What people are saying
Kidney Stones Gone
I have medulary sponge kidney disease that causes me to make kidney stones. My urologist sees me every 6 months to keep an eye on things. I started drinking green smoothies about 5 weeks ago, having 2 a day most days. I lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks, and haven’t gained it back. About 10 days ago I had an ultrasound of my kidneys and 5 days ago I had the usual blood work done. I recently noticed my face (I’m always complimented on my youthful appearance) glowing–and my husband obviously thought so because he reached out to stroke my cheek with the back of his hand. I asked if I had food on my face and he said, No.” And then he stroked my cheek again.
Back to today’s check-up with my urologist. He was very pleased, saying, You always have many kidney stones in both kidneys–usually the left has more than the right, but they both have multiple stones. Your scan shows NO stones in the left, and a stone the size of a pin point in the right kidney.” He had to rock the wand forward and back to find it! He said, You’ve lost weight. You look great! Whatever you’re doing, keep it up! I don’t need to see you for a year.”
Here’s the kicker: in the past he asked me to stay away from “high oxalate” foods such as kale and spinach since my kidney stones are calcium-oxalate stones. But, what greens have I put in my green smoothies? Kale, spinach and beet tops. And I’m better than I’ve been in YEARS AND YEARS, in terms of kidney health.
Go green smoothies!
*results may vary
— Cindy
Chance Encounter
Robyn Openshaw’s 12 Steps to Whole Foods is by far the most comprehensive, must-read, nutritional material out there! Our family has spent years reading the latest raw-food books/plans and struggled with contradicting information. We found most recipes to be too time consuming, complicated, and expensive for our large family. And we still had questions—if we are to eat “every seed bearing thing,” why aren’t grains widely used in raw food recipes? What about good qualities of dairy, such as probiotics in yogurt, etc.? Most importantly, how can a mom of four with a limited budget possibly make it all work?
I found Robyn’s site by chance—and all of a sudden the answers (plus more!) we’d been searching for were right in front of our eyes. Robyn has covered pretty much every topic in the nutrition field with a simple, doable approach. We are excited to finally have found a way to make nutrition work for our family!
— Jennifer Bartlett
My day is not complete without a smoothie!
My day is not complete without a smoothie! If I go without one, I feel bad physically and mentally. My children love them, too, and want them every day so they can have energy and strong muscles.
— Jenny L.
We are experiencing great health benefits from these marvelous drinks!
After a year of thinking and searching deeply about going vegetarian, I took the leap in September of ’08. What made the transition easy was the discovery of the green smoothie! I first heard of them on Robyn’s informative website, greensmoothiegirl.com. I was intrigued and investigated the origins of green smoothies and started to find whole blogging communities who were drinking these liquid vegetable treats. I viewed many of the YouTube videos Robyn had posted and saw how simple it was to get my veggies the green smoothie way. I started right away, using my simple kitchen blender. My 11 y.o. son and my husband were curious and started drinking them with me almost immediately. We LOVE them!
The chronic eczema around edges of my scalp are clearing up (some are completely gone!), ridges in my fingernails are flattening out and nails have become hard, chronic tiredness has been replaced with vibrant energy, mild arthritic symptoms in fingers vanished, hypothyroid symptoms growing less (although I’m on a low dose of Armour and have been for years, I still experience many of the hypothyroid symptoms – but they are really improving!), insomnia seems to be vanquished, I’ve lost 9 lbs so far, and I don’t know if this could be related but I no longer sunburn!
But what is truly amazing is that I’m growing in streaks of brown hair where it was solid silver before–fabulous!
We are experiencing great health benefits from these marvelous drinks and I think we may be addicted to the vibrancy and high energy kick we get from them. I’ll be getting results from a blood test next week and I can’t wait to see the numbers! I’ve turned several friends and family members into green smoothie drinkers and am actually pursuing a radio show where I will be able to discuss and share my progress with others. Thank you Robyn for GreenSmoothieGirl blogs! Your generosity in sharing your info with the world has inspired so many to move towards health!
*results may vary
— Cher
Changed my diet and the way I think about food
You may struggle a couple of times, but just know you WILL feel amazing after you follow the detox to the end. I’m now hitting all new fitness goals and lost 25 permanent, non-water pounds and counting. Totally changed my diet and the way I think about food.
