Wow, when I got the title of this column as an assignment from The Orlando Sentinel, “Feel Good About Your Body” 

I thought, “I’m not sure I’m the one to be writing this! Do I feel good about my body? Do I treat it right?” Um...uh, good question.

Ok, how about I look at this a an opportunity to learn more about what it really means to feel good about my body. So I read and read, and talked to the healthiest people I know. Here’s what I discovered…
Physical Health includes 4 areas:

strength, flexibility, and ease of movement. 
Adopting a habit like hiking, practicing yoga, swimming, or surfing will keep you breathing deeply and moving your bones, joints and muscles (including your organs and skin).

what you put in your body. 
Eat clean food (organic, in-season, and local whenever possible) and consider that you could simply go without here and there if there’s nothing clean available. I am inclined to consider it an opportunity to begin a short fast, maybe just for a day or two. Best part is ending the fast with either freshly squeezed vegetable juice or a green drink is a surefire way to get a megadose of vitamins, enzymes and minerals right into your body. A day or two like that and I’m feeling really good about my body!

what you are around in your environment. 
Avoid chemical-filled home, cleaning and beauty products to start. If you are breathing in fresh air in your home, you will look and feel better. If you are absorbing only natural holistic products through your skin, you will look and feel better! More on this subject next article about How to Have A Holistic Home! 

how you talk to yourself about yourself! 
Appreciate your positive attributes. Whatever it is you’ve got going on physically, there’s no one else like you and that’s a cool thing. I myself have lovely collarbones but a low back that recently had to have surgery to repair a ruptured disk! Accepting yourself for who you are, where you are, and then committing yourself to taking the best darn care of yourself you can! These bodies are, after all, the only physical vehicles we have to experience these grand lives of ours.

So, I guess WHAT I LEARNED MOST IS THAT it all boils down to “Love Thyself.” And feeling good about your body will flow naturally from there...

love,
rachel

1 cup non-dairy milk (almond, hemp, rice, soy, coconut, cashew, etc.)

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1 cup mango chunks (fresh or frozen)

1 1/2 - 2 bananas (depending on size)

1/2 cup loosely packed spinach or kale

splash of water, or a few ice cubes if you didn't use any frozen fruit

Large scoop of your favorite green powder: Barlean's, Shakeology or simple spirulina powder. 

Optional Add-Ins: flax seed powder, wheat germ, chia seeds, maca

Don’t let the color scare you. This guy is super-yummy and packed full of nutrition (the spinach gives you 100% of daily Vitamin K!) xo

Smoothies, done right, can be nutritional powerhouses. They are one of the quickest, easiest ways to load up on fresh, raw fruits and veges to keep your body and brain on a natural high. Check out these top tips and get blendin’!

Get A Good Machine
Vitamix is tops. Breville and Waring do the job. Skip NINJA, Osterizer and Kitchenaid for now. These are tempting due to price, but aren’t tough enough to pulverize the really pulpy stuff. It’s all about the high-speed motor. Consider buying used, catch a good sale, or pay in installments, but get a Vitamix if at all possible. 

Stock Up
Smoothie staples break down in two main categories: “Very Perishable” (think: raw fruits, raw veges, probiotics) and “Less Perishable” (nuts, seeds, green powders, protein powders, non-dairy milks, frozen fruits). 

In the “Very Perishable” (fruits and veges department), almost anything goes! Literally, kale, avocado, lemon, carrots, berries, spinach, apples, oranges, celery, bananas, cucumbers pineapples, mangos, limes, lettuce, zucchini! Buy what looks fresh and delicious to you -- seasonal, organic and local if at all possible. If you’d like to add a probiotic, consider plain greek yogurt or open a few probiotic capsules right into your blender.

In the “Less Perishable” department, alternate between adding chia seeds, flax seeds and wheat germ for both taste and nutrient variety. Cow milk is unnecessary and not particularly healthy, so go for rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, cashew milk or coconut milk instead. If you haven’t tried these yet, all are mild in taste -- yummy additions to any smoothie. You can even make your own in a juicer!

Quick Tip: Keep Your freezer stocked with frozen berries and frozen bananas, so you can make a smoothie even if you ASdon’t have much in the way of fresh stuff.

Green Powder
I’m a big fan of the green powders. They are such a concentrated way to get a bunch of diverse greens into your system. Organic Barlean’s Greens (my personal fave) contains land and sea grasses and sea vegetables. Shakeology is another good one, especially for those with sensitive taste buds. You can develop a taste for the flavor of chlorophyll (It tastes like health to me!), but start with small scoops if you aren’t yet accustomed to it. I also add a splash of oj to every smoothie I make because I love the mellow citrus flavor and how it brings the other flavors together.

So that’s the skinny on smoothies for newbies. Recipes to come next :)