I’m in love with Katie Thompson
I went to this concert with my BFFs Kristin and Matthew. Katie Thompson is a Broadway singer / songwriter who was in town doing a concert and album launch party. We were on the front row. (Here’s a photo of Matthew and me.)
Kristin and I sat there with our jaws dropped from beginning to end. Enjoy a couple of Katie’s songs (or more on YouTube, and for sale on iTunes) here and here.
Matthew hosted an afterparty at his house and we were out way too late. I asked Katie to participate in my Lillith Fair of Health and Wellness that I’m organizing with a NY Times bestselling author and a fitness guru. She’s in! She said she’d write a GreenSmoothieGirl song. More info to follow…I can’t wait!
Write me a paragraph about why you are a green smoothie girl (or guy), or what rocks your world about 12 Steps to Whole Foods. And I’ll send the winner the two Katie Thompson albums I bought for you. Send it to support123@greensmoothiegirl.com.
Whoever tells me the best stuff wins, and I’ll post the winning entry here. (Make sure to include your physical address so I can send you the CD’s!)
Posted in: Green Smoothies, Relationships
I have studied nutrition as a hobby for 25 years, and have eaten a very healthy non-processed diet for many years. However at 51 years if age, I did not have the health that I had hoped to have given all my healthy habits. In April 2010 I purchased a Vitamix, and started drinking a quart of green smoothies per day. I lost weight, I am no longer “allergic to the sun” (For 20 years I broke out in hives w direct sun exposure.. the doctors called it a sun allergy) have MUCH better digestion and bowel health, and look younger than my 52 years. What’s not to love? My brother, my boss, my boyfriend, and some of my co-workers are now also hooked on the green smoothies, and they call me “the green smoothie girl!” I tell them I am not the actual green smoothie girl, that that title belongs to you, so now they call me the “green smoothie girl of Seattle.”
I love your website, and your blog. It is great to have somewhere to turn when I need some extra inspiration! It was great to see you at the University of Washington last month! Loved it. I will drink green smoothies for the rest of my life, and continue to spread the word about how great an addition they are to a healthy diet!
Barbara M
You asked why I’m a green smoothie girl and immediately my head went to music! So in (almost) the words of Kermit the Frog (got that melody in your head?):
“it ain’t easy bein’ green”
It ain’t easy being green
Having to spend each day drinking liquified leaves
When I think, I think it would be nicer eating junk food, but no, wait
You see, it ain’t easy being green
It seems to my family to blend in with so many other fads.
And then, sometimes, sometimes people pass over you
Because you’re not standing out like a candy bar at a counter
Or golden arches in the sky
But did you know that green is the color of Life
And green can be energizing to your body
And important, loaded with vitamins!
And cool and fruity-like
Or tall and lean like a tree
And me
But when green is all there is to be
It kind of makes you wonder why
Why wonder, wonder why?
Hey, I’m green and I think it’ll do fine
‘Cause green is just what I wanna be
‘Cause green is beautiful, baby
Right on greensmoothiers!
And anyway, money’s green
Wribbit ~ Kristi B
Eating whole foods has changed my life. I am truly converted to this lifestyle. In 2007, at 25 years of age, I had been trying to get pregnant and get in shape for over a year (after being married about 5 years). I knew I needed to lose weight, but I had been sucked into the S.A.D unfortunately -donuts, chips, soda, fast food, movie popcorn, candy- because I was unhappy with my job, my life, my marriage, and was slacking in the Faith department (ya gotta rely on the man above!!).
Well, one day after a huge fight with my husband I’d had it!! I’d had it with sabotaging my own life. The life that was given to me by God at such a great price. I finally got my priorities in line: Got back to church, cleaned up my diet, started exercising hard 5-6 days a week, and went back to school majoring in health and wellness. I quit my job in September of 2006, and committed 100% to this new lifestyle in January 2007, and by April 10th, I had lost 35 lbs. A month later I got pregnant (so its fair so say things in the marriage department were going great as well, lol…). I always knew I wanted to start my child’s life off right! I knew I couldn’t wait until I was pregnant to THEN start eating healthy and well for their sake. I knew I need to do it BEFORE I got pregnant (because of my knowledge of fetal development).
