Green Smoothie Cleanse Recipes – Low Glycemic
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on July 27, 2010 – -Our Summer 2010 Green Smoothie Cleanse is officially over, and we’re transitioning into the Post Cleanse Week. Chronic fatigue symptoms are abating, allergies are improving and the consensus is there is an overall increased sense of well-being the cleanse promotes. This week is as important as the cleanse week itself. This is wher new habits are formed and the imporvemetns made dueing the cleanse are either re-inforced or left behind. Continuing on a high raw food diet plan helps people sustain the benefits long term.
Here are a couple of delicious recipes shared by one of our Green Smoothie Cleanse Participants. They use in-season, fresh, raw and ripe produce and just the right amount of seasonings.
“Spring Garden Soup”
4 tomatoes
4 celery stalks
2 cups spring mix
2 cups romaine heart
2 limes juiced
1 garlic clove
“Spicy Garden Soup”
1 Tomato
1 English Cucumber
1/2 Zucchini
2 handfuls string beans
8 cups Spring Mix
1 garlic clove
1 ginger nub
1/4 cup lime juice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups water
Blend and enjoy!
Love, Health and Joy to You,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Cleansing Programs, detoxification programs, Dr. Ritamarie, DrRitamarie, Gluten Free Diet, green smoothie, green smoothie. detoxification programs, Living Foods, raw and living foods holiday recipes, Raw Foods classes, vegan foods, whole foods
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles, Cleansing Programs, Detox Program, Fatigue Treatment, Gluten Free recipes, Raw and Living Foods | No Comments »
Adrenal Fatigue: Tips to Restoring Your Energy and Your Health
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on July 5, 2010 – -
Do you ever wake in in the morning, even after a long night of sleep, only to feel sluggish and wishing you had another few hours to rest?
This is one of many signs of adrenal fatigue.
Adrenal fatigue is a common condition in our fast paced, stressed out society.
Your adrenal glands are your body’s mechanism for responding to stressful situations. In the olden days, this meant getting chased by a tiger or dealing with severe cold without shelter or proper clothing.
Fortunately for us, tigers and lack of clothing are not problems we deal with on a regular basis.
Unfortunately we have our own modern day tigers, and they chase some of us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Modern Day Tigers that Stress Your Adrenals
- Deadlines at work?
- Juggling kids schedules with your own?
- Worry about the economy?
- A sick parent or child?
- An unreasonable boss?
Whatever it is, the response is similar to a real tiger chasing you. Your adrenal glands step into action and do what they do best…shift you into what is often called “fight/flight mode”, and in scientific terms, “sympathetic nervous system dominance”.
In hyper vigilant adrenal state, your heart rate increases, your respiration quickens and the blood supply to your brain and vital organs decreases and is sent to your extremities…so you can run away or fight.
In addition, your digestive track activity decreases and the sphincters– the valves between sections of the digestive tract– tighten. This is to protect you from needing to use the bathroom in the middle of running away from or fighting a tiger.
Translate this into modern life. If you find yourself stressed out and worried quite a bit of the time, you increase your risk of indigestion, constipation, gas and bloating as well as heart and circulation problems due to prolonged increased heart rate.
Oh, and I forgot to mention. In fight flight mode, your sex drive goes away, too.
Doesn’t help to be having lustful thoughts when you’re trying to get away from that tiger. On a biochemical level, the same chemical molecules that make the adrenal hormone cortisol, which gets elevated under stress, are also needed to make estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, all needed for libido and reproductive function.
Another problem with cortisol is that in excess it can cause damage to your mitochondria, the energy producing mechanisms in each of your cells. Cortisol also damages your hippocampus, the part of your brain that helps with short term memory. Ever walk into a room, only to forget what you went there for? That’s likely because your hippocampus has been impeded by the cortisol you produced when you were stressed out.
Yikes! SO if this is you, what can you do to fix things?
In my over two decades of clinical practice, I’ve seem many cases of adrenal burnout and the damages caused by chronic stress.
