A Great Way to Get Your Veggies In!
A couple of months ago, I read an article researching the benefits of the Paleo diet in pigs. In this study, pigs decreased their body fat, increased their muscle, lowered their blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Basically, they fared very well. One thing that struck me, though, was the preponderance of vegetables in their diet. I can’t find the exact article, but I seem to remember that these pigs ate about 1 pound of meat, and 14 pounds of veggies per day! This got me thinking: should we be eating more like this? I mean, I’m not going to eat 14 pounds of veggies per day (it would break the bank, and I would do nothing but eat all day long!), but should I make a concentrated effort to eat more? I decided that yes, I really should. So I thought, “how could I get in a ton of veggies that supported all of my body’s detoxification systems? And not taste like dirt?” So I decided to make a veggie shake every day. I’ll have to tell you, it’s really helped. I sleep better, and overall, feel better. Many studies point out that we don’t eat enough veggies, and that they help prevent every disease known to man. I promised a lot of patients my shake recipe, so here it is:
- 1 beet with the greens
- 2-4 carrots (no greens, they taste gross), depending on their size
- 1 cup cut up zucchini
- 1 cup cut up cucumber
- 2 handfulls of greens (you can use spinach, kale, whatever)
- 1-2 cups berries (I use a berry mix of blackberries, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries)
- 1 tablespoon Essential Balance Oil (I carry it here at the office, the essential fatty acids help with nutrient absorbtion)
- 1 serving SP Complete
- ½ can of coconut milk
- Water as needed
I blend this up in my vitamix for about 1 minute on high. It makes 2-32 oz servings. If you want to try this, you might have to split this up over 2 days. That’s fine. Some people think it has to be fresh, but I say whatever is easiest for you is best. Try out this shake for a week, and let me know what you think!
Here’s Laura’s Diet Record from Sunday (kitchen day!–made homemade pico de gallo, tomato sauce, and spaghetti squash, yum!)
9:00 AM: coffee with coconut oil
11:30 AM: baby pattypan squash with onions, beet greens, black olives, sardines, and homemade pico de gallo
5:00 PM: (after walking over 7.5 miles…) 1.5 beers, greek salad with gyro meat, fries and ketchup, and greek coffee
8:00 PM: celery with peanut butter