I’m so grateful the Lord blessed me with the inspiration and knowledge that leads to a happy healthy lifestyle. My son, now 3, and my daughter, 21 months, enjoy green smoothies as do my husband and I!! I am aiming for 60% raw foods each day, and am sugar and flour free.
We are depression and ailment free, other than the occasional runny noses and mild allergies. I was someone that was once on anti-depressants after purposely overdosing on pain pills when I was 16 (had to have my stomach pumped). My Mom and Dad were convinced I was just depressed, but I knew better deep down. I knew I had to do all I could to fight it. I had to fight it for the sake of my future posterity. I wasn’t going to take a medication while I was pregnant especially. I knew I didn’t want to rely on a drug the rest of my life. That just isn’t natural! Well, before I got pregnant, thank goodness my body had been medication (allergy meds included) and birth-control pill free for a year and a half.
The Lord has truly blessed my life, and I feel as though he was protecting the lives of my future children. I have come to love and appreciate healthy and clean eating and I know I am on the right path. Now, my plans are to be on the path of bettering and improving the lives of the youth by setting up a model for all schools and child care services, etc (even hospitals -wouldn’t THAT be something) on eating healthy and being active. I hope to do a non-profit organization (that would be funded by multiple charities I have access to). I’m 28 years old, so it is kind of my passion and I am on a mission! I hope to have it up and running in the next 5-10 years, and the sky is the limit!!! I’ll need all the help I can get :).
I’m done trying to “fit in” with my sugar and junk eating friends (which was ironic since they were all skinny, lol). I know I have to do what I feel is right for myself and my family!!
Thanks Robyn for all you do and all your inspiration!
Amy F
We live in the mountains of NE Japan, and eating any veggie raw is pretty much unheard of here! Everything has to be cooked, and most things until they are pretty mushy! I really felt that we needed to start eating/drinking more raw veggies though wasn’t getting very far in convincing my family of this. We have 4 children 3-10 year, and my dh is Japanese.
Last year I started reading your blog, and our family started?drinking green smoothies every morning. The kids are not breakfast eaters, and it worked out perfectly for though they are not willing to eat in the mornings, they are more than happy to down a green smoothie!The color bothered them for one day and then they were fine with it and have fun trying to identify what fruit and veggies I have put in them! I have a Vitamix that makes easy work of the smoothie making( I had it shipped from the US and they fixed the hertz so that it would work here! )In the summer when fruit is available, I have been freezing things, and then am able to use the fresh fruit and leafy veggies during the winter months. It is not like in the U.S. and we can only get things in season here!
The green leafy veggies that I add to the drink, I am not even really sure what they are in English, but my grocer?from a tiny store, tells me which ones are very good for you and helps me choose. Things are only available here in season, and when out of season, they are not available.
We are in the area hit by the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami came within 10 km of us! (nearest town is Rikuzen- Takada which was wiped of the face of the earth by the tsunami)
We were without electricity, gasoline,kerosene,phone, heat, etc for many weeks, and we are just starting to get back things though not much available in the stores yet.
When we were without electicity and gas for cooking, we had to eat some canned and dry things that we had here,but we were just thankful that we had food, for many Japanese people only buy food enough for one day, and so when this disaster happened they were without food also. I shared with neighbors so that everyone was able to eat during that time. I have been able to tell just how much better we all felt when we were drinking smoothies daily. It has been a month and a 1/2 without them since the earthquake and I was able to buy some bananas the other day , and some spinach for the first time since March 11 and the kids were so excited when I made smoothies for breakfast this morning.
We have had many years of catching cold after cold, illness after illness, and we just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Well, since we started green smoothies,in the summer 2010, since then we have not caught many colds at all, no flu at all, no pneumonia, (our pattern was cold, flu, pneumonia and then a hospital stay) It was the first year ever of no pneumonia for us and no hospital stay!
