.detoxtheworld.com.

Did this help you lose any weight, cm5597? Could you go into more details about the only eating raw fruit/veggies until dinner, and can dinner be cooked foods?

Also, just wanted to ask this question to get everyone's thoughts. I talked to a person about the green smoothies and their thought is that fruit should not be included in the smoothies, but that fruit should be eaten separately from all other foods (I believe this comes from a food combining theory.). Do any of you do this?

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:49 am

oops...I meant to say "potassium excess", not "potassium deficiency"

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:50 am

I wanted to share this smoothie recipe. It is not a green smoothie. I believe it is healthy for you due to the antioxidants and the fatty acids, and it is one of the best tasting smoothies I have had.

Hempseed Cocoa Fruit Smoothie

2 tbsp ground hempseed
1 tbsp ground flax seed
2 scoops stevia (I left this out)
2 tbsp raw cocoa powder
2 cups fruit (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp honey or agave
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup water or almond milk

(the rest of the ingredients are optional and include 1 tbsp raw almond butter or peanut butter, 1 handful goji berries and 1 tbsp maca).

Blend all together.

I used raspberries as I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry. Got this from some site on the internet (sorry, I don't remember where and I did not bookmark it).

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:27 am

Rileygirl... I think that is do to food combining theories. However, I think it's more important to get the abundance of greens. And if adding fruit makes them go down... then ADD FRUIT!

Better to get them in the diet than pass due to taste. I find I do add less and less fruit. But it's still going in there!

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:36 am

Skippie wrote:

Does detoxing ever stop, or is it a continuous cycle?

Detox is defined as eliminating more toxins from your body than you ingest and otherwise take in...so it's a ongoing process...unless you are always taking in more toxins than you ingest Shock

But I like think of detox as occurring to three different degrees:

(1) So subtle that you don't and cannot notice it. This is your body's regular house-cleaning mechanism that hopefully should occur fairly regularly enough (though certainly not continually) for everyone.

(2) Moderate detox. This is detox that you notice and that is accompanied by moderate symptons. This would include signs like being very thirsty, changes in stool, feeling slightly feverish, etc.

(3) Severe detox. This detox that knocks you over the head. These are very rare, but happen. In my worst detox episode (my first day eating only raw food), I was super-dehydrated, threw up, and had to sleep for 14 hours. Since there was no stomach acid in the vomit and it smelled and looked exactly like someone had just put the foods I ate into a food processor, it was totally clear that the vomit and sickness was not from bacteria contamination of food, but was instead due to the fact that my body was overwhelmed by the amount of toxins released into my bloodstream and so had no ability to even attempt digesting the food in my stomach...so just like when your body vomits when you have alcohol poisoning. If you want to hear a sample about the balance of the types of detox you feel at various points after a major lifestyle change, here is one person's experience (you'll have to scroll down): http://www.thegardendiet.com/jinjee.html. Note despite her one bad episode, as she says, most of the time after a major lifestyle change you do feel great, but that is punctuated by moderate and rarely sever detox episodes.

Ok, so when people refer to detox, they are normally referring to detox that would fall under categories 2 and 3, though technically speaking most of the detox people experience falls under category 1. So to answer your question,

** You should (hopefully) get type 1 detox for (most of) the rest of your life

** You will probably get type 2 detox whenever you make significant changes in your health, and as such, detoxing becomes a very powerful sign that lets you know what choices improve your health more than other. If you do a major life overhaul, you will probably go through detox from anywhere from 1/2 a week to a few months, before you go through most of the detox associated with your major life change.

** You actually want to avoid type 3 detox, as much as possible. Why? Well, functional medicine whas really started to understand the detox process. There are two detox stages in the liver called phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification. If I recall correctly, phase 1 detoxification prepares the body for excreting the various toxins by attaching certain chemical groups and making other chemical modifications to the toxins to prepare them for excretion from the body. Phase 2 actually involves the excretion of them toxins from the body, but requires a large amount of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc. to do. So the idea is that if your body gets stuck in phase 1, but doesn't have enough resources to eliminate the toxins in phase 2, then you have all these highly reactive toxins floating around your body that aren't being excreted and result in severe detox symptoms and perhaps additional damage to your body. So the key is to always provide your body with optimal conditions during detox, like lots of greens and vegetables, water, rest, etc. Again, severe detox is very rare, but I bring all this up because a lot of people say the only thing you need to do to detox successfully is to remove certain harmful things from your diet and lifestyle, when the fact is that it depends both on the bad factors you remove as well as the good things you add into your diet and lifestyle. The second reason I bring this up is to point out how important and how much better it is for your body (not to mention, much more sustainable long-term) to go slowly and make changes over the course of months, not days and weeks.

