Green Monster
We're not talking about a green eyed monster here, we're talking about green monster smoothies!! I first heard about them on Oh She Glows and was scared. VERY SCARED.
I closed my eyes and down it went... I waited for the grassy disgusting taste to hit me in the face... but it never did. Opening one eye at a time I did indeed drink the green monster, but it didn't taste green? It actually just tasted pretty darn good! I've been against trying one of these for what feels like years now but I finally decided to try it for the better of my body. I'll explain more tomorrow, I was sent a book to review and although I went into it 100% skeptical it kinda got me thinking... and changing up a few things... enter in the green monster. Tune in tomorrow(here) to hear more about it :) But for now... go try a green monster, you actually just taste the sweet of banana and milk, nothing green or grassy about it. Believe me, I was TOTALLY skeptical about these, but John and I have been drinking them every day the past few days and loving them. We've tried adding some different berries/ nut butters as mix-ins too. Delicious!
I never would have guessed John would be drinking one of these with me, but I'm glad he is, if I'm going to be staying healthy and living a long time, he sure as hell better be along for the ride with me :)
Have you tried a version of the green monster? Think you will now? If you want to come over I'll make you one to try :)
Green Monster
Recipe via oh she glows
makes enough for 2 people
2 cups baby organic spinach
1 cup milk of choice (we used fat free milk but I want to give it a go with almond milk soon)
1 Tbs ground flax seeds
1 banana
ice
Layer in a blender, spinach, then flax, then banana, then milk. Blend until spinach is totally liquefied. Add ice and blend some more. Drink immediately, if you let it sit it will separate into layers and then it looks weird.
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looks disgusting in a very cool way, so what exactly are the amazing benefits of this?
I'll be writing more about it tomorrow but basically they contain a ton of micronutrients that help boost your immune system. Other people say they help balance your skin and give you more energy. I'd agree with the energy part, but I haven't been eating them long enough to comment on the skin part :)
I think I'm going to have to try this!
Look at you eating ... err... drinking more vegetables!
I love green monsters--especially on the weekends when i'm not as good about eating lots of veggies :)
Ha, great picture! Looks like how I used to feel about green smoothies. They're still not my favorite thing in the world, but your simple spinach one sounds just my speed.
As long as you blend it enough so you don't have spinach chunks they are great! I didn't blend one long enough yesterday... not nearly as good LOL
OMG Im so happy youve tried this!!! Ive been drinking this since January when I discovered it! and truly love love love it!! Its given me my energy back, my hair growth and nail growth back- Im cutting my nails at least 1x a week now, and running more than 18-20 miles a week!! I LOVE the green monster, and u can add all sorts of frozen fruits and peanut butters to it too! yum!!
Awesome! I'm interested to see what changes as the weeks go on :)
If you're prone to kidney stones, you don't want all that spinach. It's very high in oxalic acid which can cause them. It also binds up the iron in spinach and makes it nearly unuseable by the body. The same items consumed in large amounts every day lead to overdosing on something that's good for you - SOME of the time, and overdosing on anything is not healthy.
I don't have any kidney stone issues but this is great to know if someone did! Thanks so much for letting us know! Oh I agree my whole life mantra is everything in moderation :) But is one cup of spinach a day really a lot? It doesn't seem overly excessive, but maybe it is if you have other underlying issues? Also are you saying the acid in spinach binds up the iron in it so you can't absorb it? Why do they tell you to eat spinach to get more iron then??
Steph, you may not have kidney stone issues now, but eating that much of it every day could well give you kidney stone issues. Yes, 1 cup is a lot of spinach. A recommended serving is only 1/2 cup. There are quite a few foods high in oxalates, and I would limit those to no more than two or three times per week.
In order to overcome some of its unwanted qualities, some intake of calcium citrate is also recommended as it will help to prevent the stones. People can have a naturally-ocurring low level of calcium citrate in their urine and not be aware of it; it can be due to a diseas process or be hereditary, and few know about it until they have a serious problem. If you don't know whether or not you have a low urine citrate, it is safer to stay away from too much oxalate-containing foods like spinach and beets, which are extraordinarily high in it. Being on a low-sodium diet also changes things dramatically in this regard, and it could be dangerous for those of us who must be on a low sodium regimen. To recommend things like the green monster drink without the proper knowledge to understand how it could affect someone detrimentally is not a good thing, Steph, as I believe you can see. Too much of a good thing is too much.
You can absorb some iron from spinach, but it isn't the best source, again, due to the binding of the acid to the iron. It largely just passes through you without being absorbed. "They" who tell you about it being a good source of iron are correct. What "they" don't know is that it is largely
unavailable to the body when it is consumed in spinach. Want to add more
iron to your diet? Cook in cast iron cookware. Food will absorb it, most
especially acid foods like tomatoes. It will make marinara sauce, long
cooked, far healthier.
I am an R.N. nutrition specialist who taught nutrition for a number of
years. About a month ago my husband's urologist gave us a list of foods
that are high in oxilates. Even this old dog has learned some new things,
lol!
I don't recommend that anyone eat the same concoction of anything every
day. For one thing, you will probably eat less of other nutrients that you
need in order to have a well-balanced diet. It tips your nutritional scale
into the unbalanced area. Variety is the key to good nutrition and good
health. If you were to drink the monster then have Swiss chard or beets
frequently also, you'd really be begging for trouble.
Foods highest in oxalates include not only spinach and beets, but Swiss
chard, rhubarb, and black pepper. There are many more, but those are
particularly aggravating to those who could get into health trouble with
daily consumption, and cause a very serious problem which can be avoided
entirely. The very worst cases require a liver/kidney transplant, or even
death.
I've had to take my husband off spinach for life. Just say no to Popeye!
Having a doctor use instruments to go into the bladder, up the
ureter and into the kidney to crush stones too large to pass convinced him.
(Some are too hard to break up with lithotripsy.) Believe me, it isn't fun,
and it isn't worth it to go on a fad diet.
Thanks for listening! I hope this clarifies the issue for you somewhat. I
enjoy your blog, which I get in my daily Google Reader.
Barbara
Barbara thank you SO MUCH for all that info! It's amazing just how much info is out there that we don't know about and I'm always happy to learn more. Thank you again for your concern and knowledge (although now my husband is comically running around the house proclaiming I'm trying to kill him with spinach! HA)
Thanks again!
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