I know that we very well could have gotten very sick this past month or so after the earthquake and tsunami, since we had no heat or hot water for weeks, and it was snowing out! We were huddled in our home, eating cold beans out of cans, etc, but I think our systems were so strong after almost a year of green smoothies under our belt that we were ok. The kids did catch colds and then the flu last week, but it wasn’t very bad, and they got over it pretty quickly!
I just know that as we get more veggies and fruit available to us as they get to the store, as the roads and things get fixed after the damage of the earthquake etc, and are able to get back into the routine of drinking the green smoothies daily, that our bodies will be able to fight off these things more easily once again. That is good for there is no medical care available now for us.
I love reading your blog and getting ideas, and it is so encouraging to me to read. We are now working on my Japanese husband to start drinking them with us. He has not been willing in the past, but now that he has seen how healthy we were this past winter, and that the allergies and asthma we have have gotten much less severe, I think he is coming around!
thanks for your encouragement even over the ocean to this far away place!
Joni O
Hi Robyn
I ordered your 12 steps a couple of months ago and decided to try some of the recipes.
As I was hosting a dinner party for 6 people, I decided to experiment and use raw, organic, vegan recipes from your information. As my guests were unaware I was preparing a 4 course meal with raw ingredients, I just kept that quiet. I started with a soup, threw in a sorbet to cleanse the palate, made a raw pasta and finished with a yummy dessert.
At the end of the meal, one of my friends said it was the best meal she had in ages and asked to LICK HER PLATE!!! I was laughing so hard, and of course agreed (what better compliment??!). The rest of the table joined in, so there I sat, with the 6 of us LICKING OUR PLATES!!
Needless to say, I have now hosted several dinner parties using similar raw menus.
Of course I did let them in on the secret at the end of the meal, to which some of them did not believe that something raw could taste so good.
Thanks for your wonderful recipes and allowing me to surprise, delight and educate my friends and loved ones.
Warmest regards.
Sharon
I am a Green Smoothie guy because my wife talked me into watching a video but the coolest thing is about our son. He is in the higher functioning spectrum of autism but only eats chicken nuggets, French fries, pancakes, and fruit snacks. He is willing to drink orange juice in the morning and evening. We have been able to add liquid vitamins and a few other things to that orange juice. I started adding part of my Green Smoothie along with some protein powder and, to my amazement, he drank it without complaint! We are thrilled that he is finally getting some live foods into his diet and we believe will sustain his life and improve his lifestyle.
Gary
Robyn,
On Mother’s Day 2010 I decided to become a Vegan. I weighed 215lbs and was miserable. As a busy home schooling mom with two very active boys, I just couldn’t keep up. I was tired, out of shape and stressed out. I had had my gall bladder removed the year before but now my liver was giving me problems. In addition to that, I suffered from insomnia, acne, heartburn and acid reflux. I realized that unless I put the “oxygen mask” on myself first, I wasn’t going to be able to take care of my family properly.
In my search online for the “Holy Grail” of health I stumbled across the raw vegan. Having been overweight since I was 8 years old, I had tried every other diet on the planet. Many were very harmful to my health (Slim Fast, Atkins, anorexia, etc…). This time I was determined to choose something that would not only help me lose weight but would also restore my health. Besides, what could be better for my body than whole fruits and vegetables?
With my BlendTec raring to go and armed with recipes and wisdom gained from websites like yours, I took the first step on a journey to health. I kept a daily journal to record my meals (not worrying about calorie counting), what smoothies I liked and which creations of mine completely bombed, my feelings and struggles, my failures and comebacks and of course, my weight loss.
I can hardly believe it has almost been a year since I started on this journey. Even though I was not always 100% raw or Vegan, I was 100% vegetarian and I drank a Green Smoothie every day! All of my ailments are completely gone and I have TONS of energy now. I have lost 70lbs so far and went from a size 18 to a size 8 🙂
This has been a total lifestyle change for me and will NEVER turn back. In fact, I plan becoming a Certified Nutritionist so I can help others change their lives as well.
Bless you Robyn for your site and encouragement!
Kristen D
It started out for health reasons…I’ve had high cholesterol since I was 19, fit and rather thin. And now at almost 32 I am worse off.
