Is Pinterest high-jacking our taste buds?

I read a lot of food blogs and I regularly pin other bloggers’ gorgeous food photos. (If you are not yet addicted to Pinterest then you probably should thank the God of Wasted Time and back away from the Pin). But I digress.

I found stunning photos of Rainbow colored smoothies. Colorful fruits and vegetables should be a part of your diet every day so I am in no way discounting their importance. But are we posting photos of beautiful foods just to get pinned? Are we letting Pinterest high-jack our taste buds for the allure of the perfect photo?

 Apparently, green smoothies are all the rage because there were a thousand pictures of green smoothies promising Clearer skin, better Sex, INSTANT weight loss, DeTox, essentially NIRVANA in a glass. I picked an almond, kale, pear, ginger and lemon extravaganza. I think it promised to give me X-ray vision.

I gathered the ingredients to make my smoothie: fresh kale, almonds, organic pears, ginger root and a lemon. I plugged in my Vitamix, washed the produce and began to chop. My senses were engaged. I was hungry and I started to salivate. The kale was crisp and succulent. The pear was perfectly ripe. The lemon smelled like sunshine and I got a devine whiff of the pungent wizened piece of ginger.

I was in love with my ingredients and then it hit me. Why am I going to whirl these lovely pieces of sunshine into a glop of green liquid? Why are we promoting green smoothies? Is it because green is the new color of detox or because it looks great in photos? I love green leafy veggies but if I didn’t like them, then forcing me to drink florescent green smoothies would never entice me to change my mind. And for those of us who already know the health benefits of greens what’s the point of drinking greens?

Making a green smoothie takes the same amount of time as making a salad. I ask my patients not to drink calories and here I was making a liquid salad. How ridiculous is that?
Eat the salad people. Assemble your smoothie ingredients on a plate, grate a dash of ginger, splash with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and voila, its a magically delicious smoothie salad. I guarantee that it will satisfy you longer, it will give your teeth something to do, and salads are beautiful in their own right.

And bonus, there’s no glop in the bottom of the glass that might occasionally make a girl gag.

I know you greenies know what I’m talking about.

Don’t even get me started about beet smoothies. Beautiful to photograph but arrrgh, I hate beet smoothies (dirt flavors in a glass) even though I love beets in a salad. You decide for yourself. Green glop in a glass or an almond, kale, pear, lemon, ginger salad? Stay tuned for future rants about detox. Eat your greens. They provide vitamin K and C, antioxidants, fiber and maybe Weight lose, better Sex, clearer Skin, and SUPER human POWERS. Hello X-ray vision!

Take what you need and savor every bite.