As a health-conscious mom, I tried to get my young girls to choose healthier options, but the oldest refused almost all veggies. One fateful day as we wandered around Whole Foods, there was a man demonstrating a Vitamix blender*, showing how to make fabulous and yummy fruit shakes - with spinach! My girls both drank it up! We rearranged the budget on the spot and got the blender. I had no idea what I was about to get into. I was about to follow the beanstalk so far up after that magical seed was planted.
After researching recipes for my new favorite appliance, I came across info on different diets, including the raw diet. After 2 weeks on the raw diet, I felt amazing yet soon had rebounding fatigue. I decided that my body needed more balance. Adding back carbs, but fewer and healthier, and occasional animal products worked best for me.
Adding veggies was a great trick for littles and a boost for my husband and me, but I was still caught up in doing things the way I was brought up. I was supposed to go to the doctor regularly, take OTC meds for any little symptom, and do the same with kiddos. I believed I was doing the best for them but being the obedient follower didn't prove to be prudent.
After my third child had an MMR shot at his 5 or 6-month check-up, he had a febrile seizure. When I connected one with the other and was told how common and expected it was, I sat in that surreal moment and started connecting other dots. The trust I had completely given over to the medical establishment got its first chip in it. After that, I happened across a magazine, Offspring, which was a one-edition wonder that had a controversial article about vaccines (FYI, if you search for it now, there's a magazine with the same name that has blindly pro-vaccine articles). I'm grateful for it to this day as it opened my eyes to the fact that the medical community while being full of good individuals, did NOT always know how to protect their patients or even have our full well-being as their main objective.
Confusing at first, all the conflicting data, opinions, and stories of harm had to make their way through my existing frame of reference and years of deference. Who was I? I had no medical degree. I did have a college degree, a BS, with multiple genetics classes, but I couldn't possibly be able to read the information all by my lonesome to make a decision different than the pediatrician's recommendation, could I? (Oh, and it's not that little paper that tells you what the vaccine is good for, it's a LOOOOOONG piece of paper full of tiny print that includes actual ingredients and warnings. Don't sign the vaccine disclaimer the nurses give you 2 seconds to read until you get it.)
I found that I could read and comprehend the info. I have. I will help you to see, understand, and plant a magic bean so that you can also look down from a higher vantage point and see your family's path to better health. Empower yourself.
Start with a smoothie.
Here's the basic recipe that started all this:
2 cups of hemp milk (or almond, or oat milk, coconut water, or filtered water)
1 cup of spinach
1/2 ripe banana
2 cups of frozen strawberries
Get a bit more complicated:
2 cups of hemp (or other) milk
1 cup of sorrel or dandelion greens
a handful of grapes or raisins
1 or 2 scoops of protein powder
2 cups frozen peaches
1T of honey
1-2 drops of Lemon Vitality essential oil
dash of cinnamon
Basically, you can add frozen fruit to a milk choice and go wild with little additions and single drops of citrus essential oils. Blend in order because the softer foods blend better BEFORE the frozen fruits. We like to add cinnamon to balance the sugar in the fruit and milk. I love grapes or raisins in my smoothies because it changes the texture and makes it smooooth! My daughter always adds honey for taste.
Share your own recipes here! I love trying new ones.
*For the sake of transparency, I do receive a commission for qualified purchases from these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I spend a good amount of time pulling together research to get people easier-to-digest chunks of information and only recommend those items I personally have owned or used. We still use that same Vitamix 15 years later!
