Eileen Valazza

Psst. Okay, here is where I let you all in on my secret adoration of Alicia Silverstone.

I must admit when I saw she had written a diet book, I may have rolled my eyes. Like I really needed to get diet advice from a skinny actress who probably never has to lift a finger, and has some personal chef and stuff. As if!

I’m not sure what finally convinced me to buy this book. It probably came up a few times as I worked my way through the rabbithole of research I went down after reading The China Study.

Anyway,  it turns out this book is the closest I have found to describing my dietary goals, and tying them together with concern for the environment and for animals. I have a huge girl-crush on Alicia now! (we are on a first-name basis in my head.)

Where The China Study was great inspiring epidemiological science, this book is like the next step to me–closer to home. More practical and holistic. But also more inspiring and heart-filled.

So it’s a diet book yes, but it’s mostly about a way of life filled with kindness.

You’ll either gag when you read it, or be totally inspired like I was

If you read it, let me know what you think! Or have you read it? What did you think?

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When I read The China Study I became massively motivated to make changes in my life. I knew I wanted to cut out quite a few foods from our family diet, but it seemed way too overwhelming to do it all at once.

So I started very slowly, by adding small amounts of healthier foods to to our lives. I didn’t worry too much at the beginning about restricting any foods. Those faded away later.

Here’s the thing, if you really truly want to make a lifelong change: you have time.

You don’t have to worry right now about the fact that you can’t imagine giving up cheese, or chicken, or whatever it is.

When you add food that truly nourishes you, you are literally re-assembling the molecules in your body. By the time you get to that step that scares you, you’ll be thinking with a different brain, in a different body, with different cravings.

You don’t have to worry about the finish line, just take the first step.

Okay, enough philosophizing. What’s the first step?

If you want my opinion (and really, that’s all you’ll get since this is my blog, ha!) I would say  buy a Vitamix and make green smoothies.

Why green smoothies?

Ahhh, green smoothies.

If you are anything like me, you may have been cruising along not eating very many vegetables. I won’t get into why leafy greens are the most powerful, essential nutrient-rich food you can eat–there are plenty of places to do that research (I recommend the book Green for Life for a quick read on how amazing green leafies are.)

The main appeal of green smoothies for me is this:  you will get the benefits of green leafy vegetables easily and quickly. If you drink one of these every day or as close to every day as you can, you will start to crave vegetables. You’ll be nourishing the molecules in your body, creating a new container.

Why a vitamix?

There are all sorts of gadgets and equipment that can make vegan cooking easier and more appealing. A juicer…a food processor…even a dehydrator…all wonderful. But if you’re going to make an investment at the beginning, I would choose the Vitamix for several reasons:

• It blends really, really smoothly. No weird chunks or grittiness. You haven’t had a green smoothie until you’ve had one made in a vitamix.
• It’s really, really strong so nothing gets stuck, you can put in a whole carrot and it will handle it just fine.
• It (mostly) doubles as a food processor, so in addition to the quintessential green smoothie, you can experiment with other things like oatmeal bars and yum sauce.

Okay, you have a vitamix. Now what?

The internet is full of recipes for green smoothies, and seriously they are all fantastic. Throw a bunch of greens into your vitamix with some fruit and you really can’t go wrong.

However, I know when I’m trying something new I like to have step-by-step directions to follow–so that’s what I’m going to share here. This is by no means a definitive smoothie recipe, just an easy one that works well for us.

Here is my go-to recipe:

• 1/2 bunch of (fresh-frozen*) kale or other leafy greens
• About a cup and a half of non-dairy milk (such as hemp, almond or coconut)
• 3 bananas
• 1 apple
• 2 scoops Amazing Grass
• 2 scoops Sun Warrior Protein Powder
• A couple spoonfuls of hemp seeds

This recipe makes enough for me and my husband to each have a 16 oz smoothie, and for about 6 oz to go in Zane’s cup. We drink this every morning (rotating the type of greens and the type of milk every week).

System notes:

• (*) Buy a few bunches of kale or other greens, wash and separate into single servings and store them in the freezer. In the morning just pull out a bag of frozen kale. This is why my recipe does not call for ice. Also: it limits the greens-going-bad-in-the-fridge guilt if you skip a few days of smoothie-making. (Aiy, vegetable guilt! it’s the worst!)
• Blend the frozen greens with the milk and any powders first, then add the fruit and blend again. I’m nut sure why but this tends to make everything come out smoother.
• I like this recipe because it doesn’t have a lot of exotic fruit–bananas and apples are easy to keep on hand and don’t go bad very quickly (if your bananas are about to go bad you can freeze those too)
• Also, this recipe doesn’t require much cutting or chopping in the mornings.
• You can always just start with the fruit, greens and non-dairy milk and forget about the protein powder, amazing grasses, and hemp seeds to start with. They’re expensive, and you can always optimize later, I just wanted to show how we raise the protein and nutrient content.
• In the beginning it’s just about getting in the habit of making a smoothie every morning (or afternoon, or whenever). Just start.
• Get those greens in the little ones! Zane has been enjoying green smoothies since about six months old. I used to spoon feed them to him and it was his absolute favorite food. Now he is very insistent when it’s time for his smoothie!

If you give it a try, let me know how it goes! Or if you have a favorite smoothie recipe, do share…

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