Virgin Active Wellness Wednesday: Hide The Spinach

So last week I said that I'd been investigating the raw food diet and that I would make some effort to incorporate a few of the principles into my lifestyle. Well, I have been and I've actually really been enjoying the effects. Eating raw can be a bit impractical when going out, so I stick to "raw at home". Basically, I've been making LOTS of smoothies and juices with LOTS of green veggies.

yummy....kale

As I said, main ingredients have been green fruits & veggies. Spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, green apples. I mix it up with other fresh fruit like pineapple, oranges, bananas and strawberries too. I've been trying to incorporate as many green leafy vegetables into my diet as is humanly possible. Smoothies make it easy as spinach is relatively inoffensive tasting and can easily be hidden in between banana, orange and pineapple to make a funny looking but delicious tasting smoothie.

The benefits of green leafy vegetables:

• Low in fat
• High in fiber
• Rich in folic acid (which helps your body to create new cells)
• High in vitamin C, potassium, magnesium
• High in vitamin K (essential for healthy bones)
• Major source of iron & calcium
• High in Lutein and Zeaxanthin (play a protective roll in the eyes)
• Contain lots of cancer-fighting properties 

Studies have shown the following benefits from just one serving of green leafy vegetable per day:

• lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 11 percent 
• a 9 percent lower risk of diabetes 
• increased protection against both cataract and age-related macular degeneration, the major cause of blindness in the elderly
• may help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as breast and lung cancer 
• may contribute to the prevention of heart disease and stroke 
• significantly reduced the risk of stomach cancer (the fourth most frequent cancer in the world)
• has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of breast cancer and skin cancer 
• Quercetin (found in green leafy vegetables) is a natural compound that blocks substances involved in allergies 

Now that may seem like quite a few "may reduce the risk of", but that's still a whole lot better than "doesn't reduce the risk of anything" or even "may increase the risk of". You've pretty much got millions of things to gain and no things to loose. 

Here's a recipe that I've been making liters and liters of at home:

(creatively called) GREEN JUICE 

• 1 large green apple
• 1 large stick of celery
• 2 cups of spinach/kale/broccoli
• 1/4 of a cucumber
• 1 cup of ice
• splash of apple juice

Blend it all up and you've got one of the healthiest things you could possibly put into your body. I know it sounds really gross, but if I can get Nash to drink it-flip, he's asking for it morning, noon and night- then you can bet you'll like it. You can also mix it up with kiwi, mint and spinach. Or apple, mint and celery. The green options are endless! 

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