I've worked very hard on this research.........

I have worked my fingertips down to blood-spattered stumps, with all of the research that I have been doing for my blog this week.

That may be a little bit of an overstatement, as I am sure that you remember that I am quite happy to post links to other websites that have taught me what I needed to know to embark upon my fantastic voyage through the world of smoothies. I learnt a great deal about the advantages of different food groups and how they can help with all manner of nasty maladies.

"I Feel Kinda Funny"

Sure, I have come to admire the virtues of spinach, or Kale and I can appreciate the taste and texture of Natural Yogurt. Coconut water can improve the depth of taste in anything that it is added to.

I have two favourites, but probably for a different reason than you might expect. That is..... They have ALWAYS been my favourites.

The first of these is the humble

Banana.

I have loved these things since I was a baby. They are the only fruit that I will eat by choice.

Let me furnish you with a few interesting and wholly pointless facts about the Banana.

1. Bananas are slightly radioactive. This comes from the potassium they contain.
2. All bananas are clones of the fruit on a single original plant from south-east Asia.
3. The banana was almost wiped out in the 1960s by a fungus.
4. The Goldfinger variant of banana actually tastes like an apple.
5. Over 100 billion bananas are consumed each year.
6. Monkeys open their bananas at the end furthest away from the stalk.
7. Sport stars use them because of the slow release energy that they provide.

Here are some fantastic health benefits that come from bananas.

.

1. They can help with blood pressure by increasing levels of Potassium in the body.
2. Children who eat just one banana per day have a 34% less chance of developing asthma.
3. The vitamin c in bananas can prevent formation of free radicals known to cause cancer
4. Fibre, potassium and vitamins c and B6 in bananas support the health of the heart.
5. The fruit contains fibre that can help with Diabetes
6. They can help to replenish the potassium after a bout of Diarrhoea
7. Bananas contain tryptophan which can help memory and boost your mood

So as you can tell, They are not only good for you, but monkeys like them. And Monkeys are pretty cool.

Cinnamon

I didn't mean a cinnamon bun....They're bad

I first became aware on cinnamon when my Mom put it into her fantastic apple pies, and then my dad put it into his mulled wine at Christmas.

Just a few little facts.

1. Cinnamon comes from a tree that is now cultivated as a bush.
2. It is made from the inner bark of the plant that is fragrant and oily.
3. Its usually rolled into sticks but can be ground to a powder
4. It was used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process
5. It is used to flavour whisky, Vodka and Brandy
6. The cinnamon tree in the wild lives for 30-40 years

But the thing that I find so fascinating are the health benefits

1. Its anti-oxidants protect the body from the effects of free radicals
2. It can protect the body from unwanted inflammation.
3. It reduces the risk of heart disease.
4. It has beneficial effects on blood markers that can affect type 2 diabetes
5. It reduces the levels of LDL cholesterol (bad) and increase HDL cholesterol (Good)
6. It is known to help lower resistance to insulin which is essential for the transport of blood sugar from the bloodstream into the body cells
7. It is known to help fight the effects of Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's disease.
8. It has protective effects against many types of cancer
9. It has even been linked to treatment for immune deficiencies like HIV.

Its great as an addition to your smoothies and adds an incredible depth of taste.

There are many other ingredients that are incredible and I will talk about them in future posts.

TTFN

IJx

JUST IN CASE

Just in case you want to know more:-

Join us on

https://www.facebook.com/smoothiemonsterblog/?ref=tn_tnmn

Or have a look at some of the great books that have been published by my buddies, John Hodges and Pilar Bueno

https://www.facebook.com/viddapublishing/?ref=br_rs

I will try and be back with another blog before the end of the week, but before I go, I'd like to tell you that I am a massive fan of turmeric. I put it in all of my smoothies. read about it here

www.naturalnews.com/031461_turmeric_superfood.html

See you all soon... IJx

REPORTS SUGGEST THAT 2016 IS A BIT CR*P

Don't worry about it though, this is the year that we can turn it all around. This is the year where our mid-life crisis can be transformed into a mid-life triumph.

The giddy new year enthusiasm has now abated and we are halfway through a cold, wet January and our thoughts are now turning towards hunkering down in our snug, warm homes and banishing the cold. (Unless you live somewhere like Australia or Brunei or somewhere else warm as I know some of you do).

I think that I have now probably told you enough about how I came to the point of wishing to improve my life, so let me now tell you about some of decisions that I made and all the research that I did after I had come to the realisation that my belly had expanded as far as I wanted it to, like a red giant star that had expanded to the point where it's gravity causes it to collapse in on its-self.

I started my quest by simply going on-line and then typing the following into my browser.

"Diet for a 47 Year Old man"

Strangely enough there were a few options that came up such as this one 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/298181-the-best-diet-plans-for-men-over-45/

There are a lot of us middle aged fellas around, and we are at a very strange age.

