The Ultimate (Green) Smoothie 3.0

Dude.  What’s up with the smoothie?  Looks totally gross …

Ultimate Green Smoothie Ingredients

My Favorite Kitchen Machine - Vitamix

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from friends and colleagues about nutrition, diet, etc.  I’m no expert.  But, I have been reading and learning a lot.  My nutrition evolution looks a little something like this …

Abs Diet

1) Almonds and Other Nuts eaten with skins intact.
2) Beans and Other Legumes
3) Spinach and Other Green Vegetables
4) Dairy: Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese
5) Instant Oatmeal: Unsweetened, unflavored
6) Eggs
7) Turkey and other lean meats. Lean steak, chicken, fish
8) Peanut Butter – All-natural, sugar-free.
9) Olive Oil
10) Whole-Grain Breads and Cereals
11) Extra-Protein (Whey) Powder
12) Raspberries and Other Berries

Vitamix fruit/dairy smoothies for lunch with whey powder, etc.

A good start for weight loss … but really incomplete as it doesn’t address the dangers of eating too much animal-based foods.

Food Inc.

Meat warehouses & factories
Washing meat in bleach to reduce e-coli
Disappearance of ‘farms.’
Fast Food Nation & Obesity
Poorest = Fattest Pardox

In Defense of Food

Western Diet … Food-like substances replace real food.  Fascination with nutrients instead of real food.  “Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.”

The China Study

The typical western diet quantity of animal-based food is the primary factor in the prevalence of cancer/heart disease/diabetes/obesity/etc. in the US.  I’m only 1/2 of the way through but I wish everyone I know would read it.  It produces in me equal parts: education, motivation, and anger (maybe too harsh a word but used for effect).

ChinaStudy_Excerpt

The Evolution

At first, my interest was strictly weight-loss related.  (I’ve lost 35 lbs. over the last couple years.)  Then, as I got more serious about training for triathlons, I saw the real food as fuel that would help me get lean and fast (still have a ways to go on both :).  Now … what’s become most important to me is the real WHY behind eating right … the direct connection to our health (not just short-term ‘I feel healthy’ health but long-range avoid disease type health).  Having lost dad to cancer makes this hit home and helps me avoid the ‘it couldn’t happen to me’ thought.

All of these studies, books, movies point to the inspiration of the Word of Wisdom.  At the time it was given, people didn’t understand why fruits, herbs, vegetables, grains should be eaten and meat only sparingly.  People certainly didn’t know the tobacco-lung cancer connection back then.  It should be no surprise then, that the word of wisdom (100+ years before any studies or research was done) includes the promise that those who live it, both the proscriptive (plant-based diet, meat sparingly) & restrictive (tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, drugs) shall …

“…receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”

Check out the section about it on mormon.org

I’m not a vegetarian.  I will never become one.  But, we have made changes in our diet/lifestyle to eat mostly real fruits, vegetables, grains (complex carbs), and significantly reduce our meat consumption.  And, I’ve never felt better.  I’ll still share a godiva chocolate cheesecake with Jess on occasion.  I’ll still pound down a juicy steak on occasion.  But, the key (for me) is to make what used to be a couple times a day more like a couple times a week.  I strongly recommend The China Study to anyone looking for the motivation to make some changes along these lines.

I’m no expert.  But, all the experts I’ve been reading (and referencing) are all pointing to the same thing to be fit now and be healthy for life.

Careless & Care less

On my way home from working in Phoenix this week, I watched a couple of TED talks.  You veterans of this blog know that I love TED.  TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design.  It brings together leaders of many areas and they have roughly 20 minutes to get their message across.  I love learning others point of view, discoveries, and conclusions.  I sometimes agree with them.  And, I sometimes don’t.

Yesterday, I found the two talks very compelling.  They were about FOOD.  The first is from a lady who is in charge of feeding all the kids in a No. Cal. school district.  She rages against the USDA and all of us, really, for being careless when it comes to what and how we feed our children.  Anyone with kids should watch her.

The second one is from a guy I’ve seen and read quite a bit during the last couple years, Mark Bittman (NYTimes food contributor).  His view on food is framed more by saving the planet from climate change (which I care less about than he and the liberal machine would like.)  Nevertheless, the information about our food, how we’ve changed how we eat, and WHY we’ve changed, and what it’s doing to us is important.

Life Regenerator

As I’ve been digging into food & health the past several months/years, I discovered Dan The Life Regenerator!  You gotta love this guy.  He brings a smile to my face every time I watch his videos and I actually get some new ideas for the vitamix.  For some reason, he reminds of Christian Bell (the winner of the caption contest):

Caption Contest

What should this caption be?

