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!

Jet Engine in your Kitchen? The Mighty Vitamixer!

I would be nowhere without my Vitamix blender.   There, I've said it.  Admitted my powerlessness.  Taken the first step -- I am addicted and I don't want to change.

If there was a fire in my house and I could only grab a few things before I ran out...I would grab the Vitamix.  SAVE THE VITAMIX! I'd yell to everyone in the house.

The Mighty Vitamix blender

By firing up my Vitamix blender with the contents of a Green Smoothie inside (the awesome Green Smoothie will be discussed in other posts), I was able to lose 10% of my body weight in one year and even better -- KEEP IT OFF!  And for me that was a big deal because I hadn't been able to do anything like that despite having tried many other diets (whose names you would recognize and may have tried yourself).

Want to know more about the Mighty Vitamix?  You can get the details here:  https://vitamix.com/

Why do I love my blender?  Let me count the ways:

1. It's lasted almost 30 years without needing any repairs.  So, what else could you buy that could do that?  A rock, maybe.
2. It's incredibly powerful.  You can blend up just about anything with it.  You could probably chop wood with it for your wood stove.  Don't put your finger or small children in.  Make sure you wear goggles when you're blending (...just kidding).
3. You can make soup, ice cream, or anything in between.
4. I hate to cook and I don't much like to eat vegetables, yet with my Vitamix I can whip up tasty, healthy Green Smoothies so fast and easy it would make your head spin if you were in my kitchen when I was blending.
5. You can buy parts for it online and almost always fix it yourself. If it needs fixing.  Which it probably won't (see Point #1 above).  Awesome, am I right?

So, don't waste another minute.   Talk to the nice folks at Vitamix and see what you think.  If you are going to lose weight and get healthy, I'd say you are  GOING TO NEED THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT.  First things first.  Get on board, get a Vitamix.

And then come back here so I can wax poetic about Green Smoothies.