It becomes increasingly difficult for us to shift excess weight due to our innate deep-seated  inability to give a damn about anything and we also have to deal with a decrease in our muscle density.

I've mentioned before how cruel nature can be.

Back in the late 80's and the 90's we all had the chance to have wash-board stomachs, and still be able to eat and drink whatever we all want, and only do a modicum of exercise to stay trim and handsome.

THOSE DAYS ARE NOW GONE.

The handsome bit is obviously not a problem for me (he said, bashfully), but I took a walk along the canal in my village today and was overcome by an immense wave of mid-life grumpiness brought on by the ankle-deep mud where the brilliant, blinding winter sunlight had melted the frosty ground.

Whereas, wherever there were shadows, the rock-hard ground that had previously be churned up was still frozen solid and so uneven that it was turning my ankles into mincemeat.

I arrived back home, with the bottom part of my sensible trousers covered in  black, viscous mud and as I crouched at my front door, untying my sodden shoe-laces, I felt the grumpiness slowly building in my head, like a pan of milk that is just about to boil over. 

Now I can't presume to speak for all men of my age, but hopefully, I have just explained the problem that we all have, all we wish for is an easy existence, a nice quiet life without any irritants.

One of those irritants could be that we find it too difficult to control our weight.

My biggest issue with the diet industry is that there are no diets that have been designed specifically for men of my age, so I decided to take my dietary life into my own hands.

My friend John, who I have mentioned many times in previous blog posts, has radically changed his life in the last few years. This was due to a major medical scare that happened to him a few years ago.

I think he will admit that he was carrying a few extra pounds, but that was not the reason that he had to change to a healthier life, unlike myself.

To his credit, he did an awful lot of research and discovered a type of food called SIRT FOODS and  wrote a fascinating book on the subject.

I was incredibly impressed by his diligence and titanic levels of research and so, as his old friend, I feel it is only fair that I use his hard work to tell you about how SIRT FOODS are the way forward for people of my age.

What are SIRT FOODS?

So-called "sirt rich foods" can activate proteins in the body called sirtuins.

Sirtuins regulate biological processes like aging, cellular death, inflammation and metabolism, and  can even protect cells from harm when they are under stress.

According to research, sirtfoods can copy the effects of fasting and exercise, can increase the speed of weight loss, and counterbalance the effects of junk food. (but please don't use that as an excuse to shot-gun a 15" quattro formaggi pizza every day)  

I realise that this sounds too good to be true, but if you read John's book, you will understand why I have become so enamoured of it.

Here is a link so that you download it to your kindle/ Tablet with the kindle app

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SIRT-FOOD-FREE-BOOKS-Longevity-ebook/dp/B00Z35EAVW

This also includes all of his other books.

The Media are also becoming aware of sirt foods too. I usually am not keen on the tabloids, but the following is quite a good item.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3067794/The-wonder-foods-s-discovery-rank-alongside-vitamins-food-compounds-turbo-charge-weight-loss-boost-memory-help-combat-cancer.html

By now, I can hear your hoots of confusion and dismay. "Hang on!" I hear you say. "I thought this blog was about smoothies, not about a new concept in food science"

You are correct, this blog IS about smoothies, but it is also about tracking my journey into a very confusing time of my life, when I am becoming very aware that my younger years have come to a juddering and permanent end, like a bulldozer that has hit a gas main.

'sirtfoods' include olives, onions, kale, cocoa and green tea, You can mix these foods with others like cherries, pears, Bananas, baby leaf spinach. The main thing is that these foods can help you lose weight, and can stop you from putting the weight back on again.

NOW TELL ME THAT DOESNT SOUND LIKE SOME KIND OF MAGIC

Here is a great smoothie recipe I made that I call the Jaffa monster
1 x easy peel clementine (with half the peel)
1 x tsp pure cacao
1 x banana
1 x tblsp fat free yoghurt...
1 x handful baby spinach
1 x tblsp milled oats and chia seed
top up with coconut milk
it is absolutely lovely, I'm not sure about the nutritional values, but its probably better for you than a packet of Jaffa cakes.

This is now No1 best seller

THIS BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE

This is the book that is now a No1 Best-Seller in the Nutrition section on Amazon World Wide.

This Blog would not have happened had it not been for this book which was written by my Buddy John Hodges. It could not have got there without intelligent people like you, who want to understand the Science of food, and how it can help to, if not Save your life, then change it for the better.

I urge you to download it from amazon at the Following link

http://amzn.to/1YDAIIF

Or go to the Vidda Publishing website

http://www.viddapublishing.com/

GIVE IT A GO

IT MIGHT CHANGE YOUR LIFE TOO

TTFN

IJx 

New Year + smoothie = New Me

8th January 2016 This has been my most successful blog post so far. Thanks
2016 is now upon us, so I think it's about to tell you thatI feel like I have always celebrated the new year with no real concept of how I would make that year better in every way. 

