Let Us Now Praise LETTUCE

In my mind, lettuce used to be the Rodney Dangerfield of veggies and I accorded it No Respect.  Was this a function of too many ice berg lettuce salads foisted on me at a young age?  Perhaps.

In any case, I held lettuce in very low regard and wouldn't have thought of it as anything that could contribute massively to my good health.

Was I ever wrong.

Lettuce, as it turns out, and many of its sister greens, can be a big contributor to your good health.  For this knowledge, I have Victoria Boutenko and her book about Green Smoothies to thank. 

Last year, while cruising online bookstores, I happened upon Victoria's book, Green Smoothie Revolution.  I wanted to lose weight and become healthy and had tried almost every other diet you could name.  So, without much optimism, I tried a variety of the Green Smoothies mentioned in her book. What happened?   I lost weight.  I had more energy.   I was sold.  Now, I won't let a day go by without drinking at least one (and some days more) Green Smoothies.

Looks good, doesn't it?

In Green Smoothie Revolution,  Boutenko says that the green leaves of plants accumulate nutrients more than any other part of the plant.  And this, she says, "...puts greens in the category of the most nutritious foods on the planet."  (p. 5)  For those interested in learning more about the nutritional value of greens, you can consult her book, Green for Life.

Victoria Boutenko is not the only writer concerned about health who believes greens score high on the list of Super Foods.  In his book, Eat to Live, Dr. Joel Fuhrman says that when looking at nutrient density, Dark Green Leafy vegetables (kale, chard, spinach, and others) are the best things you can eat (p. 155)  And even Romaine lettuce scores high on nutrient density although not as high as kale and spinach.

After reading Boutenko's book, I whipped out my trusty Vitamix blender (amply praised by me in a previous post) and prepared a Green Smoothie.  I must say before I drank my first, I had doubts about whether any smoothie that was green could actually taste like something I wanted to drink.  Combining a selected fruit with the greens makes the taste delicious!  I was on my way.

Since I don't like vegetables all that much, and I don't like to cook, it has been hard for me to get enough good veggie nutrition into my diet.  Green Smoothies have turned that around.  Because of the ease with which they are prepared (and consumed!) I am now able to get a much increased amount of vegetables into my daily fare.  It is the ONLY THING that has ever worked for me.

Maybe it will work for you too!