A great way to start the day! Pear smoothie extraordinaire.

Just to show you that this blog is about 'health' in all its manifestations, I'd like to share with you my morning smoothie. It evolved over time, and is my way of supporting my cells from the inside, so that when I add light from outside, the internal environment is as luminous as it can be! (Well, OK, there are times when this is undermined by other things, but life is not about perfection, is it?)

For me, smoothies started when I was handed a weight loss system/product from Australia, based on whey protein. Over three months I lost 2 stone (46lbs), safely and easily, with carbohydrate restriction, nutrition and exercise. The important thing was I was never hungry, and I did not have to restrict fats, except the harmful ones. Olive oil, butter and coconut oil were 'good'. The weight stayed off for the next three years, and when it started to creep up during a busy period one winter, I turned to 'The Fat Flush Plan'. Here the art of smoothie making could really take off, with a bit of help from 'The Coconut Diet'.

So this is what evolved for me over time, and I make it now nearly every morning. Sometimes I put out the hand held liquidiser the night before, and some of the other ingredients, if I have to hang around the kitchen last thing whilst the cat is drinking from the running tap! I put one scoop of whey protein in the mixing container, with some maca powder (for endurance and mental clarity), and, very important for chocoholics, one teaspoon of organic and fair trade cocoa powder. This is the base. To this I add a small handfull of ground up hemp seeds, coco nibs (antioxidant) and coconut flakes. If I have time I add cardamon seed from crushed pods to the grinder. Then if its winter I add a scoop BioCare's microcelled Cod Liver Oil for vitamin D, not tasting of fish, by the way, and some warming ginger grated. Then I gently melt a nob of virgin coconut oil and add that together with a tablespoon of cold pressed hemp oil. Finally I add one cut up fresh pear, and liquidise the whole lot with a bit of water or almond milk. Yum. It seems to have cured me of a craving for chocolate in its more sugary form.

If you loathe cocoa powder and chocolate, or you want to ring the changes, use some frozen organic raspberries or blueberries from the health food shop, with or without the pear. Pears gives smoothies a lovely consistency, and are great for the lungs, so my Chinese acupuncturist tells me.

This smoothie often keeps me from hunger all morning, but if I do get hungry before lunch I sometimes have a midmorning snack of a boiled egg.

WHEY PROTEIN: Its expensive here, and not always of good quality. Avoid cheap ones from the body building industry. When I can I get friends to carry it over from the US. There you can get it from cows not treated wtih growth hormone, which are grass fed. Whey supports muscle development, and repair whilst absorbing and retaining nitrogen, and provides antioxidant protection. Find a brand with low temperature processing. Email me if you want further guidance on what to buy. THE MAIN THING IS AVOID SOY PROTEIN AT ALL COSTS. SEE A LATER BLOG ON THIS HUGE 'HEALTH' CON THAT WE SEEM TO HAVE SWALLOWED HOOK, LINE AND SINKER. AT LEAST HERE IN THE UK. THE US HAS ALREADY MOVED ON. Do not believe them when they say those against soya are only the mouthpieces of the dairy industry. See Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation: she espouses raw milk and fermented foods, coconut oil, and NO Soya which is unfermented. At least with whey protein those needing to avoid lactose can usually tolerate it.

Happy breakfasts, and any smoothie variations to share do feel free to do so. Oh, and I forgot to say, the labour of love in making the smoothie is no chore for me when listening to the radio at the same time!

Finally, something I forget to do (!) is to shine my low level laser over the water before drinking or adding to the smoothie. If you want to find out more about alkaline water see: http://www.water-for-health.co.uk or go to http://www.swiftnature.co.uk for information about Plocher water.

I'd love to get a response from those of you who do add photons to water by using their cold laser. Let us know how you notice the difference.

Gill Jacobs