- by Kate Nicholson
Well, I managed to negotiate Christmas fairly successfully. Not 100% raw, but high raw and vegan. No sugar or alcohol (don’t need either to have a fun time anymore!). I offered round Doll’s delicious ‘cocoa surprises’ from her ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ cookie recipes after dinner. (Thank you so much for those, Doll!). Much dubiousness initially from all of the non-raw brigade (especially the men), which changed to exclamations of delight after a bite! They polished off the lot. Ha!
Next day, when everyone emerged at breakfast time slightly hung-over and groaning at all the rich food they’d consumed, I offered green smoothies all round. Amazingly, they all (from the 93-year old down to the 8-year old) agreed to try them.
The concoction I whizzed up was designed to be cleansing, refreshing, and energising.
Greenberry Delight!
Serves One. Increase amounts according to numbers.
- 1 generous cup frozen strawberries
- 1 large banana
- 3/4 cup parsley
- ½ cup kale (stripped from stem)
- splash of Agave
- 1 heaped tsp spirulina
The frozen strawberries give a delicious juicy coolness; they’re packed with vitamin C and potent antioxidants such as the anthocyanins which give them their rich red colour and which help to protect cell structures and prevent oxygen damage in the body. They are also anti-inflammatory (excellent for my sugar eating folks) and protective against certain cancers.
Good old bananas provide a great source of energy which got my flagging family off the sofa and out into the countryside for a good long walk. (Not the 93-year old. My smoothies aren’t quite that magical!). They also provide the mood boosting amino acid tryptophan and have a natural antacid effect on the stomach to counteract the acidity caused by a glut of rich foods. Their high levels of potassium are beneficial for lowering raised blood-pressure, while their generous levels of B vitamins improve nerve function.
Parsley contains volatile oils which have been shown to inhibit tumour formation in animal studies and is a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin A. It is high in antioxidants and is considered an effective blood cleanser, dissolving sticky deposits in the veins and maintaining the elasticity of the blood vessels. Parsley is also excellent for cleansing the breath! (Good for my cigarette smoking brother-in-law).
Kale, a member of the brassica family, is another cancer preventative due to its sulphur-containing phyto-nutrients, such as sulforaphane, which boosts the body’s detoxification enzymes. Sulforaphane is formed when cruciferous vegetables such as kale are chopped, chewed, or blended. Kale is also well known for its carotenoids which protect the eyes from developing cataracts. In addition to its many other benefits, Kale provides a good dose of calcium.
Agave, although not raw, is a useful natural sweetener for its low impact on blood sugar and the saponins it contains which have anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.
The fresh water algae Spirulina is an excellent source of chlorophyll (anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing, it helps in growth and repair of tissues and neutralises free-radicals. It is also destroyed by cooking, so keep drinking those greens!).
Well, my family have all vowed to eat more raw food and try to get green smoothies into their diets on a regular basis. I intend to make sure this is one New Year resolution they all stick to!
A Thank You From Mrs. Claus 
You know those days when you wake up craving something sweet and decadent? Well, that happened to me this morning. Work has been so insanely busy over the last two days, I’d gotten home too late to get to the shops to stock up on yummy fruits and veggies. I wandered into the kitchen this morning to be greeted by a mountain of chocolate cookies and cakes my sister had brought over the night before. All that remained in ‘my’ corner of the kitchen was one solitary avocado…Was I tempted by the cooked food? No! Thanks to the lessons I’ve learned on my 
The avocado provides a good dose of lutein, which helps to maintain healthy eyesight. It’s also rich in potassium, vitamins B, E, and K and a good source of monounsaturated fat (giving the smoothie a wonderful creamy texture).
Cherries are rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and folate; one study (by the University of Michigan), suggests that they are good for fat loss, particularly belly-fat.
The mint aids digestion, while the cacao offers an abundance of health-giving nutrients - antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and above all, the wonderful mood-enhancing theobromine, making you feel all loved up and happy!
Thankfully my parents now stock up more on the things they’ve seen me use in smoothies (though… I have yet to see her come home with seaweed of any kind). Still, I do tend to have less variety when I travel. My smoothies are often bananas and spinach or bananas and mixed greens. Yes, variety is better, but if finding kale is difficult or if my mother, in her sincere efforts to be helpful, is going to stress out about “having something already” for me and looking in the store for persimm-a-somethings, then I will choose to be simple for a few days. The “it’s still better than a cheeseburger” mantra gets me through any worries.
Chances are, if you keep your smoothies simple, your non-green friends and family may actually be willing to give one of your smoothies a taste test. Once they see for themselves how yummy they are, you may have opened the door a crack for them to make their own health improvements.
OPTION 1 - Call ahead to your destination and ask if your family or friends wouldn’t mind bringing an old blender up from the basement or making sure they can find the lid (I’ve learned the hard way that a blender lid can be the start of a great day or the initiative you needed to wash your kitchen cupboards, walls, canisters, light fixtures - you get the idea). If they don’t have one, then pack yours into the car.
There’s no doubt about it, figuring out the blender situation is the “ay, there’s the rub” when it comes to being on the road. But people do make this work. In fact, I know there are even “tailgater” blenders out there that plug into your car’s cigarette lighter socket. But uh, it probably goes without saying, please blend and drive responsibly.
There haven’t been extensive studies on the medicinal value of this herb, but it’s been used with great affect by people for several conditions which afflict the liver including cirrhosis, jaundice, hepatitis, and gallbladder disorders. It can be helpful in detoxing the liver, and can reverse liver damage, and protect against damage from agents such as alcohol or other toxins that tend to lodge themselves in the liver.
A few years ago, I tried to go on a week’s vacation with the intention that I would stick to the diet I was on at the time. We travelled by car to a hotel, and I took two coolers with me of salads (I remember the big honkin’ bag of veggie coleslaw in particular), fruits, and healthy snacks. I knew the hotel we’d be staying at didn’t have any fridges in the rooms, so my plan was to keep buying ice and use my coolers as mini-fridges. I was all gung-ho to be committed and completely avoid eating out! Well… that lasted until the first large social opportunity came along and everyone wanted to go out for supper. I didn’t want to miss out, but I found that good intentions were not enough to keep me from digging into the deep-fried junk along with everyone else at the table. Afterwards, I felt *darned* guilty that I hadn’t stuck to my plan. Worse, I felt so bad that I kinda (as in totally) gave up. By the time we were ready to head back home, my room had the rather enchanting aroma of rotten uneaten cabbage. So… that didn’t work.
And sometimes that satisfaction actually sprouts into pride, and then I find I’m reaching for the fruit bowl more often than the shortbread tin.
