Green Smoothies question

[styersky]

My normal routine early am before breakfast is a green smoothie consisting mainly of tomato and spinach greens, sometimes with onion, celery, etc.

Why wouldn't it be just as wholesome if I simply ate those veggies rather than process them all up together? Anything special about the processing?

[lytlsprout]

It's easier to digest, and you don't have to chew, you can drink it fast. And it gives me variety. Like still getting my greens without having to eat salad all the time.

[SmilingRawDancer]

Like the previous poster said, when it's blended it's like it's been pre chewed for you, so all the nutrients are VERY absorbable. I'm a chewer, myself.
I CAN do green smoothies, but I prefer to eat a big salad, and then chew on some fruit.
You're a better person than me if you can drink a tomato blended with greens etc.! I couldn't stomach that. I can barely handle berry/kale green smoothies, let alone all veggie.
*High fives*

You're doing great. Keep it raw - SRD

[Mialsse]

something about the cell walls in greens not being fully broken down by just chewing, no matter how much/how long you chew. Blending the greens breaks down those cell walls, releasing the good nutrients into your body. And digestion is, of course, also easier when in a blended state, so those nutrients are absorbed better.

I still usually get more satisfaction from just eating them whole.

[EZ rider]

styersky -- I agree with the posts above and exactly because I agree I always start my day with fresh made juice (blending same idea). If you think about the word breakfast it says it all. Breakfast, break-fast. First you go to sleep and then you wake up. Durning the sleep you have eaten nothing - you have fasted overnight. Then in the morning you get up and you break the fast by eating something (breakfast). Your stomach is empty and ready to recieve food. An empty stomach digests food more quickly and easily then a stomach already filled with food. Breakfast is an opportunity to put some easy to digest food into your stomach and get a good "pick me up" start to your day. Your morning smoothie (or juice) is doing that for you.

[Riiiya]

i love green smoothies, but sometimes i feel like eating whole foods is better for me- if it's liquid, i tend to drink it fast and get quite fool, but not satisfy the "hunger".. i mean, i still want to chew on something even though my stomach is full :S

[luckitri]

When I did alot of juicing my gums got itchy to chew. The juice feasters say they "chew" their juice . . . a concept which eludes me.

Just recently on here I clicked on a link which I had not seen in a long time where a really knowlegable sounding writer stated that those of us who juice are deluding ourselves into thinking we are getting more nutrition. (Once again I wish I remember where I was.) I do not have enough knowledge to refute what I read.

So I guess we all just do our own personal best and what seems to work for us individually.

[styersky]

You all have given good info and I will definitely stay with smoothies!

I have never gotten into juicing because of the loss of fiber and it seems if the fiber is all gone then some of the nutrients would also be gone.

THANKS!

[Veganforlife]

I agree with what the previous posters have said.
The minute that green smoothie hits your tongue, your body starts using it. It is already broken down, not matter how much you chew your greens, you will never break then down like the blended version. Try it. Chew your greens until YOU think they are, then spit it out in your hand. You'll see chunks of greens, which is okay, but blended is way better. Those chunks will not break down any more.
I also suggest reading Victoria Boutenko's "Green for Life" book and watching her Green for Life DVD. She thoroughly explains all the goodness of green smoothies. She really studied and studied and knows her stuff.
So me personally? I will continue to start my day with a GS. It kicks me in gear! I love 'em!
Styersky? Have you ever tried them sweet?

[styersky]

I have tried adding fruit but have never gotten just what I want there. I particularly tomato and onion, and then greens. At the moment . . . tomato, onion, spinach, parsley cilantro. It seems if I want something sweet I enjoy it alone more than with the greens. But I also see that my taste changes often with RAW. Peaches are cheap here at the moment so I stocked up on them this morning and will probably try a sweet smoothie later today.

Always enjoy your input. THANKS! I think I have overestimated our digestive system. Just assumed that whatever I ingested the system was capable of handling it. Probably not so!

