Vitality 4 Life's collection of easy and super nutritious green smoothie recipes. These green smoothie recipes have come from our customers, our staff and are also based off the knowledge and principles of leading natural health experts like Dr. Norman Walker and the documented "founder" of green smoothies Victoria Boutenko.

A green smoothie has some amazing health benefits and is such a fantastic way to get a big dose of green vegetables into your diet everyday quickly and easily. Packed full of fibre, folate, iron, maganese and potassium, a green smoothie is like a super charged nutrient injection for your body.

Green smoothies have gained popularity in recent years, with celebrities and high profile dietitians taking a particular liking to the green smoothie. Green smoothies are used as part of detox programs and weight loss programs worldwide and those that consume green smoothies daily swear by their increased energy, effortless weight loss, glowing skin and resilient immune system.

We know that green smoothies can be a daunting thought for those who are just starting out. Some of you may have had an unpleasant experience with a chunky "green smoothie" which literally tasted like grass. We are here to prove that a green smoothie can be both super healthy and super delicious. It's great to start out with green smoothies which are a little easier on the taste buds and work your way up to the more hard core super green veggie smoothies. Usually for beginners, simply adding more fruit to a green smoothie will make it sweeter and more palatable. This article is compiled of our top 10 favourite green smoothie recipes so is a mixture of green smoothie recipes for beginners and super green smoothies.

First and foremost, if you are attempting to start making green smoothies, you will need a blender which can handle the fibrous

Since the introduction of the Nutribullet, which has taken the kitchen appliance category by storm, there has been a flood of like-for-like copycat blenders emerge on the market. They come in vastly different price ranges, promising different nutritional benefits and are heavily marketed online, on TV and in-store. With so many models, which one is best?

The leading consumer authority in Australia, Choice, tested single-serve blenders otherwise known as 'bullet blenders' and found the following three brands to be rated as best of category: Nutribullet Pro 900, Trent & Steele TS200 Nutritional Blender and the Vitamix S30 Personal Blender. BioChef, Vitality 4 Life's own kitchen appliance range has released it's own bullet blender, called the NutriBoost Bullet Blender, so we thought we would compare the Choice rated, best bullet blenders on the market against this newest model.

Compare Best Bullet Blenders:

Which is the Best Bullet Blender for Me?

I want the best value bullet blender...

The BioChef NutriBoost Blender is by far the best value for money blender from the above comparison.

Coming in at $99 and with the power to match the most expensive models plus a 2 year warranty, the BioChef NutriBoost

Vacuum Blenders - Sucking the life back into your blended foods

Vacuum Blenders are relatively new and Vitality 4 Life have been researching this new technology for quite some time. We've rejected many models and worked with designers and suppliers to get the mix right.

To explain a little more, it 'sucks' when you spend time creating the perfect smoothie... thick, colourful, tasty and full of nutrients and by the time kids are called they are faced with an unappetising, watery drink, with brown froth on top? Solve the problem with our vacuum blenders such as the BioChef Astro Vacuum Blender, BioChef Aurora Vacuum Blender and Soup Maker or the BoChef Apollo Vacuum Blender.

Oxygen IS life however oxidation of your blended foods does tend to take, not only the fun, but the life, nutrients, flavour and taste out. Vacuum Blenders suck the life back in to your blended foods and keep it there until YOU are ready to use it.

What is Vacuum Technology?

Vacuum technology in the blending industry is still fairly new. For supermarkets and other food retailers it has been an essential part of food storage since the 1940’s. Vacuum sealed packaging and canning processes helped keep our food fresher for longer and now you can use that technology to prolong the shelf life of your soups, sauces, smoothies, nut butters a

A smoothie is a wonderful way to start the day. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but if you don't have time in the morning, these quick and easy smoothie recipes are packed full of nutrients and fibre to set you up for the day ahead.

All you need to do is throw all the ingredients in your favourite blender and blend away until smooth. For best results, we recommend the NEW high powered Bio Chef Blender.

Berry Blast

Dairy free avocado smoothie

Keep It Simple banana smoothie

In a nutshell YES it is a perfect kitchen pair to have a juicer and a blender. People are becoming more and more discerning about what they eat and how they can get the best nutrient filled drink or meal for their healthy body buck. The high powered BioChef blenders and cold press BioChef juicers offer different ways for the body to ingest healthy nutrients, enzymes and just plain deliciousness. Put simply the blender will retain the fibre and the juicer will give you a quicker nutrient blast that can be absorbed more easily. Both a juicer and a blender are important for different reasons but together they are unstoppable.

