DrinkGreen SpringClean
Welcome to DAY 3
Day 3 Challengers! By now you should really be patting yourself on the back! You should all be feeling a lighter in some areas already! We know we do! You should be getting very acquainted with leafy greens during this week. Whether in your green smoothies or a nice green salad! There are so many ways to be creative and experiment. Kale, romaine lettuce, arugula, spinach and other leafy green vegetables are both rich in fiber, low in calories and taste great in Green Smoothies! Remember you are NOT on a diet you are changing your lifestyle…. Remind yourself of this as much as possible!
Lets get started on DAY 3!
Below you will find:
Day 3 Tip
Green Smoothie Recipe
Dinner Suggestion
Exercise tip
Reminders
encouragement
SALADS!!! 
Salad helps: Feel free to load your salad up with as many veggies as possible add flavor to your salad by adding some of your favorites fruits. Salads can be VERY filling and enjoyable, be creative! Most salads full or color will help keep your meal exciting even without the meat.
4 Healthy Reasons to Eat a Salad Today & Everyday
Making one simple change to your diet – adding a salad almost every day – can pay off with plenty of health benefits.
1. Eat Salads for the Fiber
It’s hard to believe that something we can’t even digest can be so good for us! Eating a high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and prevent constipation.
Not only that, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan, eating more fiber can help you feel fuller, eat less, and ultimately lose weight.
2. Eat Salads for the Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables
Many experts agree that Americans need to eat more fruits and vegetables (especially dark green and orange vegetables) and legumes — all popular salad ingredients. David Jacobs, PhD, professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, says in an email interview that there is plenty of evidence that nutrient-rich plant foods contribute to overall health.
If you frequently eat green salads, you’ll likely have higher blood levels of a host of powerful antioxidants (vitamin C and E, folic acid, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-carotene,) especially if your salad includes some raw vegetables. Antioxidants are substances that help protect the body from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.
For years, researchers have noted a link between eating lots of fruits and vegetables and lower risks of many diseases, particularly cancer. A recent study from the National Cancer Institute suggests that people whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables may have a lower risk of developing cancers of the head and neck — even those who smoke and drink heavily. Foods found to be particularly protective include beans and peas, string beans, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, apples, nectarines, peaches, plums, pears, and strawberries.
3. Eat Salads to Cut Calories and Increase Satisfaction
If losing weight is your goal, you may want to start your meals with a green salad. Studies have shown that eating a low-calorie first course, like a green salad of 150 calories or less, enhances satiety (feelings of fullness) and reduces the total number of calories eaten during the meal.
Rolls, lead researcher of the study, suggests that “bigger is better” as long as the salad is bigger in volume, not in calories – which means more veggies and less dressing and other fatty add-ons.
“We saw reductions in consumed calories when people ate salads that were 1 1/2 cups and 3 cups in volume but around 100 total calories,” she says. The 3-cup, 100-calorie salad reduced the total calories consumed at the meal by about 55.
4. Eat Salads to Get Smart Fats
Eating a little good fat (like the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, avocado and nuts) with your vegetables appears to help your body absorb protective phytochemicals, like lycopene from tomatoes and lutein from dark green vegetables.
A recent study from Ohio State University measured how well phytochemicals were absorbed by the body after people ate a salad of lettuce, carrot, and spinach, with or without 2 1/2 tablespoons of avocado. The avocado-eaters absorbed eight times more alpha-carotene and more than 13 times more beta-carotene (both of which are thought to help protect against cancer and heart disease) than the group eating salads without avocado.
If you dress your salad with a little olive oil, there may even be some additional years in it for you. Italian research on people aged 60 and older has suggested that a diet that includes plenty of olive oil and raw vegetables is linked to reduced mortality.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/4-healthy-reasons-eat-salad-today
- Daily DrinkGreen Smoothie Recipe:
Peach/Mango Green Smoothie, 137.1 calories per serving, *calorie credit to MyFitnessPal
- 2 cups of spinach
- 1 medium peach
- 1 small mango
- 1/4 banana
- ground flaxseed
- 2 cups green tea
- 1 tbsp honey
*makes 2 or more 8oz servings*
Vitamin A 59.5%, Vitamin C 21.5%, Calcium 3.6%, Iron 5.3%, Total Fat 3.2g, Sodium, 26.3mg, Potassium 514.4mg, Total Carbs 25.8g, Deitary Fiber 4.8g, Sugars 21.6g, Protein 3.4g
Stir fry vegetables sauteed in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic with veggie burger over brown rice
- Fresh Green Beans
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- green peppers
- onions
- garlic
- tomatoes
- scallions
- veggie burger
- 1-2cups Brown Rice
Take the time to plan your workout for the day even it is only for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you have your blackgirlsworkouttoo dvd get ready to burn those calories off! For our challengers that do not have the dvd here is a few basic and general exercise tips that may help. Remember…You must exercise and maintain a healthy eating routine in order to see progress. Make sure you have some water handy as you want to keep your body hydrated as much as possible.
side Leg lifts sets of 8 repeat 2 times
Jogging In Place 1-2 minutes rest 20 seconds then repeat
Squats sets of 10 repeat 4 times
Basic Crunches sets of 10 repeat 5 times
Jumping Jacks sets of 8 repeat 2 times
REPEAT!!
Make sure your green smoothies have more vegetables to fruit ratio. Eat 5 small meals dont let your body go into starvation mode. Dont focus on losing weight.. FOCUS ON YOUR HEALTH, the weight loss will be an added bonus to a healthier you! MOST importantly WATER, WATER, WATER! Drink all the water you can!
Be encouraged that you are not alone but an IMPORTANT part of OUR Common Unity (Community). We are not encouraging diets or focusing on losing weight….. We are DETERMINED to CHANGE our lives. This is very important to sustaining a healthier life and the time is now. Use this 7 days to begin telling yourself something different! To start making different and better food choices….slowly… as we all know changing your life is a process. This is a NO GUILT PROCESS… take your time…BUT DO IT. Know that you are STILL IN the ongoing process and BE PROUD that you have reached THIS point. One day at a time.
*Remember to use the hashtag #DGSpringClean with all your challenge posts!*
The Ladies of DrinkGreen4Life
~Ife & Renee~
#DGSpringClean
please visit us on 
http://facebook.com/DrinkGreen4Life
DrinkGreen Smoothies.... 