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[madhatter]

Green Machine juice blend (Naked) with superfoods (green stuff) is yummy.  Expensive and high calorie, but yummy.  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1605127/naked_green_machine_all_natural_superfood.html

I haven't done the nutritional content label check, but did I mention?  It's yummy.

Of course it's yummy. It has as much sugar in it as Coke. Note that a "serving size" is 8 oz or half a bottle. If you drink the whole bottle, you're getting 260 calories and 50 (!) grams of sugar. Also a lot of zinc and vitamin A. But if you really need zinc and vitamin A that badly, take a supplement and avoid all that sugar.

[bread_pirate_naan]

Green Machine juice blend (Naked) with superfoods (green stuff) is yummy.  Expensive and high calorie, but yummy.  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1605127/naked_green_machine_all_natural_superfood.html

I haven't done the nutritional content label check, but did I mention?  It's yummy.

Of course it's yummy. It has as much sugar in it as Coke. Note that a "serving size" is 8 oz or half a bottle. If you drink the whole bottle, you're getting 260 calories and 50 (!) grams of sugar. Also a lot of zinc and vitamin A. But if you really need zinc and vitamin A that badly, take a supplement and avoid all that sugar.

I try not to spend my money on smoothies, but that one is the best.

[punchnpie]

Green smoothie - greens (your choice lettuce, parsley, celery, spinach, whatever), carrots, apple or banana (or both if sugar isn't an issue for you), maybe a dash of water, soy, or almond milk in the bottom of the blender. Good for you, low carb if you don't use a bunch of bananas, filling, good for you, cheap, tasty, and the greens provide protein for veg*ns.

Fruit smoothie - soy or almond milk (vanilla flavor is good for this), frozen fruit of your choice, pack of splenda, dash of honey or agave, or sugar depending on your needs. Fewer calories, way less sugar and carbs, especially if you use low glycemic fruits.

Chocolate smoothie - soy or almond milk (again, vanilla flavor is good here), 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of cocoa powder, frozen banana (whole or half), dash of something sweet or sugar substitute. This is a delight. You don't taste the banana, it's there to give it body.

What gets me is that many of the prepared milk shakes and smoothies have sodium (why?) and way more sugar than they need, resulting in many more calories than in the homemade version. When you are using the real fruit, you don't need a lot of sugar. I can't think of the last time I had a store-bought smoothie. Even for those without sugar issues, the calories in the store-bought versions are killer. People often don't realize how many calories they're drinking and think it's 'healthy' because the drink has fruit in it.

btw - I misspelled 'calories' and spell check recommended 'calamari.' I knew a person with a similar name back in prep school, and had forgotten all about her. Suddenly her whole name came back to me and I looked her up. Let's just say she's moving in a much different world than I am. Way higher tax bracket, for sure and probably not making her own smoothies.

[bread_pirate_naan]

Has anyone here ever taken spirulina? I've been reading about it and am curious about what others have experienced. I am a vegetarian, so I'm interested in its protein properties as well as as a rich source of B vitamins.

Spirulina is expensive.

<back from a little looking around>

The B vitamins are understood to be inactive(not bioavailable) or come from contamination from open pond cultivation.  Wheatgrass is very high in clean protein.  I have a taste for wheatgrass, but it is not so widely available and should be juiced fresh. 

[msparticularity]

I realize this may be anathema to the truly healthy, but I do smoothies with cold-pressed coffee concentrate, unsweetened vanilla soy milk, cocoa powder, a touch of agave nectar, and a couple of scoops of hemp protein powder. I'm on a very low-carb diet due to a family history of Type II diabetes and some personal tendency toward reactive hypoglycemia, so picking up some fiber to go with my protein is a lovely thing for me. Also, although the result is a bit gritty, I really like the taste of the coffee and cocoa with the soy milk.

[bookishone]

[Reviving this thread for a question]

We all take fish oil in my family -- all generations -- because our doctors have recommended it for its demonstrated/suggested benefits for the cardiovascular system, joints, mental health, skin, and migraines. Because my kids also take it I want to make sure it's good stuff: pure and fresh, mostly. They have been taking Nordic Naturals (available through amazon but not subscribe-and-save). Spouse and I and our parents take whatever is on sale at CVS. Used to buy elsewhere when on sale but have had problems with burst capsules and rancid oil. CVS however seems to have pretty good reliability in keeping the capsules fresh and whole during transport/storage.

I recently discovered that amazon has a "subscribe and save" function that allows me to get my magnesium supplements (prescribed by neurologist for migraine) regularly at 15% off. Great! I think and head off to see if they offer fish oil through a similar program, then go online to check out the brands they offer. Well over an hour later I am totally confused now about what I should be buying. There's all kinds of supposed information online about what certifications fish oils should have, how it should or should not be distilled/purified, etc. such as:

Does it matter if the molecular distillation process leaves it with ethyl esthers instead of triglycerides (supposedly EE fish oils are banned in Canada -- is this true? All the articles online saying this seem to be those recycled "content" type articles instead of from real sources).

Does it matter if you freeze your fish oil? (I freeze mine so it doesn't upset my stomach). One website was claiming it is not as effective if frozen.

Is it true that some fish oil producers make theirs "enteric coated" not so it's less obtrusive to digest but because their oil is not fresh?

Some fish oils contain soy, maybe as a preservative? A reviewer on amazon (yes, I know, fabulously authoritative source) prefers another brand that does not contain soy. Why would soy be bad?

Does it matter what kind of fish the fish oil is made from?

All kinds of producers -- Nordic Naturals, Barleans, Carlsons, Xtend Life, NutraOrigin -- claim their fish oil is the best and most cost-effective (concentrated, because I can't take a lot) and my head is spinning. It seems difficult to find a reputable comparison online, though I recall that a few years ago Consumer Reports said that most fish oils sold do meet basic standards for purity (mercury, PCBs I think).

For now I will stick with what we've been doing, but it would be great if any forumites with actual knowledge in the area could clear some of this up. Is it possible to identify a "best" fish oil supplement: reputable, reliable, pure, fresh, and potent?

[bookishone]

Oh yes, and what is the optimal basic ratio/dose of DHA/EPA? That also seems to differ from brand to brand.

[madhatter]

Because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, you have no idea what is actually in them, how much, etc.

[dr_prephd]

I take a women's multivitamin, a B-complex vitamin (the happy vitamin), fish oil (for cholesterol), and vitamin C for my immune system. But I'm now considering adding some extra D because of what I've been reading recently: that more folks should take more (1,000 to 2,000 IUs) of Vitamin D because it's been implicated in helping the immune system. Sorry for not providing links.

[ursula]

Spousal Unit and I take a multivitamin every day while school is on, and  a Vitamin D daily from Thanksgiving to Easter.  It seems to be working as far as day-to-day health is concerned, as we haven't had anything that developed beyond a sniffle since starting this regimen.

I've been wondering about B vitamins and fish oil, though.