by Stacey Terry
Today I’ll share some of the great stories that came in for Believe in Green. We asked our contest participants to tell us how green smoothies had made a difference in their lives. Stories came from far and wide!
It’s easy to make choices that will affect others and the planet in positive ways. All it takes is a little thinking and maybe an effort to try something new!
Take a gander at these green can-do-ditties:
BiG Free Lunch!
Submitted by Crystal Smith
I held a “green smoothie” event here in my house. I invited a lot of single moms and their children, most of whom live here in our apartment complex.
I enticed them with free lunch and smoothies! There were 4 moms, and 9 kids, not including my three. We live in a low income housing so a lot of these moms live on a very tight budget of whatever they get from the government. I have such a desire to show these moms that they can feed their kids and themselves healthy even with a low income. It breaks my heart to see these kids eating frozen instant dinners or cheetos.
I had them come over on a Saturday. I made the kids a healthy alternative to instant mac and cheese, a home baked mac and cheese with brown rice pasta. I then proceeded to show the moms how I made what we call in my house “monster juice” which is a simple green smoothie made up of fresh orange juice, banana, strawberries, spinach, and chlorella. When we brought the smoothies out to the kids, they guzzled them and asked for more! We all shared our thoughts on trying to eat better with little income, and came up with some great options! One of the discouraging notes is how to buy organic is much more pricey than the other option. One other thing that came out of this event is some moms plan on coming over in the morning after they drop their kids off to school and we have a quick 30 min exercise, which is always hard to keep up with unless you have a accountability partner, and then we indulge in some yummy smoothies. Hopefully we will be able to keep this up and encourage others to join! We might have to move to the recreation building!
Green Smoothies are the Answer!
Submitted by Felicia James
It all started in the summer of 2009. It was hot, the economy was not, and the thought of driving home from work to spend time in a hot kitchen just wasn’t appealing! Surely, I could find some cool summer recipes requiring minimal heat, and still healthy for feeding my family. Salads were the best I could come up with, but that wasn’t going to go over very well with the teen-set. So, I focused on lightening up breakfast instead. My staple for the winter had been my trusty oatmeal, but for summer I switched to “weighty” granola. Not a good long-term plan for the start of swimsuit season. My Mother-in-law had been making fruit smoothies for breakfast and that seemed like the way to go. But, it just didn’t stick to the ribs and keep me feeling satisfied like my trusty oats do. I went off to the library in search of satisfying smoothie recipies. Little did I know what was in store for me when I perused the library book shelves. That’s when I stumbled across a book featuring a large, leafy head of green lettuce, Green for Life. Now, anything with “green” in the title will turn my head because 2009 was also my year for making sustainable choices (another reason not to heat up the kitchen last summer). I brought home Victoria Boutenko’s book and read it end to end, I was thrilled! My eyes were opened and I was ready to try!
I had leafy greens (lettuce, collards, kale, and mint) growing in the garden. Using those along with our “harvest” from the weekly farmers’ market, I started blending up treats for the whole family! What a parenting joy to watch my then 16-yr old making his own green smoothies. I was feeling great (after a few days of detox) and was surprised at the increased energy and mental clarity I experienced. But, that didn’t prepare me for what happened during the last stretch of a bike ride home with my two teens. Our house is at the top of a fairly steep hill, and though it was near the end of the summer, I must confess that I didn’t get out and take advantage of the great outdoors like I should have. It had been months (more like seasons) since I had last tried to concur that hill while still peddling the bike – and lost. So, as we approached near the end of this particular bike ride, I was already preparing myself to wimp out and walk the bike up. I was sure that in just a few more turns of the peddles, I’d have to give up. But, I just kept giong! I passed my (very in-shape) kids! Sure, I was a bit winded when I got to the top, but wow! I couldn’t do that the previous summer when I had actually been regularly exercising! What happened?
Green Smoothies, that’s what!
Fast-forward through the winter, I kept drinking my green smoothies. I had my health physical, got my blood results back, and the doctor didn’t understand why I was worried about my iron levels. My iron level was fine! “Are you sure, Doc? I’ve always had low iron levels.” What gives?
Green Smoothies, of course!
Now, here I am at the end of another summer. I couldn’t keep my Green Smoothie secret to myself! I spread the news among family, friends, and co-workers. When I stumbled upon news of an International Green Smoothie Day, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I celebrated International Green Smoothie Day at work with some of my Green Smoothie Buddies and we now have some newly interested members! I’m already thinking ahead toward next year’s celebration.
Green Smoothies, Believe it!