Fortunately there are actions you can take reverse the damage and repair your adrenal glands. But if you keep getting stressed out, you’ll be a lot like a hamster on a wheel….working hard but never getting anywhere. Repairing your adrenals and transforming your response to stress take some time and retraining, and the transformations you experience when you do can be miraculous.
3 Tips for Combating Adrenal Fatigue
1- Learn stress management and stress transformation techniques. One of my favorites is called Heart Math, and uses a combination of deep breathing, focusing on your heart and feeling appreciation. It completely changed my life. I did a 90 minute stress transformation teleseminar a couple of years ago that guided the participants through the process and the response was dramatic.
2- Nourish your adrenals. Did you know that 80% of the vitamin C used in your body is used by your adrenal glands? Excessive stress depletes your vitamin C stores and can lead to allergies, poor wound healing, easy bruising and increased susceptibility for colds, flu and other infectious disease? Your adrenals also use lots of B vitamins, especially pantothenic acid and B6. That’s why a lot of B complex formulas are called Stress formulas. Eating a whole foods, high raw, high green diet will ensure you have adequate intake of nutrients to maintain your adrenals when they are brought back to normal;however, when you’re in the mode of recovery, supplementation is often needed.
3- Support your body’s detoxification systems by periodic cleansing. Face it, eating on the run, making even occasional poor food choices and being stressed out impair your liver’s ability to do it’s job of cleansing. One of my favorite ways to cleanse my body is with green smoothies. Even though I eat really healthfully, exercise on a regular basis, and do my Heart Math exercises daily, I’m not perfect. I still get stressed out sometimes, I’m exposed to toxins and I eat on the run more often than I’d like.
I personally do a Green Cleanse at least quarterly by taking a week off eating and just drinking green smoothies or juices for 7 days. I am always amazed at how much more energy I have when I do this. That’s why every 3 months, I lead a group green smoothie cleanse. I have hundreds of success stories from people who feel they got their life back after a green cleanse. This time around I’ve added a new component – daily interactive journals. The details about the cleanse, go to my Green Smoothie Cleanse Website.
If you’ve already done a green cleanse or a short cleanse and are ready to take it to the next level, I suggest you do a deep tissue detox like my Six Week Deep Tissue Detox or something similar.
Bedtime and Wake-up Rituals for Adrenal Fatigue Support
One last tip for rebuilding your adrenals – create supportive bedtime and morning rituals that re-establishes
your circadian rhythm. Here’s a starting set that I recommend to my adrenal fatigue patients:
- Shut off all electronics within an hour of bedtime.
- Eat your last meal within 3 hours of bedtime.
- Fill a 16 ounce glass with pure water and the juice of 1 lemon and put it by your bedside.
- Find 3 things to appreciate before you fall asleep.
- Find 3 things to appreciate before you get out of bed.
- Drink the water as soon as you get up.
- As soon as you get up, go outside and get 5 – 15 minutes of sun, even if the sun is not out. Face in the direction of the sun and sip your water.
Get going on these habits, cleanse regularly and master the Heart Math techniques and you’ll soon be bouncing out of
bed in the morning with vim, vigor and enthusiasm for life.
I hope to meet you soon on a green smoothie cleanse.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, chronic fatigue, Cleansing Programs, detoxification programs, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, green smoothie, green smoothie. detoxification programs, Living Foods, Raw Foods, raw foods diet, raw foods recipes, Vibrant Health
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My Commitment to My Adrenals: No Fatigue, Just Sleep!
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 21, 2010 – -When I work with people with fatigue symptoms, related to thyroid and adrenal overload, I talk about several key things:
- Whole foods, fresh diet, high in raw foods
- Proper hydration
- Omega 3 fat balance
- Getting off allergenic and inflammatory foods, including gluten, dairy, and sugar.
- Fresh air and sunshine
- Exercise
- Restoring their adrenal reserve and enhancing detoxification via sleep.
