Dear GreenSmoothieGirl:  In one of Victoria Boutenko’s books, she recommends using a dental appliance that gives  a person  extra chewing time, since the green smoothies  often are used in place of 1 or 2 meals.   What is your opinion of this?

Answer: I think it’s an interesting idea, totally untested both in theory and in result, and not a high priority for me, considering how many other more tested health habits are truly important to master.   I’m not really sure we are going to compensate for several generations of narrowing palates, with a gum exerciser.   (I think she suggests this exercise not because we’re drinking smoothies, but because we’ve degenerated our palate/jaw over the past few generations.)   Honestly, it sounds to me like the kind of thing you’d buy and not end up really using.   (Are you super motivated to work your jaw until it’s tired, daily, for months on end?)   Sounds like torture.   Personally, I like to chew gum.   I’m not sure it’s giving me the uber-jaws of my ancestors, or of the primates, though.

Eat salad for dinner and chew it well.   Make sure you’re using your BlendTec to its full potential with daily green smoothies and other 12 Steps to Whole Foods recipes, because the gorgeous thing about blended foods is, you don’t need strong jaws.