What does a cold press Oscar or BioChef juicer do?

Cold pressed juicers are masticating cold pressed juice extractors that also double as a living food kitchen appliance. The horizontal style auger design crushes almost any type of vegetables and fruits including leafy greens (kale, wheatgrass, herbs, aloe). The crushing and squeezing action mimics our own chewing action by correctly breaking open the cell wall, releasing the nutrients and organic water content while expelling the insoluble fibre.

Without all this indigestible fibre, your body doesn't have to work as hard to break down the vegetables and fruits. Cold pressed vegetable juices deliver nutrients into our bloodstream quickly and in a bio-available form. Juices are included in almost all types of healing and detoxification programs. The cold press juicer is named so

Learn about quinoa benefits for you health, our favourite quinoa recipes and what quinoa actually is and where it comes from.

Quinoa is a very "on-trend" superfood with sales of the ancient grain sky rocketing in recent years as celebrities, nutritionists and influential personalities around the world catch onto this powerful protein-rich superfood. As well as being adorned with the ever-popular "superfood" badge, quinoa is also gluten-free meaning it has gained extra popularity from the ever growing amount of consumers who are avoiding gluten and looking for alternatives.

What is Quinoa?

Pronounced "keen-wah"; the quinoa as we know and eat it, is actually the seed of the quinoa grain crop much to popular belief that it is a grain. Quinoa is a dark, leafy green plant with purple or green flowers arising from the top, which contain the seeds. There are 3 types of quinoa:

• White Quinoa
• Red Quinoa
• Black Quinoa

Quinoa has formed part of the staple diet for many South American countries such as Chile, Bolivia, Columbia and Equador. And to this day, most of the commercial production of quinoa has remained largely in South America as the plant thrives in those climates. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 the "International Year of Quinoa" to recognize the efforts of the Andean people in preserving quinoa as a source of food for generations to come and to highlight the pivotal role quinoa can play in providing food security and nutrition for poverty globally.

Quinoa Benefits

• Quinoa is a protein-rich superfoodand contains all 9 essential amino acids – including lysine and isoleucine
• Quinoa is high in dietary fibre and is a low-GI, slowly digested carbohydrate
• Quinoa contains

Bliss in a Hemp Seed Ball

When we think of hemp we think of getting high but is hemp the same as marijuana? In a nutshell, no, they are simply both part of the cannabis family. Using delicious hemp seeds in these delicious hemp seed bliss ball recipes you will get high on the delicious taste and natural health benefits of this special seed.

The Chinese knew that hemp seeds were healthy and used them as medicine for thousands of years particularly for mental illness related issues. Hemp seeds are rich in healthy fats and essential fatty acids and are a great source of protein, vitamin E, potassium, sodium and magnesium. A true superfood worthy of the name.

Hemp seeds are good for your hearth as they are a great source of arginine (a basic amino acid and essential nutrient in our diet) and gamma-linolenic acid (a fatty substance found in various plant seed oils). With a ratio of 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 hemp seeds are rich in healthy fats which may help with skin diseases providing relief from uncomfortable symptoms.

Hemp seeds are complete source of protein as it makes up 25% of the calories and contain all the essential amino acids.

Let's face it women don't feel very high when it is that time of the month. Hemp seeds may reduce symptoms associated with PMS and menopause, thanks to

Is there such a thing as a ‘best blender’?

Vitality 4 Life believes it is neither a myth or a reality. It is simply that the ‘best blender’ is the one that suits your personal needs, what you want to make and your budget. Don’t know how to choose? We are here to help. Whether you are daily blender user or weekly, are dedicated to healthy living or you simply want to make fast, simple, healthy soups and smoothies Vitality 4 Life are here to help you make the right choice.

Vitality 4 Life have listened to our customers and taken that feedback back to the manufacturers to help create superior products. We have had the opportunity to test many models of blenders (personal, vacuum, high performance, heating, etc) to help you choose a best blender that suits your personal needs.

Let’s start with the basics...

What is a blender?

Simply put, a blender is used to grind and mix. It has a high bowl that has an average capacity of 1 to 2 litres. Compared with a classic mixer (plunge mixer type) it is much more powerful and allows you to get smoother textures. There are vacuum blenders that will considerably reduce oxidation of your food for a longer shelf life and that heat your soup as you blend.

Mostly the engine is located below the bowl, turning blades that will grind the food. Some heated blenders have the motor above and below

The BioChef Living Food Blender is by far one of our most exciting products to date, and we truly believe that this product will surpass blender standards globally by giving customer access to the very latest technology without the exuberant price tag. This BioChef Living Food Blender Review will outline the reasons why the BioChef Living Blender is the easiest blender to use and operate in the world.

