The video sort of shows what I've been drinking each day. I don't use any powders or oil, though. Just greens like kale, etc and fruits. I also don't use a $400 blender. I use my $49 one I got years ago and it's just fine.

Like the video, I also eat something along with it. Something light. I usually opt for unsalted peanuts. I'm drinking more vegetables than I'd normally eat. Same goes for the fruit.

If you ever decide to do this, research it well. You could be going based on what you think may taste best. You don't really want to do that. You'll want to balance the vitamins and nutrients. You also don't need to drink the whole blender's contents in one sitting. I make a full blender and sometimes finish it early the next day.

Use organic fruits and vegetables so you're not drinking down trace elements of pesticides. You can also opt to scrub them really well, but it's just overall easier and safer to use organics. I absolutely must use organic bananas, since their peel is porous and you can't scrub the banana clean. Mothers who make their own baby foods should know this, too.

I don't think I'll jump right into this, but my wife and I are starting this week eating healthier and working out. Need to take is slow though so I don't discourage myself.

_{PK have you seen that Fat sick and nearly dead documentary? I watched that last year and almsost started that juicing diet. I am interested in this, my wife also just got some green smoothie recipes. I have reduced my weight and i eat healthier now but would like to increase what i have done so far.}

I haven't watched it, but I've heard all about it. As a society, we eat too many processed foods laden with salt and other foul things. It'll get worse before it gets better.

Since I started eating healthier and seriously watchimg my sodium intake, regular foods taste better. Processed foods taste way too salty now.

If you go the kale route, don't do as I did. Start off with a few small chopped pieces, and not two whole stalks. haha It's an alkaline plant and will be very bitter if you use too much.

I will let you know how it goes, how much fruit do you add? I was hoping to add more fruit to remove any bitter taste.

I always use at least one banana (sometimes two) to help with consistency and two other fruits, including oranges and/or apples (grannie smith. red delicious are terrible).

I forgot to mention to use only the kale leaf. There's two different camps about this, but although the stem gives you dietary fiber, it also makes your smoothie super bitter.

My typical recipe for the morning:

Half a cucumber

Big handful of stemless kale (at least half the blender)

One thumb-sized piece of ginger

One big carrot

One Banana

Two apples or two oranges (or one of each)

Big handful of ice

Two cups of 100% fruit juice (mango peach)

I switch it up quite often and sometimes even include snow peas (which are yum).

I would love to eat healthier produce (organic food, non processed foods etc) however its the $$$ that prevent me from doing so. Being a poor graduate student. But I am not in bad shape, I do jiujitsu often and take vitamins etc.. I do however make it a point to buy organic milk and free range eggs because I can taste the difference between them.

I'm not an organic nut. Just for the fruits and veggies I use for the smoothies. When I made my first run to the market for all the fruits and veggies, I was worried I'd spend too much. As it turns out, I'm snacking less and overall eating less. I think it balances out quite nicely to the budget I already had for grocery shopping.

As I said before, bananas are typically the only produce I must get organic. You just can't scrub the fruit clean of pesticides, since the peel is porous. For most of the rest, you can buy a vegetable scrub brush and be just fine.

First post is misleading, I thought I was getting a vid with PK in it. Sadly dissappointed.

Sorry, Em. lol

Made a change to my smoothie mix. The kale was making them a tad too bitter for my taste. So, I cut back on the amount of kale, and made up the difference with collared greens. Much, much better.

I also steamed some collared greens to go with my chicken last night. Added a quick dash of crushed sea salt and a smidge of pepper. Really good. Enjoyed it immensely!

Couple of other things. Asparagus right now is really good. Don't know if it's the locale of where I live, but I'm having it in almost every meal right now. Also switched over to organic cucumbers for my smoothies. I was buying two large cucumbers that weren't organic and scrubbed them well. Yesterday, I went and price checked organic vs un-organic. I was able to buy this organic monster of a cucumber for the same price as two regular sized cucumbers. They were very close in weight to each other. The organic one was a deeper green, too.

Had my first one this morning, Spinach, Collard Greens, 2 fuji apples, bannana, half a cucumber, Asain pear, 4 strawberries and pomegranet/berry juice. It was good drank 32 ounces, was a little mushy at times and it felt like I needed to chew rather than drink, Do I need to add more ice or more juice?

I leave mine chunky, since I consider it a breakfast meal. If you just drink it down, your body doesn't really consider it a meal and you'll be hungry in no time. Which is also why I eat a handful of nuts or a granola bar while I drink down my smoothie.

It all boils down to preference, though. If you want it easier to drink, blend it a bit longer with some added juice. I'm using a 100% cranberry pomegranate juice right now and love it. Fiji apples, too, since the organic bag was on sale. Still prefer the grannie smiths, though.

Also, you don't need to add ice if you don't want it. That's just my preference. It keeps it in a viscous state and doesn't separate as fast if I add ice in. I dislike when the pulp and juice separate and have to keep swishing my glass around. lol

You also might want to keep a journal for several reasons. Most importantly; recipes that turned out great. It's nice to be able to reproduce that great smoothie you had. Also makes it easy to cross reference if you're tracking nutrients and vitamins. Lastly, just notes on pep and vigor, or even weight loss if that's what you're going after.