I have 4 children and am adopting our 5th from China. I can’t keep doing what I’ve been doing, it hasn’t gotten me anything but overweight and very sick.
I do this for ME now!
I started drinking green smoothies weeks ago and I have more energy. While everyone else around me is dropping like flies to illness (stomach flu, respiratory infections, virus’s, allergy attacks) I have the tiniest little sniffle. My resting heart rate has come down 10bpm. I am working out 5 days a week and actually LOVING it! While I might not have dropped tons of weight I have thinned out, toned up, and am breathing easier. I am signed up for the May De-tox and I cannot wait!
I am ovo-vegetarian and getting tons of my greens (I work to get tons of beans and greens) in my green smoothies! My youngest is 14 months and challenged by food allergies. She will grow up KNOWING how to eat healthier because her life depends upon scrutinizing the food that enters her mouth. We should all start out so conscience of what enters our bodies.
I am changing my family tree….one healthy fruit (of my womb) at a time!
Jolene
Life is good. 2011 is the year I turn 60. 2011 is the year I will be the healthiest I’ve ever been. 2011 is the year I’ve begun following the 12-Steps to Whole Foods and drinking green smoothies faithfully every day! My daughters good naturedly tease me about being “obsessed” with my new high powered blender and my new way of life. Coconut oil has replaced canola. Salads have replaced sandwiches. Delicious homemade dressings have replaced bottled concoctions. Two jars of sprouts sit on my counter reminding me that it’s almost time to plant a garden. Whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts are in abundance in my pantry. The best thing is, when my grandchildren come to visit, the first thing they say is “Grammie, please make us a green smoothie!”. Thanks Robyn for your 12-Steps to Whole Foods program, which has effortlessly inspired me to be the best I can be as I approach my “senior” years!
Kathy P
Kathy, I think in the beginning of our learning about nutrition, it’s SO natural to be “obsessed.” When we complete the learning curve, it’s just no big deal anymore. Most of my friends would tell you I rarely talk about food. But in the beginning I was a girl on a mission! So, just want to validate your transition. 🙂
Robyn,
When my daughter introduced me to your site; I was skeptical at first until I started reading the material. I told myself, “is never late to adapt a healthier life style” so I bought the book and was sold on the idea of feeling better by combining all the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. I started buying some of the organic seeds and powder to enhance my diet. This year I started to grow my own little garden and I am so excited that a couple of my co-workers started doing the same. For the past three weeks I am sprouting my alfalfa seeds and I hove it!
Not only do I drink my QT of green smoothie every day but my husband has joined me as well. We both feel great and I cannot thank you enough for bringing us to be more aware of what we feed our body.
Thank you,
Eunice from NC
Hi Robyn! I would say I stumbled upon your book The Green Smoothie Diet on Amazon, but I know it was the Lord who led me to it. Reading your book and watching some of your you tube videos has really changed our family’s eating habits! We have 4 children also (ages 5, 3, 2, and 7 months) so my husband does all the grocery shopping. Greens and raw foods are a staple of our diet now…I am so happy when he comes home with bags of produce!
We are excited for our garden this year and I plan on using your suggestions for planting things in a staggered way to have the vegetables come up at different times.
Because of your suggestion we bought a Blendtec and have been very happy with it. We enjoy showing people how powerful it is and making guests smoothies too. Our children love the fruit smoothies and now we don’t make anymore trips to Smoothie King for smoothies…the smoothies we make at home are superior to the favorites we had there….and ours don’t have turbinado…I add stevia if they need sweetened. I would have never tried stevia if it weren’t for your suggestion, thanks!
I also learned from you that chard will come up almost all year round…so this year we won’t till it up like we did last year! Argh! I was looking into where I could buy the baby thai coconuts to make the hot pink breakfast smoothie…and then my husband came home with a new product from “Silk” Coconut Milk! So I have been making the smoothie with that.
Before that he found the very elusive “coconut oil” (hard to find around here!) and I made a smoothie with that…I didn’t realize that it would not liquify in cold temperature…that was a rough one to get down…even with the blendtec…very gritty. The milk is much better! I like to cook with the oil. Another great combo I have found is the coconut milk, frozen pineapple chunks and frozen strawberry chunks…mmm!
