The Waring 3.5 H.P. Xtreme Hi-Power MX1050XT blender costs $625 plus tax. From the point of view of a health investment, it is clearly worth every penny.  If having renewed health and vitality is important to you, then take the first step and purchase your blender. We are here to support you -- ask about our green smoothie recipe package.

For the past year and a half, I've had a ball teaching people what I've learned about the art of making awesome tasting, highly nutritious green smoothies. I hold Green Smoothie demo events at least monthly, and talk about the method for making the drinks, why you'd want to and we discuss all of the options for adapting the drinks by putting super foods into the mixture. Foods like maca powder, sprouted barley grass juice; gogi berries; and chia seeds. There are so many approaches to making green smoothies and the main reason for doing this is to ensure that you get your daily supply of energizing, detoxifying and alkalizing greens. It's the missing "link" in most people's diet.

The greens you see directly above are arugula greens and mint in the cup. These are secondary greens that I use in my drinks. The primary green include kale; spinach; lambsquarter; collard greens; dandelion greens; and Swiss chard. By definition, a green smoothie starts out with 40 percent of these leafy greens combined with 60 per cent fruit and water. The fruit which makes the best tasting drinks will depend upon your likes and dislikes. Some people are berry crazy; others prefer tropical fruit; and my preference is a bit of everything including the basic fruits that are grown locally such as apples and pears and strawberries or blueberries, when in season.

Apple-Lemon-Kale Smoothie	Spinach-Arugula Minty Pear

Some people who have seen the Waring Hi-Speed blender in action are very impressed; however, perhaps never having purchased a high-priced blender before, it may take a bit of convincing for them to spend the money. Here's my commentary on that. Let's begin by breaking down the blender price into $50 monthly payments. Everyone requires a food budget so let's look at this expenditure in the context of your annual grocery bill. How much of the food you buy could be classified as low nutritional density or "empty calories". Packaged foods that you pop into the microwave; most breakfast cereals; a wide variety of condiments and sauces that get poured on meat and main entree dishes to make them appealling. Unless you are the type of person who makes your food by scratch spending pennies on ginger, garlic and sea salt rather than dollars on ready-made bottled sauces, I would expect you are throwing away at least $50 per month on convenience food.

I disagree with the use of the word "convenience" to describe the food in the first place because I don't see how getting a belly-ache or bad taste in my mouth after adding a spicy sauce to a meal is convenient, if in the end, I'm reaching for more digestive enzymes or having to find a remedy or herbal tea to bring me back to equilibrium. Furthermore, I would argue that even if you aren't a person who throws away grocery dollars on convenience or take-out food, making the switch to having at least two liquid meals per day involving fresh fruits and vegetables will save you money in the long run. How so?

If you are feeling full and satisfied with the nutrients that your body clearly notices because your energy is up, gradually over time fewer mood swings and cravings will be noticed. Ultimately what happens for most people is that they eat less junk food or fill up on big-size portions of their favourite meals. It's the same argument that you may have heard about eating organic food. A wholesome nutrient-dense organic apple fills you up as your body notices that it is being fed whereas an orchard sprayed apple at a commercial farm where the minerals are not replaced in the soil and heavy pesticide is used, clearly does not.

My Green Smoothie Nutritional Program is based on the concept that everyone can benefit from having more live enzymes in their diet. How many glasses of smoothies can easily be incorporated into one's routine? I suggest people begin with two small glasses and in no time at all, they will happily be drinking two or more large shaker size glasses. The choice of ingredients and ratio of greens to fruit/water will depend upon a number of things. For help in getting your program started, click here to sign up for a live enzyme nutritional consultation. To order a blender in Canada, please click here. If you are a resident of the USA, please click here.

Before you make your purchase, we will happily advise you of your options, especially if you feel you have an adequate program or equipment. There are many topics which typically come up such as the difference between whole-food blending and juicing. What if a person has diabetes or has certain colon diseases affecting digestion and assimilation. For the squeamish, what does a smoothie taste like anyway? We've been asked just about every question under the sun. Send your question today to luczak@rogers.com.

Many of you know that I am a blood type diet specialist who has helped thousands of people over the years to know which foods to eat more of (such as the super foods for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis) and which ones to avoid like red flag lectin avoids wheat and corn. In the context of developing your own green smoothie program, we’ll separate the sesame seeds from the macadamia nuts and advise about how to get beneficial lycopenes from your red grapefruit or watermelon when tomatoes are flagged (majority of Type As and Bs). We have much to offer in terms of menu planners.

Taking a look at the broader picture . . . we would like to help everyone succeed in getting started. You could simply require the basics to jet-start your program or perhaps you are already very knowledgeable and just require some "tweaking" in your program. Wherever you are, please consider that if you set your sights on having a 15 lb. blender on your counter that whispers “feed me nuts, seeds, fruits and leafy-green vegetables” and you do . . . wow, I can assure you that your body will become a finely-tuned machine in no time at all. We haven't been talking about the mental or emotional side of things. Guess what? You are sure to feel an ease and sense of relief, too, as your mental stress dissipates and emotionally, you feel that much more balanced. I’m very excited about the prospects and can see many people on the horizon merrily achieving their dreams. You could be one of them.

May we conclude by reiterating that all blenders are not created equal? Please come out to the Green Smoothie Demos that we offer at various locations. We also invite you to borrow or purchase our DVD Video showing Helen Luczak being interviewed on TV. There is a 7-minute segment showing blood type diet food taste testing and then a 6-minute Green Smoothie demo. When you make your request through email, we will advise where you can obtain a copy of the DVD.