ANTI-AGING AND GREEN SMOOTHIES

 Opposite from the usual opinion, I welcome aging and growing old. Darn, I´d like nothing more than to live past 100 years happy and healthy!

  Of course a lot depends on our genetics, but I do believe we can affect much on how quickly our bodies deteriorate. That is why I consider eating nutritious foods so important (sometimes even a little on the cost of taste).

  Last spring, when collecting wild edible greens, I wished I could start a business serving all old people green smoothies made with wild greens! But the cost per smoothie would be too high to make a living on it... I always reflect it on what I would feel reasonable to pay for something, although somebody else might be able to afford it. But the general idea of letting fragile old people, often with poor digestion, have the best possible source of nutrition, straight from nature, warmed my heart. And still does.
  What I will do this coming spring, when wild greens start to grow in my area (usually in Beltane), is to whip up soft smoothies for my loved ones. I wish nothing but the best for them, and hope they will grow a liking to the smoothies so that they would start making some themselves. Even once a week, on a "Smoothie Sunday" for example.  =)

  I still have some fresh blueberry leaves in the freezer from last spring. I´ve been using them lately in my own green smoothies, which I make a few times a week.

I prefer freezing over drying the leaves. That way they are readily available, and don´t need to be soaked or crushed before throwing into a smoothie.

These leaves were collected while they were very young, before blooming. That is when they are at their softest.

  The recipe:

a generous handful of wild edible greens
1 banana
2 kiwis
2 oranges/grapefruits juiced
a generous handful of sunflower seeds

+ Blend all in a blender until smooth.
  This recipe is very versatile. You can use almost anything in it. Just add enough sweet fruit to make it tasty.

  My blender isn´t the most powerful in the world, thus the specks of green still showing in the picture.  =)  But the smoothie itself is still as good, and tastes even better.

  Victoria Boutenko is a great source of information on green smoothies. You can find free recipes and information on collecting wild greens on her site.

  Green smoothies are said to do miracles in our bodies, like promoting anti-aging for example. I´m not yet worried about aging, but I enjoy the overall good feeling green smoothies give me.
  Aging is a natural process, and I think a person can look stunning at any age! I´m not only talking about celebrities, like Madonna, who do everything they can to look young, but also people who don´t hide their grey hair and wrinkles. What makes a person look old is a hunched back, non-groomed appearance, and tiredness. Genetics determine quite far how one´s back will hunch, but the rest we can do much about!
  Men often get away with aging - to them it just adds charm, they say. So let´s not talk about men here...
  Gudrun Sjoden does wonderful work by using women of all ages in her fashion catalogs! Here you can see my personal idol at work when it comes to aging. When I "grow old up", I want to be like her! A perfect example of how women of all ages can look equally good, even when standing side by side!

  I wish us all healthy, long lives!