Our Green Smoothie Story Contest Winner
Making a Difference
Submitted by Kim Williamson
Believe in Green has shown me that we can all plant seeds of change, by something as simple as sharing our green smoothies. That’s just what a young girls club in the Bronx is doing. These young girls are reaching out to others like themselves and teaching them to grow gardens and bringing green life into areas that have long been polluted and even abandoned. They are helping their part of the world to thrive and showing that each of us can make a difference, that we can make the world a better place for all. When I signed up to participate in the Believe in Green event, I had no idea that in helping support this group of young girls that I would become their student as well.
I’ve been listening to the interviews that Tera arranged for this event. So much of what each person said has got me looking at everything differently. I’ve learned to not just throw things away, to recycle, to buy used, to compost, to start growing my own organic produce, to support my local farmers and health food stores by buying local produce and organic products as much as possible, to vote with my dollar, to keep my focus positive in order to achieve positive solutions, to pay attention to environmental issues and get involved, to seek ways of living that will result in a low impact on the environment, to teach others how to eat healthier, to focus on a future world with green energy, and to reconnect with nature. Mostly that we should put love in all that we do, to have faith and to believe that each of us can make a difference.
My community recently started a recycling program and provided the participants with a large recycling bin for their use. In my kitchen I have two separate trash cans, one which I use for my recycled items. After hearing some of the BiG speakers I became more aware of my kitchen recycling can. I realized I’ve done pretty good with the stuff from my kitchen, but it hit me that the other trash cans throughout my home were filled with empty toilet paper rolls, empty tooth paste boxes, envelopes, grocery lists, etc. I was missing a lot of opportunities to do the right thing. Now I’m paying more attention to the little details of things like that.
Ways that we are making a difference:
- Bringing living plants into our home, we need the oxygen and cleaner air.
- Planting trees.
- Installing a bat house, keeps mosquitoes down and reduces chemicals needed for our protection.
- Helping clean up our community.
- Reducing the amount of meat and dairy in our meals., thereby lessening the impact on global greenhouse emissions.
- Reducing paper consumption by using on-line resources for banking, statements, paying bills, reading the news and accessing e-books, using cloth napkins, and using cloth bags when possible. Using our local library instead of purchasing new books, also donating used books and magazines.
- I stopped using drive-thru’s at the bank, drugstore, etc., since reduced idling lowers the emissions impact on the atmosphere and reduces wasted gas.
- Conserving water & electricity at home, making our home more energy efficient.
- Buying more local, in-season produce to reduce shipping and pollution.
- Using cloth bags instead of paper or plastic when making purchases.
- We buy used clothing, electronics, games, books, movies, furniture, and home improvement items.
- We donate used items that others can use or pass things on to friends that can use them.
- We are using more earth friendly organic personal care and household cleaning products.
Some ways we can all make a difference:
- Take classes at your local health food store or community programs, or better yet, teach some of those classes, share your green knowledge with others.
- Join in on community events, set up a green smoothie booth, talk about the health benefits, give out samples. Have friends join you with this project and teach others about raw foods and their impact on the environment.
- Research ways you can get involved to help change the world. On-line search engines will provide endless websites devoted to recycling, composting, growing organic produce, solar energy, conservation, and more.
- Support local youth programs. Can the girls club in the Bronx motivate the girls in your hometown? Kids are a powerful resource to change the world. Find a green project that others are doing, let your schools know about it, then get involved.
- Think about what you are throwing out, is there some use for it? What can you do with dryer lint? It’s great for composting, a fireplace starter, nesting material for birds, etc.
- Seek out local CSA’s Community Supported Agriculture programs, support those that are using sustainable growing methods.
- Go in with others to buy in bulk, this will save money, keep your food costs down and save on packaging and gas. Save even more on food by learning to dehydrate and you won’t have produce going bad.
- Volunteer your time and skills in ways that support a greener world.
I think more now about the consequences of what I’m doing, and questioning how my actions can affect the earth. By embracing my responsibility to do my part, my world can thrive.
This event has been a lot of fun! Sharing green smoothie’s has resulted in a lot of curiosity, funny faces, laughter, interesting discussions and I’d even venture to say a little bonding!
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Each of these stories is exactly the kind of change and positive outcome we were hoping to inspire with Believe in Green! We loved Kim’s personal level of committment and change and her flourishing list of how to make a difference both personally and in the larger community. That’s what it’s all about… making the change yourself, and then sending out the little ripples that inspire others!
We’ll be sending Kim an e-book extravaganza collection from The Raw Divas including: Divalicous, Decadent Gourmet, The 7-Day Detox Menu Planner, and Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Green Smoothies.
And I know you’ve all been SOOOOOOO incredibly patient with me, but I WILL be revealing the winner of the Blendtec ASAP! We’re going to feature each of the entries and finish with our BiG Ripple-Making winner!!
Until then, keep the chard flowing
xox
Stacey