One of the main priorities of a blender is to essentially speed up the process of crushing, grinding or chopping your produce. We all want a blender which will save us time and which should help you create smoothies, juices, soups etc easily and quickly. There are specific features of blenders which make some easier and quicker to use than others.

Touch Screen Controls & Preset Functions

Generally the controls of a blender are an indication of how simple the machine is to use. A machine which has limited to no controls means that the blending will stay at the same speed throughout and will result in uneven consistency and varying results. Also it will mean that the process is completely reliant on your judgement and you will have to watch over the blender for the processing time, meaning you can't do other things in the kitchen while this is happening.

We have heard time and time again of customers who love the theatre of a blender demonstration and if your in the market for a high powered blender you will have seen them. However when they get the product home, whipping up the demonstrated recipes just isn't that easy. Customers become disappointed with their new appliance and it sits in the bottom cupboard and gathers dust. The BioChef Living Food Blender

There are many raw foods and supplements out there that are flavonoid rich and can help increase blood flow around the body. Our resident Naturopath, Rick Hay, talks about how to naturally alleviate poor circulation.

Foods to help boost slow circulation...

Spices such as turmeric, ginger, cayenne and chilli are all excellent for circulation and have been used extensively in Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal medicine for this purpose. Current research is revealing that these spices work on both stimulating circulation and helping the lymphatic system remove toxins. They have high levels of antioxidants, which as well as fighting free radical damage; provide cardiovascular benefits by helping to keep the blood thin. They are also full of biochemical powerhouses, such as the curcuminoids in turmeric, which have been shown to have positive anti-carcinogenic properties.

Research has shown that the herb Ginkgo Biloba helps with circulation - not only to the extremities but also to the brain - so you can have great legs and a terrific memory courtesy of the flavonoids contained within this medicinal plant!

Fresh fruit and vegie juices with a hint of ginger are also recommended as these rawfoods provide the body with enzymes that help with circulation and cleansing. Spirulina Capsules is a great protein based supplement that can help with circulation and detox - a healthier liver leads to better circulation and spirulina can help your liver cleanse due to the high levels of chlorophyll it contains.

Many women feel the heat and hormones in their lower legs; knees, ankles & feet, experiencing discomfort and puffiness…

Dandelion Tea is fantastic for this problem as it is an excellent diuretic and helps to remove excess water and any fluid build-up in the body. Research, both in complementary and orthodox medicine, has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of adding onions

Basil is an excellent source of Vitamin A, Iron and Magnesium, which promotes cardiovascular health and has great anit-oxidant capabilities. This pesto, made with a Cold Press Juicer, or will unlock all these health benefits without destroying any of the living enzymes and nutrients.

Ingredients:

Feed the basil, parsley, garlic and pine nuts through the Oscar using the mincing function. Mix the oil and lemon juice into the paste until smooth. Spice with Braggs.

*Alternatively, place all ingredients in your BioChef Blender and blend to your desired consistency. Most of the blenders have a dedicated Smoothie mode. If you have a vacuum blender with a storage container, store the vacuumed smoothie for a longer shelf life.

The comprehensive article you must read before you buy - understand which machine is right for you: cold press juicer vs high performance blender vs bullet blender.

All three types of machines have had their moment in the spotlight recently, from juice detoxes to green smoothies, "nutriblasts" and everything in between, these kitchen wonders promise not only to help you in the kitchen but to also improve your health and well being. But which is best? And is it all marketing hype? Vitality 4 Life as one of the early pioneers of juicing and blending breaks it down for you, so you can be sure you are selecting the right machine for your needs.

We have compiled information from leading experts in health and wellness from around the world to bring you the most extensive 'juicing vs blending' comparison article yet.

Juicers
Blenders
Bullets
Compare: Juicers vs Blenders

Juicers & Juicing

Not all juicers are created equal...

First and foremost, there are many different types of juicers on the market and not all are created equal. There are the most commonly found centrifugal juicers, masticating juicers, cold press or slow juicers in both the single and twin gear composition, manual and hydraulic press juicers.

The most important thing to know from the above juicers, is the difference between centrifugal juicers and the other remaining types of machines. A centrifugal juicer using high speed blades to pulverize produce, which is then passed through a super fine sieve in order to extract the juice from produce. All of the other machines utilize a slow mechanism which crushes, similar to the teeth inside your mouth and then they squeeze the juice from produce.

Blades in a centrifugal juicer rotate