If you’re new to raw foods, don’t be intimidated by these directions, this is just for example   I recommend organic produce because we have a wide variety of toxins that we’re exposed to every day.  Eating pesticides should not be in our dinner plans as far as I’m concerned.  Search ‘dirty dozen’ here

Green Smoothie Steps:

1. Rinse well, 2 stems of Kale and 3 sprigs of parsley.  You don’t want anything crawling up out of your blender!
2. Add Kale, parsley, 1/2 inch or more slice of fresh ginger root, T raw honey, t coconut oil (Nutiva rawks! Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil, 29-Ounce Jars (Pack of 2) ), a pinch of sea salt for mineralizing, t spirulina powder, t cacao to your high powered blender of choice (I love my Vitamix).  Blend thoroughly: this will resemble swamp water
3. Save half in a covered glass for later today (I’ve even had it the next morning).  I just use cling wrap– works fine.
4. Cut off outside of a fresh pineapple and quarter.  Add half of one of the quarters to the remaining half of green mix still in your blender.  (Store the remaining pineapple in a glass container in fridge.) Also add one frozen banana (if you haven’t discovered frozen bananas yet, you’re in for a treat!  Just peel ripe bananas and freeze in a gallon zipper bag.  Makes smoothies creamy and frosty.  Frozen bananas also make amazing soft serve when pushed through an auger style juicer with a blank plate attachment!) Blend on high til smooth.
5. Stop the blender– add ashwaganda extract,  1/4 cup dried coconut flakes (unsweetened!), and t flax and blend on low just until mixed in.  This gives you something to chew– because you have to chew your smoothie!  (Your saliva is the beginning of your digestive process, and you want to get all of the nutrients you can out of this amazing concoction!) 
6. Get ready to fly!  Yum…

Related articles:

http://freshblessings.net/recipe-directory/

http://freshblessings.net/raw-info-series/

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas *

1C peaches,  fresh or frozen *

1C pecan milk *

4 dates

1t Maca *

1 drop nutmeg oil *

sprinkle of nutmeg for the top

Blend all in your high powered blender smoothe and creamy.

The amount of greens may be varied according to your tolerance…

Pour into a frosty glass.

Insert straw.

Take a stroll barefoot…

* I make it a habit to keep bananas in the freezer: Peel them when they’re sweet & ripe enough to  have some brown dots on the peels, place in a gallon size freezer bag, seal and freeze.   They are great for making creamy and frosty smoothies as well as amazing soft serve if you put them through an auger-style juicer with a blank-plate.

* Of course, fresh peaches may certainly be used when in season locally, but frozen peaches are great for ease of preparation.

*Maca is a plant native to the Peruvian highland that started gaining popularity in the US in early 2000s. This herb is best known for its potential in improving energy levels, vitality, and has been reported to act as a mild aphrodisiac.. Maca contains minerals, especially selenium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, and includes fatty acids including linolenic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acids. For your convenience, I’ve put a link were you may order below if you’d like…

Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Maca Powder Incan Superfood, 16-Ounce Bag

* Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) essential oil by Young Living has a sweet, warm, spicy scent similar to the spice commonly used in cooking. Comforting and soothing, nutmeg helps boost energy. It also supports nervous and endocrine systems and prostaglandin balance.* Nutmeg has an approximate ORAC of 1,581,360 (TE/L). TE/L is expressed as micromole Trolox equivalent per liter.

* Coconut oil is unique and different from most all other fats and possesses many health giving properties.  Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil and is extensively used in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations.
Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil, 29-Ounce Jars (Pack of 2)

I’m not saying that we should rejoice over being inflamed, but simply that inflammation is not the enemy- but the indicator that something is wrong in the body.

When infection, toxins, parasites or viruses enter into our bodies, our bodies try to fight them off and thus become inflamed.  Even if the body gets rid of the invader, it keeps a higher level of inflammation as a general rule ‘just in case’.

In addition to this perpetual collecting of inflammation, the standard American diet is full of things like coffee, chocolate, dairy, sugar, potatoes, corn, peanuts, and wheat, all of which are difficult for the body to digest and create even more inflammation!

So, here’s a short list of foods and helpful hints to help stave off some of that extra inflammation hanging around… Really, the more your diet is based on these foods, the better off you’ll be!

1. Drink water!  Lots of it.  Be consistently hydrated.  This is foremost in all of the reports and books on reducing inflammation.
2. Increase your Omega 3 rich foods: walnuts, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds as well as vegetables in general.
3. One of the reasons inflammation occurs is from a rapid rise in blood sugar, which causes biochemical changes in the cell.  Good (complex) carbohydrates, which are low on the glycemic index and therefore don’t spike your blood sugar include: apples, apsaragus, beans, broccoli, blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, green beans, honeydew melon, kiwi, leafy greens, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, spinach, strawberries.
4. Eat lots of foods high in anti-oxidants such as most forms of berries, raw cacao (chocolate) and leafy green vegetables. Many herbs and foods such as turmeric, oregano, garlic, green tea, blueberries, and ginger contain bioflavonoids and polyphenols that limit free radical production.