Now this isn’t making a resolution but setting an intention!
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope that you had a lovely Christmas time doing exactly what you wanted, and with whom you wanted to be with. I did. And I had a restful and rejuvenating holiday to boot! Did you overindulge? Did you eat too much? Hmm…, I think that I did; not just for the festive season but for most of the year! I am so glad 2015 is over and that 2016 is here to be had!
I lagged behind everyone else in seeing “That Sugar Film” and “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”, in fact, I only saw the latter this week. Last year, I didn’t want to know. It was a difficult year dealing with the stress of the death of a loved one and the ensuing fallout. Grief on top of illness and work caused me to retreat, become lazy and seek pancakes!
But I curiously watched “Fat, Sick & nearly Dead” and admired the precocious Australian, Joe Cross, as he travelled across America, following a juice fast to regain his health. The outcome was that he lost 50kgs and no longer needed his medications (for his auto-immune problems). Go Joe!
I have lots of opinions about the film and it’s concepts, but that’s not what this post is about. My point is that the 2010 film gave me some motivation to ‘get back on the wagon’ to feel healthier. Over the last year, sugar and starches (ie. rice, tapioca, cornmeal, buckwheat) made too big an appearance in my diet and I put on 5kgs! Knowing how much a healthy weight (or lack thereof) affects your health, I want to start 2016 fresh and vibrant and energetic and happy: in other words, get my MOJO back!!
So in the spirit of Joe Cross, I am going to ‘drink’ my breakfast and afternoon snack. I have never been one to drink my calories**. I think it edits some important aspects of the digestion process and quite frankly, I just love to eat.
I also disagree with the process of juicing, removing the important fibre that slows down the sugar absorption by your body. So when I say juice, I really mean smoothie as I do whole vegetable & fruit drinks in my Thermomix, warts and all. You can use a food processor or magic bullet if you are sans Thermomix.
Using ice will help break down the fibre and make for a smoother drink, but add enough water so that you don’t make a ‘slushy’ …. but slushies are good too!
For me, smoothies are a great way of adding extra protein to my diet as protein powders are easily mixed in. I prefer this one but this one is good too.
My smoothie recipes are always vegetable heavy with very little fruit. When you stop having added sugar, you will be amazed how sweet some vegetables are. The addition of fat will help slow the sugar down too.
Green Mojo Smoothie
1 handful ice
½ cup water or nut milk
1 handful of leafy greens (I used silverbeet)
½ a peeled lemon or lime
1 knob ginger
1 teas chia seeds or linseeds
¼ apple (I use about an eighth)
1/8 avocado for fat and creaminess (or you could use coconut oil, olive oil or flaxseed oil)
1 tab protein powder
1 teas cinnamon*
Optional extras: mint, turmeric, maca or spirulina powder
Add the ingredients in the above order and blend up well until smooth, adding more water if required. Drink and adjust that halo on your head!
*I ran out of cinnamon so I used a drop of essential oil which was yummy.
**Mostly the reason why I don’t drink alcohol.
