Pears Healing Power – Super Seasonal Smoothie

This is the season for fresh pears and bountiful fall harvest of many other healthy fruits and vegetables. Pears are one of those fall harvest fruits that have so many health benefits to help us maintain a healthy and fulfilled life. For healthy and green living utilizing nature harvest is economical, so practical, and most of all does the body so much good!

Now that summer is over and the kids are back to school its time to take a deep breath and enjoy some cooler weather. Instead of mourning the lost of summer fun think about the fall and wonderful bounty of food, football games, enjoying the sunshine without all the humidity, and taking walks in the park or woods, gathering leaves, and most of all the beauty of the enchanting wonderland of color that Nature provides us.

Health Benefits of Pears:

• Pears have about 4-5  grams of fiber which is more than you get in a serving of common sense oat bran cereal or even a bran muffin. The high fiber content also tends to help you eat less because it helps you feel fuller longer and it also helps to satisfy sweet carvings.
• Pears help fight diabetes with their high fiber content and are a wonderful healthy snack for someone with diabetes because their low in carbohydrates and calories. Filled with insoluble fiber that is very effective for lowering cholesterol — called lignin that acts like Velcro and in the intestines trapping cholesterol.
• Pears also have a soluble fiber called pectin that dissolves in the intestines forming a sticky gel-like coating. It also binds the cholesterol and help remove it through the stool.
• Pears are bone food. They contain a mineral “Boron” that help prevent loss of calcium in postmenopausal women and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
• Pears are good for the brain — according to the US Dept of Agriculture what is good for the bones is good for the brain and to their research people who are low in boron do not preform as well as when they had higher amounts of boron. When individuals were given boron their reflexes and mental alertness improved.
• Pears help fight inflammation with their high level of phenols.
• Pears contain antioxidants and a high level of phytonutrients called flavonols.  These antioxidants help fight and prevent disease that helps to keep you healthy.
• Pears contain the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, and the vitamins C, E, K, folate, beta-carotene, lutein, choline and retinol.

It is important that you eat the skin or flesh of the pear. By eating the skin you’ll get the full complement of fiber and other nutrients.

I would like to share a recipe that is not only healthy but will support the liver, helps fat soluble toxins leave the body, is low calorie,  has great metabolism-boosting powers and will help assist in weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight in a refreshing way.

Green Tea Pear Smoothie:

• 3 cups  chopped very ripe pear with the skin
• 1- 1/2 Cup Green tea, chilled
• 1 cup chia gel (check out below for directions to make chia gel)
• 1 tsp wheatgrass powder
• Sweeten to taste – I prefer a few drops of liquid stevia

Directions: Blend the first 4 ingredients together until smooth, but do not over blend. Taste and add the desired amount of stevia.

 Chia Gel:

To make chia gel mix together 2 cups of water and 4 tablespoons chia seeds. Let stand for 15 minutes, then mix again, let stand for another 15 minutes to allow the seeds to swell to  maximum capacity. Refrigerated the chia gel it will last for 1 week. Makes about 2 -1/2 cups .

Chia gel is a smart way to increase thickness, lower calories, and boost the superfood content of smoothies.

When I think of pears I think of my childhood and a pear tree that still stands in my Mother’s yard. It is a Bartlett pear tree that produces loads of pears for over 40 years and is still loaded with pears this year. This pear tree has been hit by lightning at least 5 times throughout the years, but still comes back every year to product a bounty of delicious and nutritious pears that my family, myself included looked so forward to eating every fall. My mother canned many jars of pears to preserve them for winter time and still does. She had never sprayed it with any kind of pesticide or herbicide but yet the pears have never had worms of bugs in them. If this tree can survive through all the years and still produce a healthy, organic and delicious fruit without any help from man I truly believe Nature is whispering a message to us, don’t you?

So this season enjoy fresh, organic or local harvest pears and reap the health benefits that Nature provides for you or use them in your favorite recipes. While you’re at it take a walk and enjoy the beauty of nature at its best.

Live Organic, Live Green, Live Natural, Live Healthy, Live Long!

Other Sources: The Doctors Book of Food Remedies Author: Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention Health Books

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About the author

Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!