I owned 'Juicing for Life' long before buying this book. I liked that one, so I bought the smoothie book when it came out. As a believer in the power of juice consumption, I found this book to be an excellent reader also. This is more than another 'fun' smoothie book for those looking for entertainment. It's broken down by chapters into "Energizers", "Power Makers", "Calorie Burners", "Immunizers", etc., in its 11 chapters of recipes. Specific ingredients for specific goals. The explanations of ingredients needs are excellent, as they were in her juicing book. One caveat: don't expect all the recipes in this book to be low-cal, as they aren't. Tahini and peanut butter are two common ingredients. That may or may not be important to the reader.Another caveat: depending on where the reader lives, some of the ingredients may be difficult or impossible to buy in smaller areas. E.G. flaxseed and other uncommon oils, algae, and a number of vitamin powders. For those who want health information as well as smoothie recipes this makes an excellent book for reading, and deciding applicability to one's own health goals. Smoothies for Life! Yummy, Fun, and Nutritious!
I'm a big smoothie fan, and make them often, so I did not think that a book could teach me much, but this little volume has brought new creativity to smoothie-making. It also contains loads of information about the nutritional and health benefits of fruits and other smoothie ingredients. And it hardly limits the options--everything from strawberries to granola to algae makes its fun and healthy way into these smoothies. The authors divide the book into sections for special interests, such as athletics, immunity, etc., which is also helpful if you have a specific objective in mind for your next smoothie.
My complaint about this book is the comparative value of fat/carbs/protein in just about all of the recipes in this book. I'm a big fan of breakfast smoothies, but I make sure that it always has around 25-35 grams of protein in it. Some of these recipes call for adding a scoop of protein powder into the mix, which will get you to that 25-35 grams, however just about every smoothie calls for so much fruit, that your carb count is upwards of 80-120 grams of carbs...in one meal!! Holy crap. I know you should get 5 servings of fruit a day, but not all in one serving. The sugar rush that I would get if my breakfast had upwards of 100 grams of carbs would be absurd.
I wish there were more recipes that gave a more balanced and delicious approach - like say something simple like a cup of milk, 40 grams of carbs from whatever fruit, be it a half a banana and 20 grams of blueberries, 20 grams of peaches and 20 grams of...oh I don't know, figs...then protein powder, and to get some fat in there, either peanut butter, or almonds or flax. This book contains nothing like that.
How is there even a chapter for athletes (protein-based), yet all of the recipes are carb overload?
The smoothies are delicious, nutritious, and easy to make. I love the way the book is organized by desired benefits (there are smoothies for stress reduction, weight loss, energy, athlete's needs, healthy skin, and more.) The authors, Daniella and Maureen ROCK!
I was so impressed with the recipes in this book! They taste wonderful, they're easy to make, and it's the perfect way to make a quick tasty snack that is healthy and good. I also appreciated the fact that you could adjust the recipes to fit your needs and tastes. Five Stars!
`Smoothies for Life' by nutritionists, Daniella Chace and Maureen B. Keane is one of those books you dread when you pick up a book on food which claims to present an important nutritional point of view. As the book was written and published in 1999, there is a good chance that some of the nutritional information may be a bit out of date. I am not an expert on nutrition, but I sensed that the book did not give as much emphasis to blueberries as an ingredient as you will see in current books. And, I was just a little suspicious of the totally negative slant given to whole milk, due to its saturated butter fat. From my view of nutrition from the outside looking in, I sense that butterfat may have made something of a recovery in reputation over the last few years, with the demonization of transfats in butter substitutes.
The thing which dismayed me the most about the book was the heavy reliance on health store speciality ingredients such as vitamin C power, brewer's yeast, flaxseed oil, protein powder, and liquid herbal supplement. A lesser dismay was the discovery of a few misspelled words.
My suspicion of the purported mojo obtained from brewer's yeast and protein powder is entirely personal and I point that out only because I suspect there may be others who are turned off by any recipe which requires a trip to some speciality store.
The other side of the coin is the fact that this book has great value if you are especially fond of smoothies. I was pleased, for example, to see the warning about giving honey as an ingredient in smoothies to children under the age of two. This is probably almost as important as good sanitation practices with chicken and eggs, yet I have never seen this warning outside of a book all about honey. On the other hand, I suggest you take the authors' recommendations about the value of herbs with a grain of salt. I suspect the pharmaceutical efficacy of many herbs may have been a bit inflated 10 years ago. Most modern research detects not much more than placebo effects.
If, like me, all you really wanted was a few good recipes for smoothies, try the appropriate volume from `Better Homes and Gardens'. If, however, you already make regular trips to you local GNC, then this may be the book for you!
This book is perfect! Whether I'm feeling down, feeling as if I may be getting a cold, looking for a healthy snack, or just looking to boost my libido, this book is absolutely perfect. It's well organized into catagories so I can pick which smoothie would be right for me. (Plus the recipes are great too!) - Health - Healthy Eating - Daniella Chace - Fruits'
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