Juicing vs Smoothies
What’s the best way to enjoy fresh fruit and veg? Have you thought about whether juicing offers more health benefits than smoothies?
Juicing has become very popular and I get this question all the time: ‘Is it good to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice every day?’
Well, you have to understand the pro’s and con’s.
Juicing extracts all the solids from the fruit/veg. This means that you get very concentrated vitamins and minerals, as well as very concentrated fruit sugars. Most of the fibre is removed when you juice, and this is a big drawback because fibre is super-fantastic for your gut, and it also slows down absorption of sugar. Without fibre, the sugars in your juice go straight to your liver where they are converted to fat.
So, what about smoothies?
Smoothies are better because you get the whole fruit or vegetable, including the wonderful fibre. But, your blender has done a lot of work for you… by converting the fruit into a liquid form. This means, you do not have to chew or break down the fruit before it is absorbed. Sure… this means you absorb the nutrients quickly and easily, but it also means you can drink those calories without much thought or effort. Smoothies remove ‘digestive effort’, which means you don’t really burn any calories in digesting and absorbing your smoothie.
The BEST way to enjoy fruit and veg is as nature intended – whole. If the fruit has edible skin, you should eat this too because fruit skins are usually packed with fibre, healthful phytochemicals and minerals. Your digestive system has to do some work when you eat fruit and veg, which is a good thing – you actually burn calories when you eat and digest!
Although I do suggest that you enjoy whole fruit and veg in preference to blended smoothies, I do love a good smoothie.
Here are a few of my favourite combinations:
Tropical breeze:
Frozen pineapple cubes x ¼ cup
Frozen mango cubes x ¼ cup
Frozen banana pieces x ¼ cup
Coconut cream x ¼ cup
Ice cubes x 3
Plain natural yoghurt x ¼ cup
Chocolate peanut butter blast:
Peanut butter x 1 ½ tablespoons
Cocoa powder x 1 tablespoon
Almond milk (or any milk of your choice) x ¾ cup
Frozen banana cubes x ½ cup
Raw rolled oats x 1 tablespoon
Pitted dates x 4
Ice cubes x 3
Blueberry delight:
Frozen blueberries x ½ cup
Frozen mango cubes x ¼ cup
Ice cubes x 3
Sugar-free vanilla yoghurt x ½ cup
Fresh orange segments x 5
Lemon summer splash:
Green apple x 1/2
Frozen pineapple cubes x ½ cup
Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
Mint leaves x 3
Sugar-free vanilla yoghurt x ¾ cup
Ice cubes x 3
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