It was so cute the other night…my 5 year old son and I were watching the homemade granola you tube video…(I had ordered your basic recipe collection but I have misplaced it 🙁 so we were watching it and I was taking notes and my son leaned over to the speaker on the computer and said…Green Smoothie Girl, Green Smoothie Girl…(he was trying to interrupt you) and then he said into the speaker…”We have a Blendtec too!!!!”
I had to stop myself from laughing out loud and making him feel silly!! I said John she can’t hear you it’s a video! And he said he wanted to come over to your house…that it looked “Interesting!” Last month I introduced my baby’s first food…baby spinach! Since we have the Blendtec I should not have to buy any baby food…he liked his first green smoothie…no scrunched up face or anything 🙂
I would like to get your whole foods program sometime…I hope to find that basic recipe cookbook soon, I was wanting to make the coconut pudding and the salsa! I have read about the water ionizer and it sounds awesome…I need to talk to my husband about that again. I friended you on FB and shared about Green Smoothie Girl to my friends there. You have been such a blessing to our family…may God bless you and your family 🙂
Curri
Not sure how you’re going to pick from all the great stories. I’ve struggled with weight all my life. I’ve had my ups and downs (literally). Through it I’ve stayed active. I’ve never had any real health issues (at least not that I’m aware of). My mom was a nurse and an avid supporter of healthy eating and always researching supplements. She was diagnosed with diabetes and is not taking good care of herself (go figure). My dad died of a heart attack at 65 (didn’t even get a chance to retire and enjoy some time traveling). I have six siblings, three of which have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Now, you’d think with a family history such as mine, I’d be doing all the right things. Eating right, exercising and keeping my body in check. I keep trying – old habits die hard, though.
I bought a Blendtec for myself and then bought one for my sister-in-law (since she’s been helping with meals for my mom). I bought your book and started making smoothies right away. Stuck with it for a couple of months. Shared what I was doing with friends and family and as much as I’d like to say that I felt different, healthier, something – I did not. I started in January and stopped around mid-April. No weight loss.
That’s okay – the hope was to loss some weight for a vacation. Once I get back, I’ll start again because, as with so many of the others who have provided their testimonials here, I believe that eating more greens, veggies and fruits in their natural state – removing sugars and processed foods – makes a difference.
I enjoy your site and reading others’ experiences. Hope to either attend one of your seminars one day – I keep checking your event calendar.
You and others like you are making a difference, keep up the good work.
Valerie
Robyn,
I first heard about Green Smoothie Girl a few years ago from some friends that were part of our produce co-op. I thought it sounded like the most disgusting thing in the world and told myself I could never do that. So that was that. I enjoyed my weekly basket of fresh produce until I started throwing away most of it because it would go bad before I could ever use it, not to mention the things I just threw away anyways because I had no idea what they were let alone how to use them or even desired to try them. Then a year or so later I was at Costco and saw a road show demo on Blendtec Blenders. I thought they were the coolest thing because I was already known for my delicious fruit smoothies among my children and husband and although my Bosch blender was doing all right, the Blendtec just sounded awesome. So I dropped many hints with my kids who passed them on to my husband and for Mother’s Day I received a Blendtec Blender.
We were so excited. We popped the demo and instructional DVD in and after having recognized a friend from our ward who was one of the hosts on the DVD we were even more excited. And then there was a clip from this gorgeous woman saying that she was the green smoothie girl and used Blendtec blenders for her program. My heart literally skipped a beat and my brain pounded inside my skull as mind and soul tried to communicate to me what I needed to do. I remembered hearing that name a couple years ago and now because I was so excited about my blender I got a bit more excited about green smoothie girl too. But I wasn’t quite ready. It still sounded gross. I became even a greater master with my blender at fruit smoothies and ice cream and all sorts of delicious stuff.