— Josh Willet, Kansas
“I Wish All My Patients Were as Proactive as You!” 15 Lbs. Lost!
Good news! I completed the 26-day detox and I feel totally renewed!
I came to the detox program for health reasons. I was attempting to get myself out of bed and couldn’t because I was full of excruciating pain in my lower back and some joints. My blood report said I have parasites in the red blood cells, low vitamin C, possible thyroid problem, fungus, protein swimming in the blood, inflammation, and the list went on. I was in shock. How did this happen?
And yet I didn’t care about that stuff because my main focus was to get rid of the excruciating pain so I wouldn’t need assistance getting out of bed, help to the toilet, help putting my shoes on, or someone to fetch things for me.
I went to the Internet for answers and found the GreenSmoothieGirl website. While reading the detox web page, words popped out to me like body’s oxygen supply, immune system, pH, acidic, and the gut. These were the same words my doctor used when talking to me about my health. I had my doubts so I prayed about it and my answer was, “Allow food to be your medicine.”
I bought the program two days before the detox started. The fourth day, I wanted to quit. In tears, I informed my husband of my decision because I didn’t like experiencing detox symptoms. He encouraged me to stick with it. Headaches, flu-like symptoms, coughing. On the fifth day, I was scared, so my husband took me to see the doctor. My doctor, knowing my health history, was excited to find out that I was putting forth effort to change my health. He said, “I wish all my patients were as proactive as you.” Even my doctor encouraged me to continue with the detox program!
Then on the sixth day, the pain that had wrecked my life for months was gone! Hallelujah! The pain was no longer in my body. It was GONE. As I continued through the detox, I felt my body experiencing peace, calm and happiness. I feel so blessed to have the pain gone.
My husband has noticed how soft my skin has become—and I lost 15 pounds! I feel highly motivated to share the good news of my victory over pain to others. This detox program made a believer out of me. The Full-Support Detox Membership I purchased was worth every penny, as it taught me of a world I didn’t even know existed, through daily emails, conference calls, and videos.
*results may vary
— Suzanne F., Meridian, Idaho
Profound Feelings of Gratitude
My son was in one of Robyn’s university classes last year, and she had the class members over to her home for green smoothies. He thought it was fabulous and phoned me and wanted me to sign up for 12 Steps to Whole Foods. We were already not eating soda, caffeine, white flour or sugar, etc. and made our own salad dressing, ate meat and dairy sparingly, and ate salad and vegetables daily.
We began drinking smoothies immediately, both green (Ch. 1) and hot pink (Ch. 10), and it has been over a year now and we continue to do this on a daily basis. I always have spinach and vary the greens, such as kale; red, green, or rainbow chard; different types of kale; or collard greens. I also vary the fruits seasonally.
My husband and I immediately felt as if we had more energy and many days I have a green smoothie for breakfast and a pink smoothie for lunch.
I have passed the information to many friends and family members and was especially interested in the program to help educate our children and grandchildren. Many are following the program, having purchased blenders and have green smoothies on a daily basis. As Robyn states, people are healthier, sickness is avoided, meals are easy to prepare, and family members are happy and satisfied. My friends who have children who are gluten intolerant have really been appreciative of the information that has been passed on to them — they feel that it is very hard to come up with food choices that are satisfying. Some are college students and one mother said that the smoothies would be such a blessing during this busy time of their lives.
From 12 Steps, I learned about not eating soy — we were drinking soy milk and having tofu occasionally and have eliminated it completely. I also was unaware of coconut water, coconut oil, and flax oil, which we purchase and store and use daily. Per Robyn’s blog, I use it as a moisturizer on face and skin. I also learned about alkaline water and hope to have a system soon. We were using filtered water but now see the benefit of making more changes. I also learned about kefir and use goat’s milk kefir since cow’s milk is very mucous forming to me.
I like all of the recipes I have tried and have learned that by looking at Robyn’s, I can easily adapt many of my own recipes and make them healthier.
