Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Green Smoothie Cleanse -- Day 5


Day 5 -- Green Smoothie Cleanse, Final Post





Dear Mr. Beet,
I tried. I tried you in my smoothie this evening and I'm sorry... I just can't eat you raw. I really tried and I love still you love cooked, but raw just won't cut it! But don't worry, we used your smoothie to give a nutritious boost to our newly planted azaleas, I'm sure they will reap from your nutritious benefits!!

Very Sincerely,
Carrie @ GingerLemonGirl.com

*********

It is the last official day of the Green Smoothie Cleanse! This is my last post in the series and I did it!! I made it through 3 entire days of all green smoothies! I feel healthier and I'm really glad I did this for my body... but I'd also really like something to eat.. something crunchy! ;-)

Three days was a great length of time for this cleanse! It's just enough time to allow yourself to stop bad habits and learn new healthy ones. Tomorrow I will have raw foods such as a green leaf salad with carrots, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, cucumber, and oil and vinegar for dressing. Thursday I'll add cooked vegetables back into the menu, and Friday I'll reintroduce healthy lean meats and whole gluten free grains in very small portions.

Today I wanted to make an all veggie V8 type smoothie for dinner, minus the tomatoes. And well, as you read above, it didn't really work out. In the colorful smoothie, I used a small beet with the greens, 2 shredded carrots, red cabbage, celery, spinach, kale, and parsley. I was a brave Ginger Lemon Girl and tried to chug it down... but soon gave up. I'm sorry. I just didn't like it. No offense Mr. Beet.

So instead of a V8 smoothie, I opted for something a bit sweeter. What can I say... sweets are indeed my weakness, but at least this would be a healthy, natural sweet treat!

I decided to use shredded carrots, an apple, a handful of peaches, and of course greens.

At the last minute I tossed in some cinnamon and some fresh vanilla bean and voila... a carrot cake smoothie! It's very tasty and just slightly sweet! The cinnamon adds a lovely hint of natural sweetness and I love the fresh vanilla!

Enjoy!



Carrot Cake Smoothie

2 carrots, shredded
1 apple, cored
1/2 cup frozen peaches
2 tablespoons soaked almonds
1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1 cup collards
2 tablespoons gogi berries
1/4 cup coconut (I used whole pieces of fresh coconut)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 of a vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped from pod into blender
2 cups water
1 cup ice

Add all to blender and pulse until very smooth. Add more water if necessary. Serve immediately!


Many thanks to Meghan Telpner for her constant support, positive encouragement, and her wonderful green smoothie cleanse program and information. Please visit her site for excellent resources on whole foods nutrition and healthy living!


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