I made three lifestyle changes that helped me to overcome my 7-year battle with Chronic Fatigue: 1) I got off all forms of processed Sugar, 2) I got off of all products that contain Wheat, and 3) I began drinking Green Smoothie's daily.
I learned about Green Smoothies from the book, "Green For Life" by Victoria Boutenko. Everyone needs more raw, dark green, leafy vegetables in their diet. Green Smoothies are the easiest and best tasting way to get mega-doses of fresh, dark greens into your body!
The link to Victoria's Book is on my, "Misc. Information" page.
Here are some additional links related to Green Smoothies:
You will get used to the taste of Greens over time. I like to joke with my audience that the Green Smoothie I serve to them is like a "Kindergarten" Green Smoothie and you can work your way up to Graduate Level :-) In the beginning, try the milder tasting greens and use a 60% fruit to a 40% greens ratio. Over time you can graduate to the more bitter tasting greens and change your ratio to 50/50 then 60 to 70% greens and 40 to 30% fruits. Or, you can just stick with whatever balance works best for you! I find that the more dark green leafy vegetables I can get into my diet, the less cravings I have for junk food and the more energy I have during the day.
Here are some Greens I have tried with asterisk by the ones I use the most:
Kale*I've used about all of them...
Bananas are always good with fruits that are tart like raspberries and blackberries or, any greens that are on the bitter side because bananas are sweet.
I use apples whole. I peel the orange part off of an orange, but leave the white pit because that is where most of the calcium, bioflavanoids, and vitamin C is located.
Remember to follow the same directions as I gave for making Juices on my recipe page. You must start out with a mixture of either frozen fruits or ice that is very, very thick. As you blend, in about two minutes, the drink will turn liquid from the friction heat of the blades, but you stop the machine right at the time when it is still very, very cold but no longer frozen like a slushy. This allows you to break the ingredients down to the cellular (most bioavailable) level.
Blend according to the instructions in my Fruit Juice section (until the icy slushy mixture turns into a smooth liquid). This is a "beginner" Green Smoothie. As you get used to the taste of the greens, you can increase the proportion of greens to fruit, try out some of the "stronger tasting greens" (remember, Spinach is one of the "magic veggies"), and use fruits that are not as sweet - like berries for instance.