A picture is worth a thousand words.  There’s a lot going on here.  Make up a clever/funny caption to describe what you see.  The ‘best’ caption-er will win prestige, self-confidence, admiration … and a surprise.  Submit with a comment to the post.

Our Secret Weapon: Vita-Mix

After posting about trying to eat as much REAL food as possible, I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about my smoothies lately.  I’ve been rockin’ the homemade smoothies and bringing them to work in my sweet thermos for lunch for about 3 years but have just recently started tapping into all 2 horsepower of the Vita-Mix (I’m a walking commercial for these guys).  You really do need a Vita-Mix to pull this off, but I guess you can try it in your blender.  If you break it though, don’t blame me.  It’s been easy for me to get my fruit everyday.  The old reliable is the ‘Camry’:

The Camry
(Same purple color as my old car. Lasted me a long time. Was always good to me. But, was always lacking something)

• Banana
• Plain (or vanilla) yogurt, about 1/2 cup
• Frozen Costco Berries
• Raw oatmeal, handful (sometimes almonds too)
• 100% Fruit Juice (usually a cranberry/pomegranate blend)
• Vanilla protein whey powder, 1 scoop
• Flaxseed powder, 1 scoop

That’s money.  Delicious.  Nutritious.  A variation on the camry is to use a different frozen fruit pack.  For the past few years that has been my go-to lunch (and afternoon snack).  Every once in a while, I needed a break from the Camry and I’d go with the ‘Gary.’

The Gary
Named for my Father-in-Law who always extols the superiority of the Dark chocolate over Milk.  I know.  A mine field for a new son-in-law to walk in.  I learned my lesson.

• Non-fat plain (or vanilla) yogurt, about 3/4 cup
• Raw almonds, handful
• Raw oatmeal, handful
• Banana
• Chocolate protein whey powder, 1.5 scoops
• Flaxseed powder, 1 scoop
• Fat free milk, enough for the consistency you like
• Honey, about 2 tablespoons
• The ‘Gary’ … 2 squares of a very DARK chocolate bar
• Ice

Those 2 smoothies were the first main nutritional change I made 25 lbs ago. But, there’s been something pretty important lacking – vegetables.  I’m not a huge vegetable guy.  We’ll often have a vegetable with dinner but that’s hardly enough of what a body needs.  So, I started experimenting with the GREEN smoothie which has a both fruit and vegetables.  Sounds gross.  BUT … the fruit totally overpowers the veggies and you end up with pretty close to the perfect meal.  Check it out:

Wicked
Named by Lucy. If you haven’t seen Wicked, do yourself a favor and see it.  You deserve it.

• Banana
• Pear (Whole)
• Mango (including peel)
• Green grapes, about a cup
• Kiwi (Whole)
• Spinach, handful
• Kale, 1 big leaf

Don't try 'whole' food unless you have 2hp to pulverize the peel, core, stem, etc.

The Wicked ... Taste: 7.0 Nutrition: 9.0

The real taste test.

She gave it a 10. I'm starting to think she exaggerates like her dad. It's not that good.

I’m still experimenting.  Other GREEN combinations I’ve tried recently:

• pear, peach, kiwi, mango, apple, broccoli, carrot, squash, nectarine, oatmeal, whey. ice. Taste: 4
• banana, whole: kiwi, pear, mango. raw: oatmeal, spinach, avocado. ice. Taste: 7.5
• pear. mango. kiwi. banana. carrots. spinach. green beans. ice. whey. flax.  Taste: 7.0

Even when new GREEN concoctions don’t taste great, it’s feels so great to know what I’m putting in my (and my family’s) body each day.  Give it a try.  Send me your winning recipes.  Repeat after me … You are what you eat … Your health is your wealth.

Eat Local?

CLICK here to find out what's in season where you live

After watching & reading a lot about what we eat – where it comes from, who supplies it, what’s in it – we’re trying to eat more REAL food that’s found locally and in season.  The ‘WHY’ has to do with …

• Nutrition/Health
• Food Safety
• Rejecting the deplorable conditions in industrial animal warehousing (I’m afraid I might be starting to sound preachy about this one.  I’m not an animal lover.  No pets.  But, I find those two links so offensive & I’m starting to care a lot about this. Do I believe we’ve been ‘G’iven dominion over all things in the earth?  Yes.  But, I also believe there’s something called unrighteous dominion).  [Uh oh ... Dave's losing it]
• Supporting our local farmers/economy
• Protecting against childhood obesity

We are what we eat

By REAL food I mean fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, dairy, healthy or lean meats.  Essentially, no artificial colors, flavors, etc.  No high fructose corn syrup.  No Trans Fat.  Look on the label.  How many ingredients are in it?  Generally, if it comes in a box, it’s full of artificial filler stuff that makes us fat and malnourished.  I’m not saying this is all we eat.  It isn’t.  But, we’re trying to substitute real for artificial/processed food as much as we can.