Year upon Year until 2015 has ended in the same slightly destructive way. I have always seen in the new with a beer or a whisky in my hand. The start of the 16th year of this millennium was different, in nearly every quantifiable way.

For the first time in my life, I was on my own when the tones of Big Ben (in London) struck.

This can be interpreted in one of a couple of ways. The first interpretation will be the one that most of my closest friends will subscribe to. That I am sad and lonely and have little to no social skills and that I have become SO middle-aged and grumpy that I revel in my solitude and that nobody really wants to be anywhere near me, because I radiate a need to avoid most forms of human interaction. Or then, there is the second interpretation where I actually chose this night to be one of quiet 
contemplation, making my truly desired and achievable resolutions that will ACTUALLY lead to an
improvement and hopefully a prolonging of my existence on this fantastic planet. Either that, or I just want to not start sweating when I climb stairs.........or tie my shoelaces........or brush my hair........ (That, and the fact that there was some truly amazing tv on New Year's Eve)

I think I should let you guess which of those interpretations was the correct one.

There've been many, many times when my annual celebrations broke nearly every rule of civilised
behavior. 

During My teens and twenties, I had quite a large circle of friends, and I did actually consider these people Real friends, but like everyone, I managed to weedle that large group of pals Down to a couple of core groups of three or four really close buddies. 

One group included all of my clubbing buddies who I hung around with in and around the
Birmingham nightclub scene. We went from club to club, some of us DJing, and generally having a
good time. There are a few stories that I could tell you about that period in my life, and I'm sure I will mention them, in time. Unless my lawyer advises me not to.

I consider the primary core of really good friends to be the guys who I spent the majority of my time with. I have mentioned them before. 

Paul, John, Joe, Dave (my elder brother) Chris and Nigel. 

These were my guys, who I considered to be my brothers from other mothers......except Dave, who is ACTUALLY my brother. We all, at one point went to school with each other. Except Dave, who is my brother. (Did I mention that Dave is my brother?)

Paul's  parents owned a fantastic Hotel in the town, and this hotel became the focal point of our collective socialising. Whenever we went out, the night would always either begin or end at the hotel's generously stocked  bar. 

So you can imagine that every New Year's Eve we would all turn up at the hotel, dressed up to the nines and holding court for the whole night up until the chimes of midnight. 

It was not until after all the invited guests had said their good nights that the "party" could really start. really really start.

For some reason, I cannot remember the specifics. (And I think that pshycologically speaking, thats probably a good thing)

I am quite comfortable telling you that the sands of time have clouded the details.

I am sure that you wondering if I going to approach something resembling a point, any time soon, instead of wallowing in self-indulgent memories. 

That point will make an appearance very soon, but as I trudge towards it through the molasses-like trenches of my musings.

I am assuming that you have read my previous blog posts, so you are well aware of my chequered social life and unhealthy life style. The purpose of this blog in to ultimately explain why I decided in November of last year, that it was high time to put aside my bad eating and drinking habits, just a little bit, and adopt a more healthy exsistance through heavily cutting back on the negative ingredients (though I would like to emphasise, not COMPLETELY cutting them) out of my life.

A huge part of this is making smoothies out of raw, organic (wherever possible) fruit and vegetables, spices, herbs and fabulous liquids like coconut water, coconut milk, green tea, and/or natural fat free yoghurt.

It is really important for us all to try and avoid highly processed foods and meats (so avoiding the chance of ingesting nasty, evil GMOs) 

I could probably do more. In fact I know I probably SHOULD do more, but my knowledge of the subject  is not yet sufficiently advanced. Plus I still want to be able to have a little fun sometimes and I must admit thatI find it really difficult to completely cut some things out of my life.

So this is my pledge for this year. And this is the point of this entire endeavour

I promise that, this year,  I will still drink alcohol but just not so much and not so often

I promise that, this year, I will still occasionally sneak the odd one or two hamburgers or kebabs.

I promise that, this year, I will still occasionally scoff a few choccies from time to time.

I promise that I will replace at least 2 Meals per day with a freshly made smoothie.

I promise that I will carry on writing these blogs for as long as I still feel I have information to share with you, whilst, at the same time not boring you.

I promise that I will not stop being a slightly grumpy middle aged man and that I will try to connect with like minded people through this blog.

Now those are some POWERFUL RESOLUTIONS from this mid-life monster.

Please comment on this blog and tell me your own resolutions.

HAPPY NEW YEAR YOU LOVELY MID-LIFE MONSTERS

TTFN

IJ x

Please downloaded and read this Fascinating book

THIS WILL BE A VERY SHORT POST.

It is very late at night, so my intelligence quotient is at its lowest level of the day. 

This is the book that changed my life

Please download and read this and it will hopefully explain my reasons behind my new choice of life.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Z35EAVW?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

I will post another chapter of my blog later in the week

TTFN

IJ x