From the encouragement of my wife, Debra, who is reading Wheat Belly, about a month ago I added raw kale to my vegan breakfast smoothie recipe. I wanted to wait to write about it until I decided it was a permanent ingredient of my recipe. As this article points out, Kale is chock full of nutrients. It is also pretty filling, adding more heft to my smoothie. It alters the taste - making the smoothie a little less delicious but it is very delicious still. For the recipe, I use a healthy portion of the stalk and "floret" or whatever the leafy part is called.

I'm also proud to report that Debra has created an alternative to the chocolate milk breakfast that our son craves. She uses chocolate almond milk, vegan protein, raw kale, and some strawberries and blueberries. He loves it and cannot tell the difference. And it gives him a tremendous amount more fuel than chocolate milk would - without all of the sugars. I find it humorous that the chocolate milk ads are trying to associate themselves with athletes. Marketing at its best, I guess.

By the way, speaking of kid's food, my good friend Bryan Eisenberg sent me this stirring article from The New York Times Magazine, The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. My prediction is that this secret meeting will come back to haunt the food companies in the form of legislation similar to that imposed on the cigarette companies. I'm all for freedom but altering foods where they reach their maximum addiction point is bad for all of us - from a medical cost and quality of life standpoint. Not everyone is so educated on nutrition in this country, and that is where the government has stepped in to help regulate what perhaps you may look at as citizen stupidity (I look at it as citizen ignorance - and there is a big difference between the two).

BTW, as a friend I'm really impressed with how much Bryan has transformed his diet and health. I'm happy for him - few people have his amount of will power. As Rip Esselstyn says, "real men eat plants because they want to live a long time for their family". Not that diet makes sure that will happen, but it certainly puts the odds in your favor. And you will live a better life while you are alive - you'll feel better from a digestive standpoint, be less irritable, and have more energy.

As always, I would love your ideas to make my smoothie recipe even better!