Manheim - Green Smoothies and Protein Drinks

JASON MANHEIM PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEO QUIJANO II

Skyhorse Publishing

Copyright 2013 by Jason Manheim

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62087-601-5

Printed in China

Design by Adriann Helton

Green Smoothie and Protein Drink Recipes

KEY

Beauty

Greens Lover

Post Work-out

Kids/Beginner

Savory

I n my first book, The Healthy Green Drink Diet: Advice and Recipes to Energize, Alkalize, Lose Weight, and Feel Great, I introduced the notion of supplementing your current diet with at least one green drink or smoothie a day. The idea is that not only will this give your body an extra boost of nutrients, but eventually you will naturally begin to crave these healthier foods. Without much consciousand sometimes painfully annoyingeffort, you can slowly replace unhealthy foods with healthier counterparts and your overall diet and well being will benefit because of it.

The previous book was very much a book for beginners. In it I went over the many varieties of greens, fruits, superfoods, and sweeteners as well as basic tips on growing, buying, saving, storing, and the equipment needed. In my new book I will pick up where we left off and dig deeper, while offering a quick recap of the essentials.

As in the previous book, there are 50 recipes all with matching photographs, ranging from novice to more advanced flavor profiles. However, this time around we will focus entirely on green smoothies (made using a blender) instead of a mix of both juicing and blending. In the chapter titled More on Juicing vs. Blending, I will go over why Ive eliminated juicing and why blending is where you should focus your efforts (unless digestion issues keep you from enjoying the benefits of fiber). This isnt to say juicing is bad, but that blending is juicing 2.0, if you will, and offers more bang for your buck.

We will also be focusing on how to turn your green smoothies in protein drinks. This is for those who want to use them for a post workout recovery or for more of a meal replacement rather than a starter. Most recipes will contain suggestions on the best types of protein to add.

T hroughout this book I recommend, at the bare minimum, enjoying a green smoothie first thing in the morning to break your nightly fast. Not only is it a great way to consume a wide variety of nutrients in a quick, convenient package, but it also helps tremendously with digestion. This should not be an accompaniment to your normal breakfast, but rather a pre-breakfast. Wait at least an hour before eating any solid foods as this will minimize gas and bloating and maximize nutrient absorption from the green smoothie. This is not a hard and fast rule, but if you notice any excess gas and bloating, you may want to increase the time between your green smoothie and your regular meal.

The fiber is the magic here. This is why I strongly encourage you to think again before going the juicing route and instead opt for the colon cleansing, digestion powerhouse that whole green leaves and fruits provide. You can even add foods like flax seeds to bump that fiber content up more. And adding ginger to your green smoothies will further aid digestion by preventing gas when consuming common gas-producing foods like beans, fruit skins, and starchy vegetables.

Now lets focus on the method of food combining, which in my opinion is simply a poor solution to an even greater underlying problem. Food combining is a term for the nutritional approach that encourages specific combinations of foods as central to good health and weight loss. Many believe that combining certain foods allows for the full digestion of nutrients and aids in the prevention of certain chronic metabolic diseases. Through observance, both personal and impersonal, I have come to realize that food combining is mostly a ridiculous notion.

While food combining does not help promote healthy digestion, combining unhealthy foods can actually have a negative effect. Our bodies are naturally equipped to digest the three constituents of food: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Digestion begins the moment we smell or even think about food. This stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes and we begin to salivate. Fat and carbs begin to digest as soon as they enter our mouths, so if were not chewing properly to break down cellular walls, our digestion is hindered. Green smoothies are great because a high-powered blender has already done most of the initial break-down. However, it is important to drink your smoothies slowly and swish each sip around in your mouth a bit to combine it with the enzymes in your mouth. From there, we go to the stomach where acids begin to break down protein. If your stomach acid levels are low, then protein breakdown is hindered. Likewise, if you eat too much (especially processed foods high in trans fats) your gallbladder will struggle to produce bile needed to assist in fat digestion. In general, overeating causes our bodies to have a hard time keeping up with digestive enzyme secretion and the breaking down of fats, carbs, and protein is negatively affected. If our diets are high in cooked and processed foods, we are also denying ourselves essential enzymes from fresh, raw foods that are necessary for proper digestion.