I model the first 6 beautifully. I am committed to being as healthy and vibrant as I can be so that I can be a role model to others.
So why is number 7 so ###!!## hard for me?
I did really well on my sleep commitment the first week of my 30 day challenge.
My adrenals loved me for it, and I warded off a bout with adrenal fatigue by giving myself what I needed.
So why can’t I make a firm and lasting commitment?
I’m backsliding. I won’t even say how late it was when my head finally hit the pillow.
There’s still lots to do…there always will be. Yet I am off to meet my pillow and keep my commitment to me.
I made no commitments today and I kept none. What a deal. Tomorrow is a new day.
I did make myself a quart of green juice to start the day. It was lovely. I also did a great job on my omega 3′s today. The subject is on my mind, as balancing the immune system was the topic of the week for Balance My Body.
I noticed dark circles under my eyes…not good for a fatigue expert to look tired. Not good for someone who prides herself in looking much younger and having the body of a 20 something year-old to notice signs of aging.
Commitments for Sunday, and the rest of the week.
- I will get outside and exercise
- I will make at least 16 ounces of green juice and 32 ounces of smoothie
- I will get my omega 3′s again
- I will eat consciously and with gratitude
- I will…can I say it and mean it…I will…..I will…..go to bed by 11PM…at least Sunday
Please hold me to it. Write me and ask me what time I went to bed. I can’t lie.
Post below and be bold enough to check in and make sure I am doing what I committed to. Sleep is vital for health. Food is great, exercise is great, greens are great…but they will only take me so far if I keep burning the candle at both ends.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Sleeeeeeeeeeeep!
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: adrenal exhaustion, Adrenal Fatigue, adrenal gland, chronic fatigue, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, Exercise, Exhaustion, fatigue, fatigue symptoms, fun, green juice, green smoothie, green smoothie. detoxification programs, liver detoxification, Raw Foods, sleep
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Fatigue Treatment, Omega 3 Fats | 3 Comments »
Cleansing for Health
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on October 3, 2008 – -
Cleansing and detoxification programs have been used as a health restoration technique for thousands of years. Yet only recently has the general public become aware if them.
While some might argue the need for a cleansing program, on the basis that your body can adequately cope with the daily bombardment of toxins in your air, water and food supplies, still others (and growing numbers of others) strongly emphasize the profound benefit of periodic cleansing.
I personally completely turned my health around when I was in my 20′s by doing a 28 day water fast. The effects were profound. Unfortunately, extended water fasting is not something that most people can do successfully on their own. It is best to do it under the supervision of a professional.
Over the past 22 years, I have done several 7-10 day water fasts and always benefit. The problem is that I can’t seem to stay on track unless I do it with a partner or a group.
I started to do Green Smoothie Cleanses a few years ago, instead of water fasts, because it was easy to cleanse and maintain my busy work, family and exercise schedule. I love how I feel when I do them. Still, I often found that my plans to do a multi day green smoothie cleanse on my own often go by the wayside when a “better offer” comes along ( like a party, family birthday, invitation from a friend). It seems that when I make the comittment only to myself, it’s easy to decide part of the way through that the timing isnt’ right and schedule it for another time.
When I make a commitment to someone else, I keep it. Regardless of what comes up, if I commit to others to do a Green Smoothie Cleanse, I follow through.
So birthed the idea of a group cleanse program. At first, I figured I’d put together a bunch of recipes, create a yahoo group for all of us to communicate and take it from there. What ended up happening is that I created an elaborate implementation guide, pre and post health self assessment questionnaires and objective tests, recipes, menu planners and post cleanse guidelines.