But, how do you realistically get that into your (and your kids’) body every day?  One hyphenated word: vita-mix.  Today’s blend: banana, whole pear (whole = peel on and core in), whole mango, whole kiwi, 1/2 avocado, handful raw spinach, 2 handfuls raw oatmeal, ice.  1 glass during breakfast.  Put the rest into the thermos to keep it cold until lunch.  When I get fired, I’ll have to go to work for vita-mix b/c it seems like I’m always ‘selling’ this baby.

I’ll give you the ‘rest of the story’ of the vita-mix in an upcoming post … with a little help from the kiddos.

Food, Inc.

About 3 years ago I had grown frustrated with my health/fitness.  I was that guy who worked out occasionally but never really saw or felt any lasting change.  I was the roller coaster who would exercise hard for a couple months and then fade for several more months.  I was the former athlete who, like Ralph Malph from Happy Days, didn’t realize that when he said “I still got it” everybody knew that he didn’t.  I was tired of being Ralph Malph and started to look at what I was eating.  MikeD got me going on the Abs Diet.  I’m not a diet guy.  I’ve never done one.  I don’t think I ever will.  I wasn’t looking for something to help me lose weight really fast … that’s just more roller coaster.  I need a change in lifestyle.

The Abs Diet was huge for me.  It basically suggests you eat real food instead of the highly processed, artificially filled, high fructose corn syrup laden foods I’ve always eaten:

1. Almonds and Other Nuts eaten with skins intact
2. Beans and Other Legumes
3. Spinach and Other Green Vegetables
4. Dairy: Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese
5. Instant Oatmeal: Unsweetened, unflavored
6. Eggs
7. Turkey and other lean meats. Lean steak, chicken, fish
8. Peanut Butter – All-natural, sugar-free.
9. Olive Oil
10. Whole-Grain Breads and Cereals
11. Extra-Protein (Whey) Powder
12. Raspberries and Other Berries

The other cool thing about Abs is that it has you eating a lot and all day long.  You never get hungry.  In fact, you feel way more satisfied during the day.  I saw a significant change in my energy and weight.  But, this isn’t an ad for the Abs Diet.

I believe that health & fitness is a 50/50 thing: 50% exercise, 50% food.  Unfortunately, most people only make temporary changes to one of those.  I found that it wasn’t until we removed the fake food from our house, that I was really able to go from a diet mentality to a lifestyle change.  For me, that 50/50 approach has resulted in a loss of about 26 lbs.

The movie, Food, Inc., explains why a lot of our food is so processed.  It spends most of its time on the meat industry.  It was very disturbing to see the abuse/treatment of animals by many of our food suppliers.  I recommend everyone see it.  I couldn’t help but relate what I was watching to what our Church teaches on the subject:

Doctrine & Covenants 89:10-16
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.

12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

I think I have easily rationalized away different parts of this teaching (more here) b/c of different circumstances today vs. 1833 when the Word of Wisdom was given.  But as a college professor taught me: To rationalize is to tell yourself rational lies.

Not only are you what you eat.  But, what you eat, whether you know it or not is your vote that either does or does not perpetuate what you see in Food, Inc.

Tainted Meat

I don’t like what I see in this video regarding the safety of our meet. http://tinyurl.com/ybcrtvb

Sweet Heat!

Sweet Heat

A friend of mine from work, Eric Gillis, was sort of bragging one day about his home-made BBQ sauce.

Some context … Eric is Texan.  The type of Texan that gets the copy of the list of the top BBQ joints in the state and sets out to check each place off his list (even if that means showing up at one at like 5:00 am after driving many hours).

He claimed to have perfected his own recipe after much trial and error.  He named her …

Last time he was in town Eric brought me my own jar of Sweet Heat.  I grilled an ordinary chicken breast tonight just to try the Sweet Heat.  The VERDICT:

Not only did he nail the name, he nailed the sauce.  It’s the best BBQ sauce I’ve ever tasted.  If this new career in long-term care doesn’t work out (the verdict’s still out on that one), he’ll always be able to support himself by selling Sweet Heat.

Taste Test

Eric Gillis, BBQ Sauce Genius