Spring into Spring!

A California photo (June 2007)

Jacquie, Destinee, and I are celebrating the first day of Spring by drinking our morning smoothies, taking a brisk walk, and splashing our faces with glitter and lots of smiles.  Enjoy your day!

Destiny says, "Color your Spring!"

"Ship Ahoy!" week-end at Mac Cosmetics
I love my job (recognize my Mom?)

To celebrate Spring, how about adding some color to brighten some of these cloudy days that we're still having?  I suggest a classy coral lipstick and some glitzy green eye shadow.  

Keep your make-up simple on those work days and when you're car-pooling the kids around town, but when the week-end comes, splash it up with color and lots of smiles.

Until next time, show a little diva in your life.  You'll like the results.

www.maccosmetics.com

Jacquie says, "Ahhh, Spring Smoothies!"

Ahhh, it's the first day of spring. Spring is the season where color comes into play! Flowers bloom, leaves on the tree's return, and the weather starts to warm up and we are ready to head outside. It is also the season where we have a larger selection of fresh fruits and veggies at the local Farmers market and in the grocery store.

Here are just a few nutritional values of the fruits and veggies you may put in your smoothie;

1) Apple-  An APPLE a day really does keep the doctor away! Apples are loaded with quercetin, a flavonoid, wich helps prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells. Quercetin also aids in allergy related problems such as asthma, sneezing and congestion. I see more and more people coming into our Wellness Center with allergies and I tell them to start eating some apples, and it really helps!

2) Arugula- Other than it's fun name, it is best known for it's high sulphur content which makes it an excellent skin purifier. Rich in vitamin C and potassium, it is considered to be an aphrodisiac, hmmm I think I will be doubling up on this in the future! It also contains phytochemicals such as carotenes and chlorophyll, which make it an excellent source of antioxidants.

3) Beets- beets are my new best friend! They are best known as an amazing liver cleanser. They have been found to improve performance in athletes, most likely because of an abundance of nitrites. The high content of iron in beets regenerates and reactivates the red blood cells and supplies fresh oxygen to the body, and the copper content in beets help make the iron more available to the body. Our liver has many functions, but one of the most important one is Detoxification. All of the waste removal takes place in the liver, it removes bacteria and helps keep our blood clean. So eat lots of fresh beets!

I will add more to the list on the next blog.

Now for some logistics, what kind of blender should you have to make the most nutrient dense smoothies? I have a Blendtec and it is amazing and I highly recommend it. It breaks down the food and extracts the nutrients so well and makes it much easier for your body to digest. It also makes fresh juice, soups, sauces and many other yummy things, it is also BPA-free. it easily replaces other appliances you may use. It is not cheap, they start at $454.00. I have had mine for over 5 years and I use it almost everyday!

There is also the Vitamix which is great. It starts at $564.00.

I bought my Mom a NutriBullet and it works great also. David Wolfe the inventor of NutriBullet is a very educated man in nutrition. This one is nice because it is reasonably priced at $119 and they allow you to make 6 easy payments of $19.99!

I would not recommend a cheap blender, you will need to replace it often if you use it a lot, and it does not break down the food like the above blenders.

There's my Blendtec all ready to go. In 30 seconds I have a beautiful Spring Smoothie ready to drink!

Health and blessings!

www.lifewellnesscentersc.com

Jacquie says, "Spring Ahead Your Health!"

My daughter, Destiny, keeps me 'beautified'!

As we Spring Ahead this weekend, what a perfect time to Spring Forward with your health! I will talk a lot about Green Smoothies (although at times they may be different colors depending on the fruits & vegetables you use) because I believe they are such a great foundation to good health and a simple step to adding fruits and veggies to your diet.

Why start your day with a green smoothie? Your digestive system is working hard all day digesting all the food you eat, which consumes a lot of energy.  When you wake up in the morning you have a fresh start. You have not put any new food in your body since the evening before, so starting out with fruits veggies, which are clean.  Whole and energizing foods is a smart food choice. Since your blender has broken down all the nutrients into liquid form it is even easier and takes less energy  for your body to digest and distribute the nutrition leaving you feeling more energized! 

This is what was in my Spring Forward Smoothie this morning:
Kale
Collard Greens
Parsley
Cilantro
Beets
Blue Berries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Ginger Root
Banana

Sometimes I have more fruits & veggies; other times I have less,  depending on what is in season & what is in my fridge. By the way, it tastes amazing!

Can anyone guess what color it was? Red?  Yes, you are right. Beets are dominating with their red color.

Until next time, I wish you health and blessings!


www.lifewellnesscentersc.com