Just a few weeks after my mother in law’s passing, I did it. I actually did what I thought I’d never do. I went to the green smoothie girl website. I started reading your story and I fell in love and knew what I needed to do to bring some peace and joy back in to my life. I fell fast and firm and ordered the book and the full 12 Steps program. I anxiously awaited my order to arrive and was thrilled beyond measure when it finally did. I opened it with deep anticipation and a firm commitment to give it an honest try. I still felt very overwhelmed and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it or not and doubted whether it would work for me as so many others had testified it worked for them. But you know what; my life was so not what I had thought it would be at that point in time. I figured I’ve tried so many other means of making things better what do I have to lose by blending up some fruits and veggies.
I admit I gagged a bit on my first one but it wasn’t as repulsive as I initially thought it would be. I didn’t give up and eventually I was making and eating green smoothies like a pro. And then one day my pants felt a bit loose, and I reluctantly stepped on the scale and to my sheer amazement, I had lost over 20 lbs. I hadn’t even done anything different except drink a quart of green sludge every day. I also started to notice that I felt happier and had more energy and desire to take care of my five beautiful children and of myself. I started to feel confident with myself and that I could actually learn and understand some things about nutrition and health and most surprisingly I really wanted to. I became a sponge. I soaked up everything that I could from your website and books and I became so excited to begin sharing it with my family.
I got my two teenagers to believe in green smoothies and the three of us became daily green guzzlers and soon my seven year old happily joined us as well. My twelve year old is the most against it all and he’s one who I wish would really participate and be able to benefit from, he has Autism/Asperger’s and dyslexia and has been a constant challenge in so many ways (but also a great joy in many ways). Then there’s my 9 year old picky eater who has yet to embrace it as openly but she is taking small steps towards it and I’m trying my best to find ways to get them both more on board. Unfortunately my husband will have nothing to do with it ….
I have never felt better and I can never go back to the miserable low energy easy nuke it or drive through and get it lifestyle I once led. I will only continue forward in an abundant joyful energetic grow it, eat it, blend it, drink it, live it love it lifestyle of a green smoothie girl.
I have become a person I never thought I could possibly become. A health nut. A lover of raw foods. An ingredients label reader. An organic buyer. An acceptor of vegetarians and sometimes one myself. An excited gardener. A sprout grower. A dehydrated foods maker and lover. A kefir culture maker. A green smoothie girl. A happier, healthier, more peaceful, grateful, and joyful person. And I love who I have become and look forward to who I am becoming. I still have more to go, more weight to lose, more things to learn, more confidence to gain, more sharing to do, more foods to try and more joyous life to live, but I am on my way and even though I am doing most of it on my own with no spousal support whatsoever, I do have supportive siblings and parents and a few good friends and I am strong and firmly planted and I know I can continue forward.
So to sum up why green smoothies work for me and why you are my hero. With the passing of death, being on the verge of divorce, and dangling in the depths of despair all while trying to stay afloat dealing with the struggling awareness of autism and dyslexia, I lost all control and hope of having a happy meaningful life or so I thought until I realized there was one last hope, one thing I really did have control over and that was what I put in to mouth. And now I have found a powerful, dare I say magical elixir of joy and happiness that can be created and enjoyed each and every wild and crazy day. Sip after sip the healing power of living food fills my veins, enlivens my soul, opens my mind, warms my heart and comforts me with peace. In my world that constantly seems to be spinning out of control and threatening to swallow me alive and chew me to pieces I have one thing that I alone can constantly control. One thing that a powerful blender spins instead of spinning me. One thing that I choose to swallow instead of being swallowed up in misery and suffering. One thing that whirs noisily for just a few minutes only to then silently seep strength and serenity through my soul and bring calm to my troubled and turbulent thoughts. A cold creamy colorful blend of health and goodness, a green smoothie.
I’m not really one who comments or responds much to things on line. I keep most of my thoughts and feelings to myself but I am an avid reader of your blog I look forward to your entries everyday and reading them brightens my day, fills me with courage and puts a smile on my face. I truly love, admire and appreciate all you do to help me among so many others to experience greater joy and strength and peace in my life each and every day.
Thank you for all you do and are.
Sincerely,
Sue