Juicing v. Smoothies

Being back from camp in Colorado has afforded me the luxury of accessing not only my blender, but my newly-gifted juicer! Paired with the stifling heat here in San Antonio, my blender and juicer have been used daily as I tend to eat lighter in the heat and am always looking for a cool, refreshing snack. 

Juicing and smoothies offer healthy meal alternatives and additions. I tend to juice in the morning along with a small breakfast and have a smoothie for dinner.

Juicing 
There are a few specific differences between juicing and smoothies: juicing is the process of extracting the nutrients from the fruit. This allows the body more direct access to the nutrients because it doesn't have to digest the fiber of the fruit. The fiber will be discarded as pulp from a juicer where you can throw it away. Or, if you're ever so inclined, there are amazing pulp bread recipes that will utilize the pulp and make a delicious fiber-rich bread. 

You can use fruits and veggies to juice, just beware that it will take much more produce to get a good green juice because of the smaller amount of juice in the greens. My advice with juicing is to experiment, but keep it simple at first: 3-4 ingredients until you become familiar with the flavors and how much juice a certain piece of produce yields. Also, think about juicing roots: ginger, beets, turmeric! 

One of my favorite juicing recipes: apple, carrot, ginger... delicious!

Blending smoothies
Using the entire fruit is going to yield a larger and more filling snack although you can pack many more servings of fruit and veggies into a juice. A smoothie is going to take longer to digest because of the fiber, so it will stay with you longer. I've been making some seriously stellar smoothies lately and have discovered a few secrets that I'd like to share.

In my blender, I always add a little bit of Greek yogurt. This adds to the texture as well as adds the benefit of a probiotic. When it comes to blending, keep it simple with 3-5 ingredients. For me, one of those ingredients is almost always half of an avocado. The avocado makes for a great smooth and thick textured snack. Also, at least one (if not two) of my fruits is always frozen. This avoids having to use ice and watering down the flavor. I use a lot of frozen peaches and if I plan ahead, I'll freeze a banana the night before. If you freeze a banana, make sure you peel it first unless you want to chip the peel away in the morning. 

Again, experiment! Every now and again I throw in a little peanut butter and a shot of espresso, ahhhh... coffee habits die hard. But that's what it's all about: enjoying what you eat and eating what you enjoy. 

I'd love to hear your feedback and your favorite smoothie or juice recipe. Thank you for stopping by, stay tuned as the countdown to Guatemala is quickly approaching! 

Love&Light