Green Smoothies: Stress Reduction in a Blender

By Jemme B. Stewart
Co-Founder, Upstream: A Center for Mindfulness Practice and Holistic Mental Health
August 30, 2013 

In addition to running her private counseling practice, Carolina Psychotherapy Center, Jemme teaches gentle yoga at City Yoga and has just co-founded Columbia’s first mindfulness studio, Upstream in Five Points, where she and business partner T. Hilda White, MD, teach the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) skill set developed at the UMass Medical School.

I don’t think of myself as being very creative in the kitchen, but I have been very interested in healthy foods over these last years as my business partner Hilda and I have developed our new studio for stress reduction workshops in Five Points, Upstream. My big thing lately is green smoothies!

I am wedded to the idea of using our local folks for whatever it is we are going to buy. I shop regularly for my green smoothie ingredients and more at Rosewood Market, and I use City Roots‘ seasonal produce CSA plan.

Starting the day with something this tasty and nutritious is part of my own efforts to keep stress at bay. Life is more relaxing when your body is running on healthy fuel instead of starches and fats that can bog you down halfway through the morning.

This is how I feel after having a green smoothie in the morning!

I came to love green smoothies somewhat organically. Stacey Collins, owner of City Yoga, where I teach, once led a whole group of us in the green smoothie march, and all around Columbia you could see City Yoga folks walking around with their green smoothies. Then, my friend Betsy went to a QiGong workshop where the teacher was a green smoothie person, and she came back double converted!
We saved our pennies and bought the most amazing blender with a three horse power engine. Can you imagine? We could ride around Shandon on those blenders! Anyway, this blender makes the best green smoothies in the world.

On a recent morning, I made a green smoothie with Lacinato kale from Rosewood Market, as well as their celery, ginger, and avocado, with some City Roots mixed micro-greens, which are fantastic in the smoothie. Finally, I added a banana, Goji berries, and a food-based protein powder recommended by and purchased from our highly talented acupuncturist and Chinese medicine doctor, Alison Beard of Palmetto Acupuncture. I was set for a morning of good, balanced energy and good health!

Here’s what I do:

The main ingredients in every smoothie that I make are the greens.  I usually put about 5 leaves of kale or chard or collards, and a big handful of spinach in the blender. 

A frozen fruit or two, the protein powder and a liquid are all the base of the smoothie. Then it’s time to get creative! What do I have in the refrigerator today?

For example, this morning I put in two stalks of celery and one half cucumber. Yesterday, I put in half of a golden beet and some two thin slices of ginger. 

Feel free to experiment with any veggie or fruit in your kitchen.  

 

This weekly food column is curated by Tracie Broom, who serves on the board at Slow Food Columbia (http://www.slowfoodcola.org), publishes The Yum Diary (http://www.yumdiary.com), and is a founding partner at Flock and Rally: Events + Communications for a Brave New South (http://www.flockandrally.com). Follow her at @theyumdiary on Twitter. 

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