Btw, your other detox organs are your skin, kidneys, colon, and lungs. So in addition to eating more green smoothies, green juices, juice feasting or fasting, fruit, raw foods, lightly steam foods, etc., there are lots of other therapies out there that help: sunlight, body brushing, lymphatic massage, deep breathing, infrared saunas, Fritz bath and other cold water bathing therapies, enemas and colonics, herbs, injesting clays, etc.

I hope this all helps!! Smile

There so many different things one can do, so if you have specific questions or are wondering about specific approaches, just ask, and I see if I can direct you to helpful resources or give advice Smile

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:43 am

rileygirl wrote:

Also, just wanted to ask this question to get everyone's thoughts. I talked to a person about the green smoothies and their thought is that fruit should not be included in the smoothies, but that fruit should be eaten separately from all other foods (I believe this comes from a food combining theory.). Do any of you do this?

It seems like from what I am reading the combination of the greens(not just all veggie) and fruit is the way to go. According to Victoria Boutenko and her books, Green for Life, and in her other book Green Smoothie Revolution. I really recommend these books if you are going to get into the smoothies. Greens according to Victoria should be in a different category than regular veggies for identification. Also Claudia's alert on beets is addressed in one of the books...if you are alkaline then eating beets doesn't cause a change in your urine but if you are more acidic then your urine will have some re color in it. I hope I am remembering this correctly....I have let a friend borrow my book so I can't look it up.

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:56 am

rileygirl wrote:

Did this help you lose any weight, cm5597? Could you go into more details about the only eating raw fruit/veggies until dinner, and can dinner be cooked foods?

Yes, from eating raw food with lots of greens and fruit, I lost about 10-15 pounds and 4 inches of cellulite off my thighs! To be honest, this was the most effective thing I've ever done for my cellulite (followed in second place by NLL and other massage-type techniques, tied with the Fritz bath method/cold water bathing). But I won't sugar-coat it: what I did was an extreme life change. But I needed to because most of my cellulite was a direct result of 15-month episode I went through because of medication poisoning in my system that resulted in a 50% increase in my weight over a little more than a year and consequent ill effects, so I needed to do something drastic to try to clear that out of my system. Most people do not have to take as extreme measures as I did.

I got the best results from eating mostly fruit and veggies, and limiting my fat intake to 15% or less. Many raw diets are high in fat, and I don't think that a raw food diet will make you healthy. (Sorry, I hope I don't talk about raw too much, I just get really excited about it Smile

...if I do and it's off-putting, just send me a pm to let me know.) I think the most important thing is to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and to eliminate the more harmful dietary offenders.

rileygirl wrote:

Also, just wanted to ask this question to get everyone's thoughts. I talked to a person about the green smoothies and their thought is that fruit should not be included in the smoothies, but that fruit should be eaten separately from all other foods (I believe this comes from a food combining theory.). Do any of you do this?

Yes, I get the absolute best cleansing from eating meals of only one type of fruit (this is called mono-eating). However, I think eating lots of greens is far important than eating fruits separately from everything else, and I find it hard to eat lots of greens otherwise Smile

So I occasionally do eat mono-meals of fruit, but mostly I ignore this.

Also, to complicate things, some people think that it's okay food combining to eat greens with fruit, while others think that it's not okay to eat *any* veggies with fruit. FWIW,the hardest fruit to food combine is melon, but I notice that if I blend melons with spring greens, I have zero issues, so I don't really think there's anything to be concerned about.

HTH Smile

free skin care · Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:05 am

rileygirl wrote:

Could you go into more details about the only eating raw fruit/veggies until dinner, and can dinner be cooked foods?

So in her book, Natalia Rose lays out 5 different eating levels that promote detox and are healthy, so you get to pick your level of eating. I believe levels 1 and 2--the most rigid, but promising the most benefits--have you eat nothing but fruit and veggies until dinner. In level 2, you can eat whatever healthy foods you want for dinner, including cooked vegetables, some dairy (preferably raw, but doesn't have to be), some fish, etc. In level 1, you eat raw for dinner. Levels 3-5 are also worth mentioning, but I forget what they are. I think I recall that Natalia claims that level 3 is do-able for virtually everyone in the long-term, though it may take years before you decide you want to and are ready to eat according to level 3--but she encourages everyone to at least aim to eventually get to level 3. So the eating only fruits and veggies until dinner is only for the most advanced levels and only for people who want to go that extra mil. Unfortunately, I just moved, so my book is still in storage...but remind me in a week, and I'll post more details here.

HTH! Hugs Smile

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