I'm sitting at Tao Natural Foods in Minneapolis, enjoying one of their Bibimbap Bowls with plenty of sriracha, and I hear the age-old (& personally cringe-worthy) Juice Vs. Smoothie argument erupt a few tables over. Teresa, hold my earrings...
Behold the beauty of a beet/carrot/collard/lemon/turmeric juice I concocted just this morning. Now, let me shine some light on this all-too-common "argument." A juicer removes all the fiber from your vegetables and fruits, leaving you with a light, and easy to drink juice, which can also be incredibly filling. When you blend a smoothie, you're keeping all your fiber; everything you put into your machine, you consume. Check out the ingredients that went into my juice this morning...
That's 1 beet w/greens, 7 carrots, 4 giant collard leaves, 1 lemon, and 1 lil' nubbin of turmeric. From the beet alone, you're receiving calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamins A, C, & B6, magnesium, potassium, copper, and manganese. The entire combination lowers inflammation, balances your pH, boosts your immune system, protects your skin (from the inside, whaaat), and gets your digestive system moving, among other things! It's basically a big F-U to cancer, a shield for your health, and a jump-start for your busy day. After enjoying this juice, I did eat an avocado w/black pepper and pink Himalayan salt before getting on with my bad self, because I was hungry, and I know I need to eat two hours before a Bikram class.
If it sounds like I'm pro-juice, that's because I am! I am NOT, however, anti-smoothie. Again, there's nothing to "believe" or argue over here. If you understand the difference between juice and a smoothie, it's easy to say that a smoothie cannot always pack the same nutritional punch as a juice, simply because it's more difficult to consume all the accompanying fiber. Unless you're fasting, which I won't touch on here, you need fiber in your diet. So, when juicing, you're receiving enormous nutritional benefit, and will need to eat food besides. Smoothies can be a whole food. The only difference is the fiber, and of course, the ingredients you use. What I do dislike about the smoothie "market," are all of the crap mixes people are substituting for real food. Personally, I like to rely on whole foods I can clean and manipulate with my own two hands. Anything in powder form, frankly, just feels wrong, and can be a bunch of junk and fillers in disguise. There are plenty of protein-packed nuts and legumes I've used in my smoothies when I was concerned about protein intake. Tip: soak plain, raw cashews in water overnight, and add them to your morning smoothie.
Put those gloves away now! Please let me know what else you'd like to know about juicing/smoothies/nutrition/wellness, and I'll try my best to deliver.
Also, here's that bomb Bibimbap Bowl, before I smothered it in Sky Valley Sriracha. I normally would leave the egg, but I trust Tao to use the best sources, and I need all the protein I can get after working it out at Bikram's Yoga College of India--come suffer and be reborn w/me there.
Xx, Mo! :)
Personally I like the taste of smoothies more :) I also trying to drink smoothies everyday! Thanks for the information. btw you'r Bibimbab looks super nice!!I always eat Bibimbab when I wanna be healthy (especially when I'm on a diet) ;)
Awesome! Thanks for the comment. :)
"and gets your digestive system moving"
Darn right; I have a spinach or kale-based smoothie every morning and it certainly does wonders for elimination. In fact, it can work a bit too well - because when it's time to go, man, you gotta go! :)
Lol! Yes... I know if I've been eating super clean, and maybe I used a lot of ginger in my juice, I can sense that "too easy" feeling, and I'll grab a banana to slow it down. Usually works. I'm sure you use banana in your smoothie, tho? What else? :)
Yes, typically, along with 50g of spinach or kale I'll add a nice ripe banana, an apple or orange (or both), a carrot, tablespoon of flax seeds and 250ml of almond or coconut milk. Quite tasty and fills me up until lunch :)
Sounds good. Very balanced! :)
It's all come full circle somehow... gazing at your photo of the bibimbap from Tao Natural Foods, where I have spent many an hour. :) Worlds collide and recollide, and the cycle continues. I know you said you're not keen on powders, but some of the herbs from Sun Potion that they carry at Tao are amazing.
You could combine the two into a "blendie!" It could backfire and create a third faction, though.
Lol! Nooooooooo!
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Love it. Thank you!
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I love this! So informative and relevant! Thanks for sharing! One question I have is how does the sugar in fruit get affected in juices vs smoothies? Do the sugar molecules become simpler sugars when you juice a fruit for instance?
Thank you, @natashahall! That's a fantastic question. Going back to the real difference between juice and a smoothie, being the force or density of the nutrients, we can apply that to sugar as well. With a juice, you can drink the sugar contained in one apple, for example, very quickly, without it having to go through the digestion process. Picture a kid on fruit juice vs. an apple. When you blend fruit, you're leaving the fiber there, which really slows down the effects of your ingredients. This is why you'll rarely see me juicing fruit, unless I'm making up a fancy cocktail for friends. Any sugar, naturally derived or not, is going to spike your blood sugar. You don't really want a lot of up and down, so I recommend juicing mostly vegetables, and eating or blending your fruits. Beets and carrots are cornerstones for many juicers; they provide a great base, and are still very sweet! The magical thing is, your tastebuds adjust to dislike a lot of sugar once you get into this habit. If you want to sweeten a juice with fruit, the commonly recommended Grannysmith Apple is great because it's lowest in sugar. Thanks again for your comment and question!
That makes complete sense. Thanks for taking the time to answer this!
Absolutely. I like your blog, too! Following and looking forward to more posts. :)
Thanks! Appreciate it!
Cool! Following, pls follow back.
what beautiful colors in that juice! and thank you! i tell friends all the time... it doesn't have to be one or the other. they are entirely different and serve completely different purposes <3
Yes! Thank you! :)
@scorpiodragoness
Your post was quite informative and provided me with some very useful information. Thank you! I enjoy learning all that I can about healthy eating and so I appreciate your perspectives!
I love smoothies and I also love fresh juices. Personally, I believe there is a time and place for both and I feel so good when I drink either of them! Keep up the good work! Just followed and upvoted ya! :)
I agree! Thank you! :)
@scorpiodragoness
You're welcome! :)
I had a coffee shop and used to sell a health soothie with only fresh greens and apple juice
thanks
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