There was a time when I took fresh fruit-veg juices every weekday for months and I was glowing! I looked young and healthy and my skin was clear and had a healthy flush. However, plagued by my busy schedule–and probably a bit of complacency–I suddenly stopped taking juices. And now that I’m experiencing the worst condition of my skin, I can’t help but look back both with regret and newfound determination. I am going to bring that glow back. I’m going to bring that “me” back.
My Morning Smoothie
I don’t have a juicer so I usually just buy and drink my fresh juices late in the afternoon. In the morning, though, I prepare my own fresh smoothies. It’s the first thing I take in the morning aside from water. It’s Part 1 of my usually two-part breakfast. In this video, I share with you this healthy new addition to my morning routine.
Essential Tip: it’s best to take fresh smoothies on an empty stomach because that’s when your unclogged system is most ready to absorb the best out of what you take in.
Other Benefits of Fresh Smoothies
As mentioned on my video, I’ll be sharing some more benefits from taking fresh smoothies–actually, all of these benefits apply to taking fresh juices and salads, too. But since my post is focused on smoothies, I’ll leave juices and salads out for now.
Good for Detox
There’s been a greater buzz about detox diets during the recent years. While I do believe that we need a big flush once in a while, I think it’s still better to incorporate a mild detox step in our daily routine as maintenance. Besides, slacking up on detox puts your body in ‘shock’ whenever you decide to go on a hardcore detox program. Detox, I believe, is the biggest benefit of including smoothies in the diet and almost every other benefit revolves around it.
Assists in Weight loss or Weight Gain
Depending on what your weight goal is, fresh smoothies or juices first thing in the morning help to flush out toxins. Toxins can either slow down your metabolism, making you gain unwanted weight, or interrupt with your body’s absorption of nutrients, making it difficult for you to gain weight.
Good Digestion
Since a good smoothie includes a healthy amount of fiber and water, it can definitely help your bowel movement (again, DETOX is your keyword) become more regular.
Improved Energy
Processed food and improper digestion drains our energy, making us feel sluggish and moody. When you take your smoothies with an empty stomach, it is much easier for your body to absorb all the goodness of the fruits, vegetables and oils you blend in with your smoothie.
Beautiful Skin, Hair and Nails
With body rid of unnecessary toxins, it’s prepped up to absorb nutrients from the rest of your diet and the supplements you take. I’m a firm believer that our exterior health is a reflection of how healthy we are inside. All that goodness is bound to show and make you glow.
Fights Unhealthy Cravings
A naturopath my mother consulted previously said that our cravings can tell a lot about how acidic or alkaline our body is. Taking fresh fruits and vegetables reduces the acidity levels of our body which is definitely a good thing. An acidic body is a very good host for infections. Remarkably, when you take a lot of fruits and veggies, you’ll slowly notice your body craving for more and more healthy food. Since I’ve taken smoothies, my chocolate and fried food cravings have reduced significantly.
I’m quite sure there are a lot more benefits to taking smoothies. Some prefer juices because it’s concentrated and delivers all the nutrients without fiber getting in the way. But since I need a little help with my digestion and I need something heavy enough to be half a meal (and I can’t afford a juicer), I don’t mind all the fiber at all. Besides, my skin is so bad right now I’m willing to try any natural remedy just to bring my healthy and smooth skin back. =(
If you’re having skin problems for so long and no product has ever worked for you, would you consider including smoothies in your lifestyle, too?
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By the way, I won a Butterfly Blog Award from Scatterbrain Adventures, lol. I really am not into tagging games and awards so I can’t pass it forward. But I really appreciate the award, Rae. There are a lot of other amazing eco beauty bloggers out there! I’m a beginner in this journey and it motivates me to know that I have at least inspired a reader or two.
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There’s truth to this. Healthy skin is made in the kitchen–before anything else.
Smoothies are good but just take in moderation cos it’s also “cooling”. I know of someone who miscarried because she took smoothies.
@Vivi, I know you don’t do tags coz I don’t see any on your blog
But that won’t stop me from giving you the award.
@Sesame, how does cooling ’cause miscarriage. That’s scary. Hope you can forward me to more information. Anyhow, what I know is, “warming” causes miscarriage. Like, fever increases the risk of miscarriage, especially when the fever is above a certain temperature and that the fever happened in the first trimester.
@Sesame, oh… Sorry to hear about that. But definitely, anything in excess is not good. I also read that smoothies should be prepared like a balanced meal, especially if it’s meant to replace an actual meal. Aside from fruits and veg, oils and nuts (w/c are warming) can be blended into the smoothie, too.
