Green Smoothies Diet: The Natural Program for Extraordinary Health [Paperback]

I was very much looking forward to receiving what I thought would be a comprehensive book of green smoothie recipes. Imagine my disappointment to find all of 30 pages of recipes in what amounts to a 226 page Blendtec blender informercial. Do I feel duped. There are two blenders on the market powerful enough to handle these types of smoothies on a regular basis. Both are described in the following Cooks Illustrated Review and are both up to the task of making these smoothies. I'm sure there are pros and cons to each. ([...]). This book, however, is little more than an informercial for one of the two blenders - the Blendtech Total Blender, while devoting a page to how terrible she considers the other blender (a Vita-Mix) to be. This author throws in the word Blendtech on page after page after page, sometimes throwing in Blendtech Total Blender just in case you forget the full name, singing its praises throughout, and even including a testimonial on the very last page that just happens to praise the Blendtech blender. I lost count of how many times she says Blendtech and stopped counting after a while. Oh, and she nonchalantly mentions that if you purchase the blender on the link through her website, you'll get a free gift. Does she get a commission from Blendtech if the blenders are purchased through her website, by any chance? I'd like to know. If you want to sell a book on green smoothies, fabulous, we can all use more greens in our diet. But if you're trying to hawk a product (in this case a blender) on the unwitting consumer, then have the decency to be upfront about it. I have never seen such egregious product placement ever, much less in a book. I just spent [...] on a 226 page commercial. Save your money.

Although this book does contain some useful information, it has a constant underlying thread of salesmanship. It constantly hints that you should go to Robyn Openshaw's website and buy a Blendtec blender(after a lot of research I went with the VitaMix 5200 myself).

She also seems to have an almost catty dislike of Victoria Boutenko the author of Green For Life. After reading Ms Boutenko's book I have to say she has far more quoted and referenced scientific research, and has obviously spent a lot of time backing up her conclusions with fact.

Although both books say essentially the same things. I personally can do without the sales pitch, evangelical bylines, and resentful snipes that appear in Ms Openshaw's book.

I so appreciated the author's approach. She isn't a fanatic who insists that you must follow an instant 12 step program. Miss one and you are toast. Her approach promotes a simple first step, which is so easy, anyone can do it. Most people don't stick to any health regime for long, because the plan is too spartan, or too difficult and time consuming to manage. The simple and easy Green Smoothie habit is not only extremely healthful, but so easy and time efficient. And doing that one good thing for your body opens the door to wanting to do other good things. That is the real beauty of this book for me. I find the book to be full of useful information which she has shared with easy links to other internet sites for more detailed information. ( I did watch the video on colon health!) And for those wanting more.... her website is full of specific topics which are thoroughly researched and easy to understand. As to the complaint in one review about the book seeming like a blender advertisement...... I don't have the top brand blender, but I know exactly what Robyn is talking about. I suffered and finally gave up on Smoothies before I had a good blender. She is only being honest about the quality of most blenders out there and realistic about Smoothie success. If Robyn didn't make the blender issue so prominent, most people would be totally frustrated at home, trying to use the wrong tool for the job and finally giving up. I just hope that all will try it, regardless of the type of blender they have, and realize the benefits first. The blender recommendations will then be much appreciated. The only part of the book I haven't delved into is the recipes section. I like the simple, and have my own Smoothie recipe that works for me. I wouldn't want anyone to thumb through the recipe section and get scared away by the vast array of possible ingredients. That is a plus, but could be overwhelming to a new-comer. Bottom line, Robyn doesn't make you feel like a loser, with all your bad habits. She encourages progress by this one amazing step, and knows that it will lead to good things.