The Healthy Green Drink Diet: Week 2
I began testing “The Healthy Green Drink Diet” by Jason Manheim two weeks ago. Last Saturday, I posted the results of my first week and this morning I write my final column about this book. When I began the diet, I weighed about 160 lbs. My goal wasn’t to lose weight but to see if I had more energy after a couple of weeks of replacing one meal each day with a fresh juice made in my blender. I had mixed results. My weight stayed about the same, as I had assumed it would, but the first week the drinks made from greens and veggies such as kale, cucumber, celery, and spinach, played havoc on my digestive system. A word of advice, if you start the diet featured in this book, the first few days you should not venture more than five feet from your bathroom. Get my drift?
This is an excellent book with tips on buying, growing, storing, saving, and utilizing fresh fruits and vegetables and is divided into two main methods, juicing and blending. I blended since I don’t own a juicer. With all of the natural sugars and being a diabetic, I had to test my glucose levels several times each day. Often after a beverage that featured berries, apples, and fruit, my levels would spike and I had to monitor it more closely than I usually do.
“The Healthy Green Drink Diet” has some delicious recipes. The secret is getting past the colors of the drinks, more often than not, green.
This was a fun experiment. Did I find that I had an increase in energy? Yes, a little. Did I find that it lowered my blood pressure? Yes. Did I feel better after these two weeks of “blending?” Yes, but my advice is to approach this diet with a little moderation.

The Wholesome Baby Food Guide: Over 150 Easy, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes from Purees to Solids by Maggie Meade (Grand Central Books/Life & Style, $15.99)
My mother was way ahead of the curve. Armed with her 1943 edition of Joy of Cooking and a Victory Garden, she made most of the baby food for me and my younger sister. Since she used locally grown ingredients when possible and no additives, her emphasis was on nutritious foods that were tasty and cost-effective. The same focus is on the recipes in this new cookbook by Maggie Meade.
Maggie Meade writes and edits the top rated baby food website, www.wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com, a site which gets more than 350,000 hits each month. She is the mother of three sons who also enjoyed fresh homemade baby food throughout their introduction to solid foods and many of her recipes in this collection were tweaked and perfected in her family kitchen.
In increasing numbers, parents are choosing to make their own baby food, using locally grown, organic, and wholesome ingredients. Meade has carefully researched information on nutrition, allergies, storage tips, myths, and the best practices for introducing foods to infants and young children. From preparing baby’s first purees to serving full-fledged meals, this is the perfect cookbook for parents who want to get the new baby in the house off to the best start possible.
Meades proves that baby food doesn’t need to be tasteless, processed, or even in a jar. It can be fresh, vibrant, and delicious. It doesn’t hurt that it also is much cheaper than store-bought foods and purees.
As Meade points out, her book is meant to be good for the baby, and fun for you and is just about the only book you need about feeding your child.

The Healthy Green Diet: Week 1 (Saturday February 4-11)
As I blogged this past week, I am testing Jason Manheim’s “The Healthy Green Drink Diet” for the next two weeks. This diet replaces one meal each day with a drink made from such greenies as cucumber, celery, and spinach. This drink will generate better internal health, immune system strength and even weight loss. Since I weigh about 160 lbs, it’s not weight loss that I am most interested in but if this diet will make me feel better and stronger.
I begin by making a shopping list. With things such as collard greens, fresh spinach, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, kale and honeydew melons to buy, I made a quick trip to Sunflower Market. My test began Monday, February 6th, by replacing my regular lunch meal with “The Healthy Green Drink.” I put some watercress, 1 green apple, 1 peeled lime, ¼ cucumber, 4 mint leaves, 1 banana, and several ice cubes in my blender and hit puree. The result was a green beverage that tasted much better than I had anticipated. I am on my way. Tomorrow, “Crazy Cran” with cranberries and collard greens.
Day two: The Crazy Cran which consisted of frozen cranberries, 2 leaves of collard greens, several mint leaves, a pear, coconut water, a juiced lemon, a banana, and a small bunch of mixed greens was my lunch. The cranberries provided bacteria blockers and made the drink rather tasty.
Day three: The pick today for lunch is the Anti-Toxi-Mint drink: 4 mint leaves, ½ cucumber, 2 larges leaves of collard greens, ½ c frozen acai berries, 1 kiwi, and I juiced lemon. I must be getting used to these juices since I actually enjoyed this one. It was tart, tangy, and a drink that promote better skin, cognitive brain function, and fights cancer. Not bad for a simple juice drink.
Day four: I love beets so today’s lunch was “Just Beet It,” 1 medium beet, skinned and chopped into chunks, 2 cups arugula, 1 red apple, 5 leaves of basil, and 1 banana. This drink has high levels of vitamin K and the potential bitter taste was countered by the apple and banana. Argula contains antiviral and antibacterial properties. This recipe required a little water so it could be processed in my blender.
Day five: The time has come to add some spice to this liquid diet. For lunch today (February I made the “Hit Pearade” which was a drink featuring radishes with tops, celery, spinach, a pear, a cup of pineapple, some mixed berries and (wait for it) some cayenne pepper. Even though it called for only a dash, I used several dashes. It produced a drink that had just a hint 0f sweetness but with an extra kick from the cayenne. I also weighed myself today and have dropped four pounds.

Day six: The “Ginger Snap” I chose for today was practically a liquid dessert. Anise is great for digestion and when paired with ginger, it was especially tasty. This recipe was 3-4 handfuls of spinach, 1 small anise bulb, ginger to taste, 3-4 dates, and 1 cup of cherries. I blended this with ice. An option is to add a scoop of sugar-free coconut ice cream for a refreshing float.

Day seven: I am half way through this experiment. I actually look forward to my noontime liquid “meal.” I have gotten past the green color of most of the beverages and actually like some of the flavors I’ve tested. I weigh 156 lbs, feel fairly good, and am looking forward to week two. My meal today will be “Lettuce Rock,” a simply drink of 1 cup lettuce greens, 1 cup rocket, a cup of mixed berries, 1 banana, and 1 juiced lime.