Spinach is my new Folgers.

Unless you dig the color green like I do, you might think a bright green drink looks odd, but I promise I’ve never had someone say a green smoothie is not delicious.  Even my 3-year old nephew, who generally prefers non-vegetable food, has been known to say, "Get out the salad mommy, let's make smoothies."  I used to drink coffee all day and most of the night long.  Now I drink green smoothies in the morning, and some green tea throughout the day, and I honestly don’t miss the Joe.  

Let’s discuss.  When you think of a smoothie, do you think of milk or yogurt as a “base”?  Rid yourself of that thought for a moment because green smoothies have neither.  They are simply greens (I like spinach or kale), fruit, water and a few ice cubes if you like it slushy.  That’s it! 

Not sold?  A few more votes in favor of giving it a try:

• Green smoothies help you get in an extra serving (or two) of vegetables for the day.  Use this calculator assembled by the CDC to determine what you need.  Most of us need more!
• The plethora of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants contained in the drink are readily absorbed by your body because the blender does the first step in digestion for you. 
• Fiber!  You’ll get a big dose from the leafy greens and the fruit, especially the apple, which helps keep your gut in good, clean shape.  In fact, according to Dr. Andrew Weill, “The insoluble fiber in apples attaches to LDL cholesterol in the digestive tract and removes it from the body; adding one large apple to the daily diet has been shown to reduce serum cholesterol by up to 11 percent.” 
• It’s a quick and easy breakfast to make (and take on the go) for those of us who have trouble finding time for breakfast.
• They taste really good. 

Very Almost Healthy challenge for the week:

1. Go buy a big thing of baby spinach, a bunch of bananas and a bag of apples.  (I’m assuming you’ll be making more than one smoothie this week J  All you need for a serving is one banana and one apple.)
2. Wash the spinach!  Even if it says triple washed, wash it, especially if it’s not organic. 
3. Throw a handful of the spinach in a blender with about a ¼ cup of water and blend until you have green liquid. 
4. Drop in a banana (I like to peel and freeze mine ahead of time) and a sliced apple, and blend again.  If the smoothie is too thick to blend, add a little bit of water and try again.
5. Drink it. 

It’ll be awesome.  I won’t say it often, but in this case I will: I promise.

Berry Healthy: Cranberries!

My family celebrated Thanksgiving early this year, so I thought I’d share with you a tried and true, easy and delicious recipe to add to your menu this week.  It’s a cranberry sauce, but it doesn’t take on the shape of a can because it comes from whole fresh fruit!  My wonderful hubby, Paul, made ours this year following this recipe, and it was a hit all around the table!

Very Healthy: When I think of these tart little guys, I typically think of the associated women’s health benefits, and the not-so-refreshing pure cranberry juice I’ve ingested to reap them.  But I read in a newsletter this week from Dr. Weill that “recent studies have also linked consumption of cranberries and cranberry juice with healthy cholesterol levels, improved gastrointestinal health and the prevention of kidney stones.”  Sounds like we should all eat two servings!

Almost Healthy: If you go for dried cranberries to get your fix, look for those sweetened with juice and with no other ingredients.  Many dried fruits are sweetened with sugar, and then loaded up with sunflower oil and sometimes other preservatives.  If you do nothing else in the way of label sleuthing, at least make sure they are sulfite-free.  These nasty little preservatives have been banned from salad bars for years, but the food industry is still allowed to use them, and dried fruits are some of the most notorious culprits.

Shopping tip: Remember when buying fresh cranberries for your sauce to look for organic.  You’ll get the best taste and avoid the pesticides.  Fresh cranberries are deep red in color and firmer in texture. 

Raw Cranberry Sauce

1 bag (8 oz) fresh cranberries, cut in half

1 apple, chopped

1 pear, chopped

1 orange, quartered (rind on is optional – rind makes it a tart slightly crunchy mixture, this is our preference! Make sure to wash the rind well if using in the recipe)

2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

1 tsp. Triple Sec liqueur

1 tsp. agave nectar

Blend all ingredients, including orange peel if you choose to use it, in a blender.  You will probably have to start out by blending for a few seconds, and then stopping, pushing the fruit down toward the blades with a wooden utensil, and then blending again.  Careful not to blend your pusher!  Add a tablespoon or two of water if you must, but more than that will make your sauce watery.  We added a few mint leaves as garnish to the dish – very pretty, don't you agree? :) 

Serves 10.

Welcome to Very Almost Healthy!

It’s an odd name for a blog, right?  But hopefully it conveys that while I’ll do my best to share everything I (think I) know, we live in an era where nutrition science is still evolving, renowned researchers and institutions regularly clash on central “facts,” and sometimes it’s just plain ridiculous to figure out what’s healthy and what’s not.

With all of that in mind, welcome to Very Almost Healthy!  Here, I will share with you my thoughts on what it means to eat well and live well, as well as my own personal theories on how to do that without driving yourself crazy.  Hopefully some of it will work for you, you’ll save time and you’ll find yourself energized - and excited! - to do more as a result. 

First things first, I am not a physician.  I am a passionate observer of data, daughter of a beautiful mother with lung cancer, and concerned citizen who wants to make good choices in the presence of good information about what I consume on a daily basis. 


And so here is what I can do:

• Share research and facts I find most compelling on nutrition and wellness
• Provide tips to make good health (food and otherwise) doable in a chaotic life
• Tell you my favorite recipes and products in case they can become yours too

I believe we can all make meaningful and lasting improvements to our health, and that it can be fun!  No really, it can be.  I don’t have a newfangled diet, a strict meal plan, or a list of “eats” and “don’t eats.” I have some ideas that have worked for me so far, and have made me, I think, very almost healthy.