@Rae, Cooling and Warming are terms in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s like the “balance” of energy in the body. Some of the food we take can make our body ‘heaty’ like meat and dairy, strong herbs like ginger while some can ‘cool down’ our body–mostly fruits and veg.
Thanks Vivi. I don’t know much about warming and cooling and chinese medicine but it reminded me of the acid and alkaline theory.
Meat and dairy is metabolized as acid. Vegetables and many fruits on the other hand are metabolized as alkaline in the body. Something like that. I haven’t explored about this too much yet.
Yup, almost similar but not entirely.
In TCM, certain fruits like durian and strong herbs like ginger and garlic are considered “heaty” too.
Hey Vivi, thanks for the shoutout in your video! I’m so happy that you’re into smoothies for breakfast. I love them too!
No worries. I love your recipes.
Hi, just wondering if using metal spoons on manuka honey will spoil its natural goodness as it will have some chemical reactions. Heard from all the sales ladies who sell manuka honey everytime. Thanks.
Hi Beezy, yes! You raised a good point there. It’s actually best to use wooden, porcelain or plastic spoons when scooping and stirring manuka honey as the metal might interfere with the honey’s active properties. Unfortunately, my manuka honey has long been ‘contaminated’ ’cause someone left a metal spoon dipped inside the jar overnight. So I’m not so careful about it anymore. Nothing more to lose lol :p
Hi Vivi,
What level of UMF would you recommend the Manuka honey to be?
I used to have smoothies practically everyday before or after a workout, but lately I haven’t had any AND my workouts have decreased. I’ve heard of people adding Extra Virgin COconut Oil to smoothies..but I wonder how this works because unlike other oils, this oil becomes solid in cool temps. Everytime I add in EV Coconut oil, it just forms hard clumps. I like the vid…apple is definitely a good fibrous detox fruit. I wonder if adding Dandelion root powder would work out too. Though adding unsweetened cocoa powder is a good way to satisfy chocolate cravings without extra sugar and dairy. If you’re into smoothies or plan on commiting to a smoothie routine, I recommend getting a powerful blender..mine is old and never was that good to begin with so I have to always lift the glass container up and literally shake it by hand so ingredients settle down to blade. I don’t really drink juice that much and I don’t have juicer too. I think it’s advised for fruit juices to actually drink less than a cup (due to fruit sugar content)…since fructose is a simple sugar, it just shoots up my blood sugar, and I easily get sugar high. So I do need the fiber and some fats (nuts, nut butters, oils, yogurt, etc) in smoothies to slowly absorb sugar. Thanks for informative post.
oh yes, I know of some people who include EV Coconut Oil, too. But they add a lot more gunky stuff like “bananas” and “avocados” or coconut cream or any sort of milk (cow, almond, soya, yoghurt, etc) to make it blend better. And they also use more powerful blender to really whip the snot out of the oil, lol. I sometimes add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil, too, since it’s also a very good oil.
I haven’t tried dandelion root powder. Recently, though, I bought “The Ultimate Green Drink Superfood” from Good4You at Etsy. It contains lots of good stuff which would be quite troublesome for me to buy separately (♥ ingredients :: wheat grass powder, barley grass powder, beet root powder, acai berry powder, chlorella powder & klamath blue green algae). Still testing the stuff. I’ve been adding it as a supplement to my smoothies, I’m also adding a handful of fresh greens to make me more used to taking Green Smoothies.
Hey Vivi
I just came across your blog and read this posting of yours on vege and fruit smoothie first thing in the morning. I have been doing this for past 3 weeks or so and my skin is turning for the better now — i have breakouts around my jawline and chin which irritates me a lot. Now, (touchwood) as of today, I have no breakout and my skin starts clearing up … and I even notice that my laugh line kinda disappear …. I do not add yogurt or oil to my smoothie except a bit of light coconut milk drink. And it has been working well for me!!! The veges I mainly use are kale, tomatoes, cucumber, orange pepper and celery. As for fruit, I use whatever is in season — so currently, i use strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes .. sometimes, kiwifruit and pineapple.
Hi Roxanne, welcome to my blog! Hope to see you more often.
I’m glad that the smoothies are working very well for you–just like how they worked miracles for me. Whenever I take smoothies consistently for several days, stress and weariness don’t show up on my skin as easily when I don’t. My pimples also seem to heal faster. I believe that the fresh smoothies definitely played a huge part in helping me cure my acne naturally.
Jaw line and chin are usually due to hormonal imbalance. By taking smoothies, you can help decongest your liver and that would make your body more efficient in getting rid of the extra hormones.