Green drink vs. Green smoothie

[sherahtaylor]

I can't seem to find an answer about this...

Here's what I do. Throw together 2 stalks celery, 1 apple, half bunch of spinach or other green leaf foods, 1 carrot, 1 cucumber. I juice it all in a juice machine, throwing the pulp away and drinking - 20oz. usually, with no water added.

Is it okay to do this every day? I don't like doing salads, and smoothies seem to be hard for me to get down...they're chunky and kind of gross, done in my food processor (blend isn't powerful enough, I don't think?).

Should I be doing mostly green smoothies/salads/whole veggies, or is a green drink okay? I love being able to just "Drink" my veggies and get it over with each day. I love fruit!

[freespirit]

I know Ann Wigmore didn't reccommend juicing very much because you are eliminating the fiber of the vegetables. Maybe do both, but I would try to do smoothies more. the closer to the earth the better.

[Spectatrix]

The main problem is that you're getting rid of the fiber, but you're still getting a ton of nutrients by juicing. If the consistency is the main issue, maybe you could try juicing and then blending the juice together with 1/3 or 1/2 of the pulp. You won't get all of the fiber, but more than you're getting now.

[Grible4]

Juicing as much as your body wants won't hurt you, but you do need the fiber- try saving yor pulp and making dehydrated crackers out of it! I tried that once, and they were great. You can add other things to the pulp like flax seed or nuts and maybe some fruit for sweetness?
Good luck!

[Dimond]

Stick with what works for you. Juicing is a big part of a lot of raw foodists lives & most of the raw centers/retreats have juicing as part of their program, so it obviously is good for you. I don't think you should worry about it as long as you're raw and you're benefiting from it.

[Cinnamon]

I have a large green juice each day, very similar to what you've posted. And also I have a green smoothie daily, love them both! You get such a huge concentration of nutrients in the juice and yes if you are eating salads you are getting lots of fiber this way too. I wouldn't worry, getting our greens down the best way we can whether it is to juice, blend, or just chew is all good!

[jenna rose]

i don't have a juicer so i haven't been able to try green juices yet, plus i hate to waste the pulp and it's so good for you, too.

i have a really cheap blender from walmart that i throw fruit and leafy greens in. i whirl it around on 'blend' for a while and then on the liquify setting for just a bit. it's strong enough to to the greens, the fruits and the ice.

[jujube]

I think juicing your veggies should be fine. Just make sure you hold each sip in your mouth for a while, so that it can mix with your saliva... that's where the digestion process begins. If you just gulp it down, you probably won't absorb all the nutrients.

As for the fiber, just make sure you're eating other fibrous foods (like fruit) and you should be OK. Some animals like chimps actually chew tough greens and make a "wadge," where they chew, suck out the juice, keep chewing, suck out more juice, etc. and eventually spit out the fibery wad leftover from the leaves. So in a sense, juicing isn't all that different :)

[Lay-Lay]

If you are eating alot of whole fruit I would think you would be getting your fiber in. I don't care for the pulp in my veggie juice either. I make crackers sometimes out of mine too!

[Graciebeliever]

I used my food processor until I got my blender and I can tell you this, There is a HUGE difference in the texture.

I know that lumpy consistancy that you spoke of and it was not plesant. Once I got my blender, then it was SMOOTH sailing and the difference was amazing.

I have even used my juicer less and less and stuck to the blender so not to lose the fiber I so badly need.

Hang in there, you will find what is right for you :)

[madmel]

Graciebeliever,

you are so right!

I have just bought a high power blender and wow, now I can call my smoothies SMOOTHIES. Before that, their were lumpies :D

mel

[sherahtaylor]

Hmmm...that's interesting! I have never tried our blender because it just looks like it wouldn't do a good job with those tiny little blades at the bottom. I'm really wanting to get a VitaMix but wow, so much money! My husband would look at my like I was nuts for getting a blender for $350. But at the same time, we spend money on pots, pans, electricity for our oven....this is just another tool for something that I would use every single day, usually twice or three times even. Thanks for the help!