Review: Short little guide, but some great, creative combinations for green smoothies!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2014
This is a short little guide to green smoothies - why they are good, what they can do, how you can make them!Green smoothies are enjoying a bit of a craze right now - and food good reason. They all contain dark green leafy vegetables which have been shown to have a very positive effect on overall health (for most people, there are some exclusions) and overall well being.The guide at the start was one of the most useful I have read in some time; it begins by letting you know that this is simply a starter guide from which you can expand and start developing your own healthy and green based lifestyle.  It also suggests the blend should be 60 / 40 in terms of fruit / green veggies and gives some prep tips that allows you to preserve as much of the natural goodness as possible but making the smoothie chunk free and consistent.I love the tip section which talks about the importance of low G.I. fruits, being creative and adding well known anti inflammatory ingredients such as turmeric and cayenne....in short get creative, adapt to your tastes but make this one power house drink. The author talks veggies to avoid, how to properly drink your smoothie for optimal digestion, and tips for success.Then you get a whopping 50 recipes to get you started! I thought this was great given the fact that this book is free, or low cost.The only reasons I took away one star: many of the recipes incorporate just one type of leafy green veggie. To make these drinks  a true nutritional powerhouse  they would be better containing a variety of veggies in one drink - some kale, some spinach, some parsley, some chard etc so I think this might be more for beginners who are looking to incorporate some greens into their diet.Also its pretty much a guide to green smoothies - there is not much regarding a cleanse besides a quick 10 day suggestion of what to consume at the end which is covered in just two pages. If the book was called a guide to great smoothies, that would work, but the title is misleading as though  it does contain 10 days of ideas, there is no guide at all to the cleansing part. This is risky for those new to a cleanse  as there is a rough meal plan which says things like "light meal" for dinner  -without any suggestion whatsoever to what that meal should look like, how many calories etc. There is no notes at all to how many calories one should aim for during this 10 days or what to expect - as cleanses are often low calories and need careful monitoring, I felt this book is really not a guide to a cleanse...it does however make a great green smoothies book!