It has been a labor of love for me. I’ve lead groups of over 50 people 4 times so far this year. Next week, will be the fifth. There are still a few spaces left and the early bird special pricing has been extended to midnight Friday. The details are at http://drritamarie.com/GreenCleanse
I’m looking forward to feeling lighter, clearer and more energetic,
Tags: detoxification, detoxification programs, Green Cleanse, green smoothie. detoxification programs, Green Smoothies, health, water fast
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Green Smoothie Power
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on September 30, 2008 – -
I’m heading back to Austin after a very exciting extended weekend in Tucson. Not only did I have great family time, but I attended a business strategy retreat that has me buzzing with excitement. Within the next month I will begin to unveil my plans for a program that is unique, affordable and deeply empowering. I can’t reveal the details yet, but over the next few weeks, some of it is sure to leak.
My 8 month old nephew Jason had another green smoothie today, and he enjoyed it immensely. It was so heartwarming to listen to his squeals of delight as my sister, his grandmother, fed it to him with a spoon. I am coaching her to continue to give him green smoothies daily to provide him with an abundance of nutrition and a powerful immune system.
As for me, I’m excited to be doing another green smoothie cleanse next week, I lead a group cleanse every two months or so and I participate fully. Form, it’s the perfect way to give my body a rest from eating on the run, eating too late at night and not sleeping enough. I always feel lighter, more energetic and happier after I complete a Green Smoothie Cleanse. The group support helps me to follow through. I always keep my commitment to others. On my own, I sometimes fail to follow through.
Here’s the green smoothie recipe similar to what I made for 8 month old Jason:
- 1 Peach
- 1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
- 1 Apple
- A couple of handfuls of spinach
- A couple of leaves of kale
- 1 cup water
Blend and Taste. Add more fruit if needed. Thin with water if desired.
Enjoy a fabulous day.
Love and Health,
Dr. Ritamarie
P.S. I wrote this on Monday Sept 29 at the airport and just got it posted today. I am hosting a FREE teleseminar today called “Simple Strategies to Creating Vibrant Health, In Spite of Day to Day Challenges” You can sign up by going to:
http://www.drritamarie.com/greens_teleconference.htm
Tags: food for kids, Green Cleanse, green smoothie, green smoothie. detoxification programs, teleseminars
Posted in Detox Program, Green Smoothies, Holistic Nutrition | No Comments »
Yummy Greens Recipes: Cleansing Food!
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on January 29, 2007 – -
I have been doing a Green Cleanse this past week. It has been a great experience. 14 people joined me, and we had an email support group where we shared recipes, challenges and successes. I’ll be organizing another one soon.
For a description of a green cleanse and more information, check the website www.drritamarie.com/ . Check back here or there for the dates of the next cleanse.
On Friday evening we hosted a Movie night and Raw food Potluck. We had a nice turnout. I really enjoyed chatting with everyone. After the meal, we watched Gabriel Cousen’s Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine. It was both informative and inspiring. Our next Movie Night and Potluck will be February 17. For more info go to http://www.drritamarie.com/ and click Events Calendar. Since I was doing a green Cleanse, rather than my usual potluck fare, I made 3 Green concoctions. Here are the recipes.
Tropical Green Sorbet
2 cups papaya
1 mango
½ of a pineapple
3-4 cups spinach
Blend the pineapple first then add the mango and papaya and blend until smooth. Add spinach a handful at a time to desired sweetness. II was surprised at how much I could add and still have it be sweet. Pour into container of ice cream maker and run until frozen. Yum. You can also drink it as a smoothie. A few ice cubes would be a nice addition if so.
Italian Soup
1 ½ cup dried tomatoes, soaked in 1 cup water
4 cups fresh tomatoes (I used Roma)
6 stalks celery
1 bunch basil
A few springs of fresh oregano
A few sprigs fresh rosemary
2 heads of romaine hearts
1 clove garlic
Blend all until smooth. Add sea salt or other seasonings if desired
Lime mint drink
¼ cup lime juice
1 bunch fresh mint
3 apples
3 heads hearts of romaine
2 cups water
Ice cubes
Blend all. Adjust lime to taste. Add water if too thick. Add ice cubes and blend to cool down. Very refreshing.
Comments and questions are always welcome.
