One thing I now believe is “good food is good medicine.”
Green Protein Smoothies helped me through breast cancer treatment.
I was introduced to the power of a good smoothie when I was pregnant. These ladies – Mary and Sara – showed me how food can help and heal through their book, “Super-Charged Smoothies”.
I first met Sara, one of “The Twins” as everyone calls them, on a date night with my not-yet-husband. It was weird at first. We were at Sara’s house to watch a UNC basketball game. The Twins and my husband are alums.
Pretty soon after walking in, I could tell this meet-up wasn’t a “thing” they did all the time. Far from it. Much later, I found out my husband watched games with friends in the “city” (San Francisco.) This meet-up was an attempt to impress me. It didn’t work in his favor. The team lost. We were never invited back for a game. 😉
Another Chance
We did, however, meet up at Mary’s house the next season. The other twin in the pair. I guess a change in venue warranted an invite. Maybe we wouldn’t be such bad luck charms. I don’t remember the game because I chatted with Mary & Sara the whole time.
(I’m in a Mary and Sara sandwich.)
The Twins are my favorite kind of southern ladies. They’re warm, welcoming and super creative. These ladies ooze the charm of southern belles while having a laid-back California vibe. They embody Grace & Ease. It’s a hypnotic combination. From the moment I met them, I was under their spell.
They’ve written a few cookbooks on their evolutionary food path. I grabbed “Super-Charged Smoothies” at the book’s launch. They’re smoothie recipes helped calm nausea during my pregnancy and up my folic acid intake.
My Favorite Green Protein Smoothie
My writing about food is a little silly. I’m no kitchen aficionado. My past is littered with over-cooked meals and destroyed kitchens. Usually I’m the messiest person at the table. But I thought managing smoothies was right up my alley.
*Throw in ingredients – Blend – Drink – Voila*
During pregnancy, my sugar levels got too high teetering on the verge of gestational diabetes. I went rogue making my own smoothie concoctions. And since my palette leans to the sweet side, I over did the fruit. I needed to balance my sugars and protein.
I found a recipe in their book that gave me the best of all the food groups I needed for a meal replacement. It’s pineapple, arugula and mac nut.
Fruit + Green + Protein
It gave me much needed vitamin c for cell repair. Greens for alkalinizing. Protein for tissue repair and energy plus good fats. I love love love arugula. This smoothie was perfect for me.
For breast cancer treatment, this packed a nutritional boost to my cells.
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The role of chemotherapy is to squelch fast growing cells. Hopefully all the cancerous ones. But it also killed off cells growing in my mouth. I got mouth sores like a lot of cancer patients which meant putting food in my mouth caused pain. Smoothies to the rescue. Because I could drink them with a glass straw, the smoothie bypassed my mouth sores and went straight to nourishing me. Another reason to love green protein smoothies during breast cancer treatment.
Mary & Sara’s books and Instagram feed offer so much good food info. They’ve even developed recipes for the Mayo Clinic. They know what a body needs to recover.
My trick for using smoothies during treatment was being vigilant about balancing the fruit sugars with protein. The other thing was to include as much GREEN as I possible.
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I am not a doctor or a professionally trained nutritionist. As with any of the things I tout here, you should consult your intuition first and then your care team to see if it’s right for you. We’re all different.
My Go To Green Protein Smoothie
I’ll give you a simple recipe I use. I’m listing the ingredients in the order I put them in the blender…
- Organic Spinach (big hand full)
- Organic Protein Powder (one scoop. resource at the bottom)
- Extra “green” powder (teaspoon. resources at the bottom.)
- Organic Frozen Berry blend (one cup. raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blue berries.)
- Filtered Water (2/3 cup. keep adding if blender stalls.)
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Blueberries are a serious antioxidant. I met one nutritionist on my breast cancer healing journey that implied eating mounds of them might cure me. Seriously? I didn’t just leave my care to the blueberries. But, we are planting a few bushes in the yard.
Drinking a green protein smoothie most days helped me in four ways:
- Delivered raw food goodness to my body. Alkaline state.
- Gave me essential nutrients I needed.
- Kept me hydrated.
- And kept my bowels moving. (No one wants to talk about this one, least of all me. But constipation during chemo was hard for me. Pun intended.)
In my post about Organic Green Juice , I shared my daily liquid intake. Green Protein Smoothies were an essential part and helped me through breast cancer treatment.
I’m so grateful to my food tinkering friends, Mary and Sara, for putting me on the smoothie train. And for their love, encouragement and all around good vibes during treatment.
#MakingHealthyDelish by Mary and Sara.
Hope this helped you or someone you love.
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RESOURCES
Protein Powder
This one From Garden Of Life I’ve been loving. Organic. Unflavored. They also make a vanilla and coffee flavored. Has stevia. If I use the flavored ones, I only add a half a scoop as the sweetness is too strong. The coffee one will really get you going. Be warned!
Green Powders
When I’m at home, I use spinach, kale or arugula for green. Then, I add in either wheat grass powder or chlorella. Different benefits. But good on the body.
When I’m traveling, I use Green Vibrance. Chocked full of green goodness.
[Images procured from Pixabay if not my own.]