Hi!  I'm Dawn from Indpls, self-employed homeschooling SAHM.  Here's how i got here:  I have a tooth that needs extracted, but the dentists won't touch it because my BP is too high. No surprise there, as i've been pretty sedentary for about a year and a half, am probably a compulsive overeater, and have eaten mostly fast food for about a month and a half!  We don't have insurance, so i'm committed to bringing it down naturally, by PLANNING and daily attention to exercise and diet.

Raised on red meat, white potatoes and iceberg lettuce, since moving out i've made a steady habit of introducing myself to new foods: broccoli, ranch dressing, bell peppers, and other-than-green beans were all new to me!  My most recent accomplishments are onions and garlic.  As you can see, i still don't eat any leafy greens (other than romaine, and i don't know whether that counts as "dark").  So i decided greens will be the next ground i gain, for all the obvious health reasons.  While studying the DASH diet and looking for recipes a few days ago, i found a "green smoothie" recipe.  Well, I was already having a morning cleansing shake, so i snatched some parsley and chard from the garden, tossed them in and have had one each day since!  I'm so excited to have a yummy way to "eat" my greens, without having to learn to like them 

By no means am i vegan or even vegetarian.  i'd like to maybe be someday, but for now i'm just focusing on adding (relatively!) healthy stuff and trying to make better choices than the ding-dang frozen pizza i ate for lunch today that's sitting like a rock in my belly - ugh! LOL  As i find new interesting foods, I am noticing less desire for most kinds of meat, and am quite open to that continuing!  Also the dynamic of cravings is shifting as i've added greens to my diet; i'd like to get a handle on it.  Day before yesterday, i only wanted GS for bkfst AND for lunch, but by dinnertime i could (and pretty much did) eat a horse.  Yesterday was thanksgiving at in-laws', so it was off the charts anyway; today i did good in the AM but didn't plan lunch so got starving and blew it with the pizza.  Hoping tomorrow will be better!

I did cook sweet potatoes that i ended up not eating... anyone ever put that into a smoothie?

oh blender! i'm just using a smoothie maker for now because it's what i have; when it blows up i'm hoping to get a blendtec or VM.. have read the comparisons with interest!  wish the secondhand prices were better... how does one know when sam's will be having the demos with the extended warranties?

Hi Dawn, It sounds like you are on your way to better health. Good for you for taking control and making changes to improve your life. So many people are in the same boat as you - it's not easy to make such changes in our diets.

I never heard of sweet potatoes in a smoothie but I'm sure someone has done it 

Just keep going at it a little at a time - one day at a time, you will see a change. Keep that smoothie maker running, it will give you lots of love.

Way to go Dawn. I've not been drinking my green smoothies for a little while and boy do I feel it. This Thanksgiving was a great reminder to get back on and feel good again. It is so worth it to drink those green smoothies.

Welcome Dawn,

As mentioned, you are not alone; so many of us grew up on meals that were not very nutritious and that's the way we've learned to eat. It sounds like you are forging ahead to better health by leaps and bounds by making different decisions about what you eat - that is fantastic!

It's too hard, and not very realistic for most to make a radical change all at once with their diet. Keep on making the positive changes and stick with it. You will feel the results. As long as that blender keeps turning and you are drinking your greens then it's a wonderful blender.

Let us know if you have any questions and tell us how this progress for you.