I will be updating regularly, Sign up to be notified when I do so you don’t miss anything, or check the website www.drritamarie.com for updates.
Bye for now
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Gabriel Cousens, Green Cleanse, green smoothie, green smoothie recipes, green smoothie. detoxification programs
Posted in Detox Program, Green Smoothies, Raw and Living Foods | 1 Comment »
Drink your Greens: Taste Balancing Tips
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on January 24, 2007 – -
As many of you know, I just started doing a group green cleanse. There are about 15 of my students, clients and subscribers at http://drritamarie.com doing it together along with a couple of hundred from around the world. This involves a week of blending greens with either vegetables and herbs, to make soups or with fruits to make smoothies, and drinking these concoctions instead of eating meals.
This may sound very strange to those who have not tried green smoothies or soups, but I find it to be a very satisfying way to cleanse. While recipes abound, I generally just throw the foods in the blender, tweak for taste, and drink. While this may work well for me, others like to have recipes. So I am posting a new recipe I just invented and the methodology I used to create it, so that others may feel more confident creating a recipe or fixing up a recipe that just does not taste right.
I have been studying the concept of taste balancing. There are 5 primary tastes that our tongues perceive: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and pungent. If a food contains a balance of all 5 tastes, it is pleasing to the tongue.
I have been using this in creating and modifying recipes with great success. This afternoon, I decided to try it with a green smoothie. Someone told me that mango and kale made a good smoothie. I put 2 mangoes and a whole bunch of kale in the blender and turned it on. The thick green concoction wasn’t bad, but it tasted to me to be too bitter and too sweet at the same time. I could have drunk it, but decided instead to experiment with the 5 tastes.
I added half a bag of frozen strawberries to tone down the sweetness of the mangoes. It was better, but not quite there. I then added the rest of the bag, and ¼ cup of fresh squeezed lime juice for a bit of sour. It was starting to taste even better. Now I had sweet, from the mangoes and strawberries, bitter from the kale, and sour from the lime and a bit from the strawberries. Now I needed to balance for saltiness. Part of the cleanse is to avoid added salt, so I chose celery for the salty taste. 2 stalks were added. It was getting there, but needed a bit more salt. I added another stalk, making 3 all together. The last taste to balance was pungent, also known as spicy. I sliced a 1 ½ inch diameter piece of ginger about 1/8 inch thick and added it, along with about 1 teaspoon of dried mint. It was delicious! I offered a taste to my assistant and to my next patient, who had just arrived and they both liked it. So there you have it. A new recipe and a method for fine tuning your own.
Final Recipe :
Green Mango Delight
2 Mangoes
1 large bunch of kale
3 stalks of celery
1 bag of frozen strawberries or 1 1/2 cup fresh
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 inch by 1/8 inch round slice of ginger
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves (or a handful fo fresh)
Water to desired consistency
- Put mangoes in blender and blend until smooth
- Add kale and blend again.
- Add celery, ginger, lime juice and mint.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add water if desired.
If you have an ice cream maker, this would make an excellent sorbet. Just pour into the container and turn it on.
I am liking this green cleanse so much, that I think I may continue another week. If you want to join us for the next green cleanse, check out the website, http://www.drritamarie.com/ for details. I will post it there as soon as we have a plan.
For those new to Greens and green cleanses, check out the Green for Life program at ===> http://tinyurl.com/3dvy2u . The audio tape interviews with Victoria Boutenko and Frederic Patenaude are excellent. The program also includes the transcripts of the tapes and the book Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko, and the cleanse guide. I also ordered the extra recipe book, which has recipes for green smoothies, salad dressings, and soups. If you order the program, you can do the green cleanses as often as they are held.
Bon appetite. Try adding a green smoothie or soup to your diet each day. Just that simple change can impact your health dramatically.
Yours in Health
Dr. Ritamarie at http://www.drritamarie.com/
Tags: green smoothie, green smoothie recipes, green smoothie. detoxification programs, Victoria Boutenko
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