Free Smoothies for Good Health by Stacy Michaels

 
    Preface
    Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of smoothies!
    My name is Stacy Michaels and I want to introduce you to the many health benefits of eating your five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. I also want to share with you some of my favorite smoothie recipes. They will provide you with a simple yet delicious way to get your daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
    I must confess, while growing up, I wasn’t aware of what healthy food was. A typical dinner was chicken burgers and cheese strings. No veggies. When I did have a “vegetable”, it was most often than not a can of corn or a potato.
    By the time I reached my early 20s, I had higher-than-normal cholesterol, had difficulty managing my weight, and suffered from frequent heartburn. I eventually tried a variety of diets and supplements but was never able to stick to them long enough to see any real results.
    I lost motivation to change because I knew I wanted to be healthier but I just didn’t know how.
    I first tried smoothies around the holidays in 2007. After a food-filled honeymoon in Greece and a holiday season filled with turkey and baked goodies, I wanted to start the new year off healthier. Not just packaged, “healthier” food, but real natural and fresh foods from the farm.
    I decided to incorporate smoothies into my daily routine and quickly became a fan of the simple pear-avocado smoothie. I’d make up a big pitcher and have a glass with either lunch or dinner.
    I found smoothies to be the absolute easiest and most delicious way to get my five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
    A couple of months later, I began adding cucumbers and carrots to smoothies and experimented with different flavor combinations. I especially loved the fact that I could get in 6 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables without really tasting the veggies! I eventually replaced my morning breakfast and coffee with a rich, delicious smoothie.
    In the meantime, I noticed an increase of energy and a decrease in cravings for junk foods. I quickly dropped to my ideal weight which I hadn’t weighed since I was in high school. Thesn te smoothies were not only delicious; they were also keeping my health on track and my weight in check!
    So are you ready to experience the many health benefits of smoothies? I promise it will be an incredibly delicious journey filled with colorful fruits and vegetables that will hopefully lead to positive life-changing results.
    Get your blender ready, and let’s start the journey!

 
    The Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables
    What’s all the fuss about fruits and vegetables?
    The truth is - fruits and vegetables are magic. Research indicates that people who have higher intakes of fruits and vegetables generally have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain cancers.
    And we’re not talking about small numbers here. This is some serious stuff.
    By eating enough fruits and vegetables nearly three million lives could be saved across the world every year.
    Five is the magic number
    Five is magic when it comes to how many portions of fruits and vegetables you should be eating every day.
    I don’t want to bore you with the math, but here is the reason why five is the magic number (as opposed to 4.2 or 19):

    Simple.
    Variety is the spice of life
    Since nature has very kindly given us so many different types of fruits and vegetables to choose from, it’s only polite to try as many of them as we can. And not only that, but eating a variety ensures you get the goodness that different types of fruits and vegetables can offer.
    Fruits and vegetables are full of a variety of healthy compounds that are often responsible for their color, so the more colorful the better. Aim to eat a rainbow of different colored fruits and vegetables every day and you can't go wrong.
    What counts?
    When thinking about how to make up their 5-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables, most people tend to forget that it’s not just the fresh