Are you avoiding kale, or was it just not available? It may not be the tastiest vegetable on the planet, but it sure has a crap ton of vitamins and nutrients.

*edit* If you want to beef up your smoothie to make it more of a meal, you can add in flax seed. It has protein and will make your smoothie heavier.

Like pk said DO YOUR RESEARCH before you do something like this. I alternate between having juice for breakfast, than two small meals for a week, breakfast and luch with sensible dinner for week two, week three is juice all three meals, then regular meals week four before restarting the cycle... Vitamins are a must to replace any nutrients not gained and exercise always helps. Also, hydration is a must. Lost 50 lbs since last June... Trying to make it an even 100 by next July... Need to hit the gym more the most important rule is everyone's bodies can respond diferently, if it's trying to tell you something, listen.

Kale wasnt available, my wife adds oatmeal to hers I might try that, hadnt though of taking notes thats a good idea. I add Ice cause I like it cold and I take it to work with me, I guess I could stick it in the fridge but I like the ice.

I have looked into this for awhile and am considering a juicing diet/program. I would like to use the smoothies/juice as my breakfast/lunch and then eat a sensible dinner. I have dropped 40 pounds since last june mostly from reducing alot of butter from my diet and running. I need to be more consistent on my running but it would be nice if the weather would warm up, I usually work out 3 times a week for 30min or longer at my work though (core strength and spin classes) in addtiotion to running. Would like to lose another 10-15 pounds and run faster. In a bit of a slump right now but its mostly due to the cold weather.

For me, I need to trick my body into thinking my smoothie is a meal by chewing on something as I drink it. All alone, the smoothie is a meal. But since it's blended, it passes through the digestive system faster. Adding something solid along with it is a good idea for me. A celery stalk is another good thing to munch on as you drink the smoothie. It's crunchy and is mostly water.

Since you're looking to lose weight, I'm glad you're not going to go all smoothie. I know a few that have, and they did drop significant weight... however, their bums paid the price. They were using the bathroom far too often.

I really wish I was able to run distance. My knee just won't hold up, though. I can do start and stop jogging with my dog (she likes to sniff trees), but that's about it. I still ride my mountain bike each day if the weather is kind. If not, I have a stationary that I use. My weights and gym mats arrive today and tomorrow. I had some weights already, but I didn't have a full set and I was missing a few bars. After I get the mats locked into place, I'm ordering a weight bench and maybe a heavy bag. Really looking forward to it. With the smoothies, I distinctly notice extra energy throughout the day.

If you like it cold and having it icy, that's totally cool, man. It's how I enjoy mine as well. Whatever I have left in the blender after my large glass of smoothie, I hit on throughout the day until it's gone.

One last note. I used to take bee pollen daily when I was younger and enjoyed it. I'm thinking of adding that into my smoothies now. It'll give a nice flavor and it's good for you. Might be able to add in more kale, too. haha

IF you have running pains check out the ChiRunning or Correct form running principle and try it out slowly, I dont run with pain and I have really bad hips, it is an adjustment and takes some time to learn but you dont have to run with pain.

It's not just the pain. My knee's architecture isn't fully intact after my accident. I was supposed to have knee replacement, but refused it. Same deal with my back.

My doctor didn't even want me riding a bike, but it turned out to be excellent therapy for my knee. If I miss a day or two, my knee gets super stiff and it takes awhile to get the flexibility back.

I also haven't used my cane for more than a year. Something the doctors thought I'd always be limited to.

Yeah that wouldnt go well with running, I have been able to run without knee, hip or shin problems, but alot of it has to do with your form. Anyway whatever works and gets the excercise in is good. Your new weight setup sounds good.

Been a week, Deuce. How ya feeling?

I feel good, I do feel more energy after drinking the smoothies, I mostly do them in the morning but I have also made them after excercising at night. I still have a hard time trying to get past lunch but I am working on it, I havent eaten lunch every day but still feel hungrier than I would like. I am trying to use the smoothies after working out at night as well to curb snacking. So far I have tried Pomegranite, Pineapple, and a Mango mix juice. I like the pomegranite best but will probably try new juice when I go get more veggies next time just to try different things, I havent tried ginger in the mix yet what kind of flavor does that add?

Ginger gives it a bit of a snap. More importantly, though, it's a natural carminative. When you're ingesting this many fruits and vegetables at once, you don't want an excessive buildup of gas in your intestinal tract.

I recently used a cranberry and pomegranate juice. I loved it. When I shop next, I'm buying 4 big jugs of it. It's 100% juice, too. Thinking I may add in some fish oil, too. Anything to help with my joints. I'm fine during the daytime, but right after sunset, I start to get stiff.

I will need to add ginger then of it helps with the gas build up. Thanks for the tip. I really like pomegranate juice, the stuff I get was mixed with blackberry but it was 100%

Blackberry and pomegranate sounds awesome. I'll keep an eye out for that.

Your right ginger does add some pop! It was even a littly spicey I liked it, Question on the chard, kale, or other large leafy veg, do you remove the leaf from the stem or just blend up the whole thing? I have been removing the leaf.