Green Drink or Salad - what's the difference?

[sherahtaylor]

This is my 4th day being 100% raw, and I'm wondering if I can just have green drinks instead of salads? Is drinking the liquid form of vegetables a good substitute for eating the whole thing?

I find it harder to eat my veggies than fruits - probably normal. It's soooo easy to chop them up in the food processor, drink them down, and be on my way than to chop them up and sit meticulously eating a salad for 10 minutes or so. I'm a busy momma with 5 kids ages 7 & under.

If I have two green drinks per day of say....

half a head of green leaf lettuce
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1 apple
2 stalks celery

And no other veggies, is that going to be okay?

[Coriander74]

I hear ya... some greens (like kale and mustard greens) I end up smoothie-ing or juicing. Keeping them as whole as possible I think is better but I personally can't stand eating those.

Personally I think it's whatever makes your body feel its best. There are people who eat lots of fruit and barely any veggies (me) and then juice or smoothie what veggies I do eat.

Congrats on Day 4 :D

[Spectatrix]

That'll be fine. In fact, by blending or processing your greens you're making them easier for your body to digest because you're mechanically pre-"digesting" them. If you search for "green smoothies" on this site you'll find a lot of threads on this topic.

[Migrou]

I grew very tired of eating salads so now I drink my green in my smoothie, here is what I have at most breakfast:

4 BIG handfuls of mixed organic baby greens
2 bananas
2 big handfuls of frozen fruits

Blend and enjoy!

I find that since I don't need to eat salads anymore raw is much easier.

[JennaBoBenna]

I don't eat salads at all, I'm very picky about my lettuces and dressings. If I relied on salad greens for nutrients, I'd probably be sooo deficient because I only like one kind of lettuce to eat! haha
but with green drinks/smoothies...I add in parsley, dandelion, red leaf, all sorts of stuff! Ah, the beauty of green drinks...

[Sunshine9]

ABSOLUTELY! The difference is FIBER. Fiber is great for the body, however suddenly jumping onto a raw diet there is a whole lotta fiber goin on, which is difficult for the average digestive system to do anything with. Juicing and blending in the beginning is IDEAL. Definitely it's good to eat food whole too, but really, it isn't necessary.

So I would say.. do both~

[rawpriestess]

I think you are doing great.


I think that green drinks are probably easier to digest, I do also think that we have teeth for a reason, use it or lose it.

so, I chew my juice.

[alex]

Veggies have the most fiber which I believe is essential to good health. Most people believe that the purpose of fiber is to keep things moving, but I suspect it is all about the health of the 100 trillion bacteria that inhabit our gut. In fact I have read that we are in fact governed more by this over 1 kilogram of bacteria than by anything else. There is convincing evidence that these bacteria are intimately tied to our immune systems!! And health is a function of our immune system.

What I do, which I picked up from Dr. Mercola is to juice the veggies that I don't like to eat (quite a few) and then after drinking the juice, I mix most of the pulp with distilled water and then eat it as well. This qives my body instant access to the nutrients in the veggies through the juice and also supplies most of the fiber as well.

When I first started juicing veggies I tended to end up with very loose stools, just like Dr Mercola, and eating the pulp solve the problem nicely bvoth for him and for me.


alex

[Nini]

I vary. During the summer I have been drinking green smoothies. I find them cold and refreshing. I ate more salad in the winter and just juiced wheatgrass and sunflower sprouts. Some days I do both, esp. if I want heavier foods or I'm really hungry. I say do whatever you feel like!

[sherahtaylor]

Thanks everyone - that helps alot!! I wish someone had told me about juicing veggies a looooooooooong time ago, back when I was doing the "healthy" version of SAD (small protein, carb, veggies every 2-3 hours) and it was very hard to eat those veggies.

[my_sunshine]

I'd rec the book "Green for life". It's about green smoothies and the benefits. Unlike juicing though, the pulp is included. I hate almost all vegetables :o but am able to drink these (there is fruit in them for taste). I know if I didn't, I simply wouldn't eat any veggies. She talks a lot about your body aquiring the nutrients more since she feels our jaw muscles are too weak to adequately chew tough greens to the most optimal point.

[Tirza]

I used to feel proud of myself when I had a salad a day. ha ha.

Now I have so much more included in my green smoothies, although I must admit that I use spinach more than anything. I need to get a little more variety going. I seem to be able to detect those bitter vegetables pretty easily, even in the smoothie, so i kind of shy from them.

I feel that if I get the smoothie every day, then add a blended soup and salad as well, I don't have to worry about vegetables. I knew there was no way I could chew enough in order to consume the quantity of vegetables required or recommended for health just by eating salad, so I am so thankful for smoothies and soups!

[Cinnamon]

I usually have one green juice and a green smoothie daily, in addition to eating a salad too. Lots of healthy nutrients this way and I don't have to do as much chewing by including the juices and smoothies. With TMJ I'd not get nearly as many veggies in my diet so liquids are great! The less pain from chewing the better for me.