I am impressed and grateful for Robyn’s careful research and study on health matters. She gives the sources so that we can do further study and continue the learning process and I have read many of the books on her recommended list. I feel that from her passionate desire to share her information and educate mothers in the proper way to nourish their families, she has gained the confidence and respect of those who hearken to her counsel
The chapter on gardening is wonderful to help us expand our abilities and be self sufficient through home production and storage. We often have house guests and many take Robyn’s book, The Green Smoothies Diet, as they retire to their room.
I always have requests of “Could we have that for breakfast?” This weekend a professor is here from a university who will be speaking at a management society meeting and he already has heard of green smoothies and is eager to take it to his wife who only prepares organic foods for her family. He asked for the website and wants to learn of this new aspect of nutrition.
I cannot end without expressing gratitude. Many years ago my little brother who was 8 at the time gave me a small calendar with beautiful quotes for Christmas. One was a Chinese proverb that GRATITUDE has three forms: a feeling in the heart, an expression in words, and a giving in return.
Please know of the profound feelings of gratitude, Robyn, for all that you have done and continue to do, and know that words cannot properly express my gratitude for the gift you have given to so many, and may we extend our gift of friendship, support to you, and prayers as you continue to expand our horizons.
— Jody M.
Noticeable improvements!
My wife and I noticeably improved skin tone and clearer complexion and had people notice and make comments. We noted some indigestion during the day as we added both fruit and vegetables to our smoothies which digest differently, but was minor. We also weren’t very hungry for 4-5 hours after drinking the green smoothie.
— Scott
Thanks so much for helping to change the quality of my life!
I have endometriosis and ovarian cysts and have suffered with cramping, heavy menstruation, and low back pain for 20+ years. I have had numerous surgeries to help correct and alleviate the problem with no success. I finally reached the point that my doctors determined a hysterectomy would be my next surgery. I am in my early thirties and was not ready for that so I spent a lot of time researching nutritional options. I discovered green smoothies and they have helped tremendously (I have been drinking them for a year now).
My cycles have improved dramatically and the majority of the time I feel like a normal person. That has never been the case because of this constant pain that was always with me. Thanks for all of the info on your site. As I have changed my eating habits I have also discovered trigger foods that cause ovarian pain, spotting, and bleeding. I am grieving the loss of chocolate but the smoothies have almost taken any cravings for sweets away. Once again thanks so much for helping to change the quality of my life.
*results may vary
— Becky Flannery, Sandy, Utah
Lowered Glucose, Overall Cholesterol, and Lost 20 lbs!
My wife and I participated in the full-support Level II version of the detox; we are healthier, lighter, and happier as a couple for the experience. Not only did I lose 20 pounds, but I did blood work before and after, and the program lowered my glucose 20 mg/dL and my overall cholesterol 140 mg/dL. I won’t kid you: there were times when I didn’t feel very good. I needed more sleep and I had to pull back on my work and exercise. I did not, during the detox, have a resurgence of energy. But I am feeling very good now that it is over and the results speak for themselves.
*results may vary
— Robert M., Tucson, AZ
Doing the GSG Detox Next Time Around! Feel Great, Look Great, and Lost 7 lbs!
I am thrilled with my experience during the GSG detox. In the beginning I was worried I couldn’t give up coffee, sugar, my Lean Cuisine for lunch, bread, etc., etc. I told myself, just get through the first week and then decide if you want to continue. After the first week I felt like it was totally doable and I didn’t want to quit. I definitely felt like the full support was key to my success. I would have questions or be confused here and there, and having that forum made all the difference. I was able to post questions and get responses from both the GSG staff and also others who were going through the detox with me.
I have told all my friends about the detox—I am planning to do it again next time around! I feel great, I look great, I lost 7 pounds, and am so proud of myself and my buddy for seeing it through. I am also looking forward to transitioning from a Standard American Diet to a more plant-based whole foods (even maybe vegetarian) diet. Thank you, Robyn!
*results may vary
— Jeannine L., Sandy, Utah
Green smoothies have changed my life
Green smoothies have changed my life. Not only have I converted my family members, but also the people I work with. My 15 month old son loves the green smoothies and always asks for more. I feel better, look better, and love that I was able to spread the word about green smoothie goodness!
— Jamie Stavinaha
