Blue Smoothies? Really?
And I was just getting used to Green Smoothies:)
But blueberries are my all time favorite food in the whole wide world, and on top of it, we're coming into wild blueberry season in Canada.... So this is it, time to get your mega doses of antioxidants in for the year!
As some of you know, I've been working with Alina of Alina's Green Smoothies here in Calgary these past few weeks.... What started out as a sleep-over, turned into a summer collaboration:)
Lately we've been experimenting with a new smoothie for the repertoire - Blueberry!! Right now there are four main flavors at Alina's Green Smoothies, my personal favorite being the Choco-Maca Mint... (maybe because I'm 43 years old, just entering pre-pre-pre-menopause, and maca is a hormonal balancer? I seriously crave maca, all day long....)
But really, Alina's smoothies are barely a smoothie, seriously, they are so chock-full of herbs, super-foods, roots, shoots and fruits... I would prefer the term "elixir", but apparently this won't sell as well to the mainstream... really? :) I love the idea of an elixir: a healing magical potion meant to extend the life of all those who partake. wow! I love it, I mean, really, this is exactly what Alina is up to here.
The blue smoothie recipe base is mostly organic blueberries, freshly made sprouted almond milk, various organic greens, all kinds of super-foods, baby spinach and.... well, the rest is secret:)
But the thing is this... This is one expensive smoothie! I mean, all of our ingredients here are fresh, organic, homemade, living, whole, ripe, well, you get the picture.... There are over 2 cups of organic blueberries in one smoothie alone, and 2 cups of freshly sprouted almond milk, which takes us 24 hours to soak, sprout and blend... This is a true labor of love and dedication from the very first step of making up the weekly grocery list, to the finished product. I can't even begin to guess how many hours actually go into one smoothie, each one is made in its own individual batch.....
But still, $14 a smoothie? Yes! This is not just a smoothie, this is pure alchemy in action:)
At first we wanted to start justifying, you know: come on, our smoothies are worth it, they really are!
But it doesn't work that way does it.. I mean, almost no one is going to buy our $14 smoothie just because it tastes incredible, and is packed with more nutrition than most people get in a month. (Seriously, I'm not joking, I think this is true...)
So how do we monetarily quantify the benefits of this smoothie?
I mean, we can't even say: $14 is nothing compared to the cost of cancer if we don't take care of our bodies...
You know why? Because here in Alberta, it is absolutely free to have cancer! Absolutely completely free.
Chemotherapy is free, Radiation is free, Hospital time is free, Operations are free, Hospice care is free....
I mean, what a sweet deal right?
Why would we spend $14 a day on a blend of phyto-nutrients, super-foods, garden fresh herbs, ripe organic apples, fistfuls of spinach, and bunches of gorgeous kale.....? Does it even make any sense to spend our hard earned money on prevention instead of simply dealing with the seemingly inevitability of cancer?
I say seemingly inevitable, because now nearly 50% of us are going to get cancer in this lifetime... (http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-101/cancer-statistics-at-a-glance/?region=on)
What are we going to do... I mean, really, I'm serious: what are we going to do? Are we going to continue on doing the same things that got us to this point? Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, GMO, mono-crops, ... Most of us get it already, the earth is poisoned, and by our very own hands... And I'm sure most of us would like to buy organic, eat local, shop farmer's market, etc. - but most of us say: we simply can't afford it...
But... we can't afford it? Is this really the truth?
We are all making choices every single day, I see it everywhere: Starbuck's coffee, beers and wings after work, new clothes, new shoes, take out pizza, nicer cars, faster toys, bigger mortgages... And the thing is, I'm nearly 100% positive that deep in our souls, we KNOW with different and wiser food choices, surely we could prevent cancer, surely we could live a richer life, be more active, and have more joy....
So, what then if instead, we knew that we would have to pay for cancer from our very own pockets, would that help us make a better choice? I mean, if we got cancer, we'd be out hundreds of thousands of dollars, or worse yet, the treatments would be withheld because we simply couldn't afford them. You know, I kind of think this might change our choices, but wait... The companies that create and invent the treatments for cancer, are funding, marketing and subsidizing those very same treatments....
Hmmmmm..... so, that means that there is an industry making money off of our cancers? And then, we're supposed to believe that they are really helping us find a cure for this disease? And we're supposed to believe that they are really doing everything they can to prevent this disease?
The whole thing confuses and confounds me just to think about it all. I mean, the very doctors that prescribe us chemotherapy make money off of the prescription. Why would they want us to start eating local, organic, fresh produce... Why would they want us to say for example: start drinking blue smoothies?
I mean, they won't. But if they did, the real irony, is that we'd probably start doing it... Because I hear this nearly every day: someone has had some tests done, and they are getting their results back... And it was a freaking close call. The doctor had thought they might have cancer, and then they would have had to start treatments, cut out fried foods, quit smoking, stop drinking, etc. etc. etc. But! Everything was fine, the tests came back clear, close call averted. No lifestyle changes needed to be made here, thank God!
At the end of the day, even a $14 smoothie, one every day, amounts to $420 a month... less than the average car payment.. (probably way less) I know and understand that the way I live my life isn't going to be adopted by near to anyone around me, and I get that, but people, walk!! Seriously, walk more often. Walk every day, everywhere. Then you can afford a blue smoothie every morning, and you most likely won't be part of the 50% sitting all comfy in a reclining leather chair at the hospital, getting another round of chemotherapy pumped into your veins.. (I know this for a fact, I would often go with my mom.... they even feed you chocolate chip cookies while you recline watching movies.... the very processed cookies that most likely got you there in the first place!)
So, this is the thing, this is what I'm trying to say: Let's take care of ourselves. Let's spend money on ourselves. Let's drink blue and green smoothies, eat more organic, local fruit, and start planting our own gardens... Let's walk more often, bike more often, and quit being a part of the system that is creating such a diseased planet and people occupying it. And when we feel better, we love better, it's the truth.
I'm positive, 100% positive that we can all learn how to make new and different choices. Those two beers after work pay for your smoothie, and that smoothie gives you the energy to walk, or play a sport, or hey, make love to your wife! Let's seriously start making this world a better place, and not just keep talking about it.
Namaste
No comments:
Post a Comment