Orange Sunshine Beta Booster...

Because sometimes you just need a little Beta-Carotene. If you’re anything like me then by now you’re so ‘over’ the holiday’s. You’re in a junk food funk courtesy of the holiday season. You’re stuffed and bloated and sick to death of fat, and sugar and can’t even look at another piece of bread. You’ve been consuming chocolate via IV and are pretty close to slipping into that post Christmas food coma thanks to all those leftovers stinking up your fridge. You’re desperate to claw yourself out of this mess and wonder how you even fell victim to it in the first place. Maybe you’re now faced with battling the holiday bulge, but you know that New Year’s is just around the corner and so you won’t be able to stick to any kind of healthy eating plan despite your best intentions.

It’s okay, take a long slow breath and fear not. Just because you can’t commit yourself to going back to your healthy ways right this minute doesn’t mean you can’t at least prepare your body for what will eventually come right? As much as I want to start to detox now, I know that with my husband’s birthday and New Years fast approaching I will not be able to stave off the sweets, bypass the fats, and break away from the delicious seduction of gluten and soy.

While I may not be able to steer clear of these temptations at a New Year’s party, a family dinner, or a birthday outing I am capable of making good choices the rest of the week, and so are you. Don’t think that just because you ate a piece of cake at a party last night that gives you free licence to eat cookies, pie and potato chips for breakfast this morning. Don’t fall into that trap of saying "oh well I ate junk yesterday so I may as well continue till the New Year." It’s a poor excuse. You’re giving up control and letting yourself go because it’s ‘easy’ but choosing health is easy too, it just takes a few moments of consideration rather then a mindless grab for the chips that are sitting on the counter.

So stop with the excuses, take back control and realize that while you may not be perfect for the next week, you can still do good for yourself, by choosing health when and where you can, until you’re ready to re-commit. I find breakfast to be the easiest time to choose health during the holiday season, because so often it is the one time of the day that we’re alone. Free of temptation, and free of influence it doesn’t take much to throw some good nutritious food into the Vitamix and start your day off right. That’s what I did this morning and I got a nice little boost from it.

Now as much as I love me some greens, and especially a green smoothie sometimes you just want a little something different. As far as nutrition is concerned greens are paramount but that doesn’t mean you should neglect all the other delicious plant foods out there. After all we should be eating all the colors of the rainbow, yet very often I find the majority of people eat a very muted color palate. Not this smoothie however. It is bright, bold and beautiful and packed with all kinds of healthful nutrients. So stop making excuses for yourself and give it a try today!

Orange Sunshine Beta Booster

2 C Chopped Peeled Carrots
2-4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2-3 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
1 Piece Fresh Ginger
1 Pink Lady Apple (or other tart apple such as Granny Smith)
1 D’Anjou Pear
1 Banana
2 C Purified Water
1-2 Packets Stevia (to taste, optional)

- Place all ingredients except stevia into highspeed blender and blend on high for roughly 1 minute or until everything is well combined and smooth. Add in stevia blend a few seconds until incorporated, then pour into glasses and enjoy!

*** Note - If you want a little extra fiber you don’t need to peel your carrots. However if you want to eat the peel then make sure you are using Organic carrots and wash them well to remove any dirt. ***