Smoothies vs Juices: The battle of fruits
You already know that I am a fan of whole foods, not processed food. But I would be a hypocrit if I told you not to ever drink a smoothie or juice, after all we drink them every week. But smoothies and juices are very different both in terms of their content and calories, so lets dive into how each one can be utilized in a posiitve way.
Juicing is when you squeeze a fruit or vegetable and seperate the water content from the fiber (all the solids) in the fruit. You collect the liquid part in your cup and then gulp it down. Juices are usually made from one source like apple juice, orange juice, carrot juice. The juice (or the liquid) is made of mostly water, the vitamins and simple carbohydrates. It is devoid of the healthy fiber, unless you actively spoon all the seperated solids back into your glass, which really defeats the whole idea of juicing.
A smoothie on the other hand is when you do not seperate anything, but rather use a high power blender or smoothie maker to crush the fruit or vegetable and spin it untill all the solids (fiber) is broken down into smaller parts mixed with the water. Unless you add a seperate liquid source like water or milk, the smoothie still has a thick texture. Smoothies also can have various components for added protein, fat, carbs and extra calories.
Which one is healthier:
Smoothies are healthier. A smoothie contains all the fiber in fruits and vegetables whereas juicing concentrates the sugar and water without all the healthy fiber. But that does not mean you can not have your juice. In fact my oldest son is obssessed with a morning orange juice which yours truly squeezes every morning.
The key to having healthier juice is to 1) make it at home from fresh fruit and 2) limit the fruit to 1-2 servings. Louis gets 1-2 oranges (depending on how much juice I can squeeze out) every morning. This still has plenty of vitamins and only about 120 calories. and about 10g per of sugar per orange. But combined with his majestic breakfast of eggs and banana he gets a well balanced breakfast of carbs, proteins and fats. So, if you really enjoy a glass of fresh juice in the morning or with your meal, go ahead, it will not do you any significant harm. But make it from fresh fruit with no added sugar, limit the numberof servings and have it with a healthy meal.
Smoothie on the other hand can be a versatile way of getting a nutritious healthy meal in no time. I personally have them once or twice a week for breakfast or snack after a hard work out when I do not really feel hungry or I am short in time. You can make smoothies in two ways:
1) just with fruits and vegetables. This is good for a side with your meal as it provides you with a lot of fiber, vitamins and minerals, but no protien, fat or meaningful calories. Frozen fruits and vegetables are a great source. You can now find many variations in the grocery store frozen section. Another great way is to use all those fruits and veggies you bought and never used. Here are some examples:
kale and green apple smoothie.
carrot and orange smoothie.
Kale, apples, banana and ginger smoothie.
kale, berries and banana smoothie.
And my favorite summer smoothie: cold watermelons with a little added cold coconut water.
Simply dump them in a blender and blend at high speed for a minute. Add water if its too thick. If you feel so fancy you can garnish the top with a little fresh mint leaf for added kick.
2) An actual meal smoothie: the usual fruits and veggies like above, but then you add sources of protein and fat with more calories. Great sources of fat and protein are low or full fat Greek Yogurt, peanut butter or almond butter. For extra protein you may add 1-2 scoops of protein powder. But 1 cup of greek yogurt will give you about 15-20g of protein, add 1-2 table spoons of peanut butter and you have about 25-30g, plenty of protein for your massive muscles. Other sources of healthy fat include avocado, nuts and flax seed or chia seeds. Here are a few of my usual ones, you can find endless recipes online. Just remeber, keep it natural.
1 cup frozen fruit of choice. I usually use berry mix, pine apple or strawberry and banana mix. 1 cup Greek yogurt (I like Icelandic plain), 1 table spoon almond butter, 1 tbs flax seed. half cup coconut water, half cup milk or milk alternative. Blend at high power for 30-40 seconds. Add water if too thick and blend again.
1 cup frozen fruit of choice. half ripe banana, few leafs of kale or spinach, 1 cup greek yogurt, half cup mixed nuts, 1 cup milk or milk alternative.
1 cup frozen berries, 1 banana, 2 scoops chocholate protein powder (high quality with no added sugar, Momentous is a great brand), 2 table spoon almond or peanut butter, 1 cup coconut milk, half cup milk. 2 tsb chia seeds.
Smoothie bowl: 1.5 cup frozen mixed berries, half banana, 1-2 tbs peanut or almond butter, half cup greek yogurt. Blend, you want it to be more thick and not liquid, add a little coconut water at a time and blend until you get that thick but not watery texture. Transfer to a bowl, add 1/2 cup intant oats on top, sprinkle with crushed walnuts or/and almonds, chia seeds and cocnut flakes. If you got the texture right you will need a spoon.
You can add a small amount of fresh ginger to any of this for added health benefit and to add a little kick to the taste, but use a small amount and gradually increase as fresh ginger can be potent.
Smoothies can be a great source of breakfast (or any meal) for those who do not feel very hungry or are short in time. You can make it the night before and you can drink it on your way to work. There is some evidence that eating food that is already processed (does not need chewing) may have some deleterious effects on your digestion since it by passes the oral phase of eating. Chewing itself causes the body to release digestive hormones and theoratically a smoothie bypasses this stage. But this is a small effect and there is really no solid evidence that it can lead to diabetes or obesity. I also think that if a smoothie is the only way you will eat a wholesome breakfast (or any meal) it still beats not eating anything or eating unhealthy breakfast. Wednesday morning I do a long and hard run, then I get home and have an hour before I have to be in the office. Which means I do not have that much time and my appetite is still not there. A smoothie is a great way for me to get plenty of calories and hydration in while I drive to work.
And lastly: For my endurance atheletes, here is a post workout recovery smoothie that I drink almost every Wednesday after my long and hard morning run that serves both as a recovery drink and breakfast:
1 cup frozen berries, 1 banana, 2 pitted dates, 2 tb almond butter, 2 scoops Momentous Recovery Protein powder for added carbs and electrolytes, 1 cup coconut water, half cup whole milk, half pitted ripe avocado. (Dates are rich in potassium and magnesium, coconut water is rich in potassium). The Momentous recovery podwer also has some electrolytes in it. This smoothie is rich in fast absorbing carbs to replenish your glycogen stores, its about 40g of protein and rich in electrolytes. A complete recovery drink.
So, eat fruits and veggies and a healthy meal when you can, but it is perfectly ok to drink some juice and smoothie as long as you know how to do it right both in terms of quality and qauntity.