[SharonC]

Quote from Joel Fuhrman, M.D....
(Books - 'Eat to Live', 'Disease Proof Your Child', and 'Fasting and Eating for Health' - He is a family doctor who prescribes nutrition. He encourages vegan, but too much cooked and too many soy recipes.)

"Blended Salads or Green Smoothies
Eating raw greens and fruits blended together to make a smooth, creamy treat is quick and convenient. The greatest benefit of blending is the increased absorption of important nutrients. All plants cells are surrounded by a cell wall that must be broken open to release the nutrients inside. As a result, most of the valuable nutrients contained within these cells never enter our bloodstream. Blending raw, leafy greens guarantees a higher percentage of nutrients absorbed into your bloodstream. By just chewing your food you absorb about 15 - 25% of the nutrients, but blending makes your body able to absorb up to 95%!"http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/bulletin/March_Recipe_Newsletter.html

Quote from Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. from his book ' Health and Nutrition Secrets that can save your life' ... (Also wrote, 'Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills' - he is a retired Neurosurgeon)

"Unlike animal cells, plant cells contain a wall that we cannot digest, and therefore must be mechanically cracked open to get to the phytochemicals. We do this by chewing. Unfortunately, most of us do not chew our vegetables until they are a mush - which is the optimal state for nutrient absorption in our bodies - but, you can blenderize them to achieve the same effect.

If you're unable to prepare ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day, I highly recommend using a blender to make up a liquid supply. If you eat whole vegetables, your body can absorb only about 30 percent of the available nutrients, whereas juicing or blenderizing allows up to 90 percent absorption.

Drink at least twelve ounces twice a day of your blend. At first, this may provide too much fiber, and may cause diarrhea. In that case, dilute the blend by half with distilled water. Once you adjust that, gradually increase the amount of blend and reduce the amount of water. It may take a couple weeks to accomplish this.

The vegan diet - which disallows all animal products, including eggs and milk -is one of the healthier diets you can follow. In particular, the Hallelujah Diet, developed by George Malkmus, contains an excellent blend of furits and vegetables that has been shown to significantly reduce disease rates, and in some cases, produce dramatic improvements in some very serious diseases."

[styersky]

SharonC . . . thank you so much for that good info. I needed that! Now I am convinced and will do more green smoothies. THANKS!

[the_lab_rat]

Hi styersky,
I just went to a talk by Victoria Boutenko, and they gave out samples of green smoothies prepared in a Vita-mix blender. It was so smooth and creamy, you'd never know there were greens in it (well, except for the color :) ) That really convinced me how much better the digestion and absorption of the greens are when they're blended, because we could never chew things up to that smooth consistency even if we chewed for an hour. I think regular blenders are ok too--still much better than chewing--but if you're serious about your green smoothies and can afford it, the Vita-mix is amazing. Also, have you read Green for Life? It's really fascinating and explains in detail all about the blending and absorption and stuff.

[EZ rider]

Joel Fuhrman, M.D http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/bulletin/March_Recipe_Newsletter.htmlThanks for the link. Did you check out the recipes ?

http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/recipes.aspx

I just noticed their not all raw

[Nurse in the Raw]

When I did alot of juicing my gums got itchy to chew. The juice feasters say they "chew" their juice . . . a concept which eludes me.


Chewing your juice releases enzymes in your mouth so that when you drink your concentrated juice it does not bother your stomach. Remember, digestion begins in the mouth, not the stomach.

[Green Life]

Green smoothies are the easiest way and very delish way to get the most for your food dollar and for your health! Juicing has it's place, but i like getting the fibre that juicing leaves out, it just seems like a waste to throw out the fibre from that food.

I agree with all the other reasons to drink green smoothies. The only problem is that it's easy to drink too much too fast, and feel too full! I have done this! So, maybe just drink them slowly to allow the body to adjust since there is no chewing involved.

[styersky]

All of the information is so interesting. I am not yet one month RAW and everything I learn is exciting. Thank you all so much.

I hope this thread helps others in the future as much as I have been helped. I need to learn to do sweet smoothies, but have not had much luck finding a fruit-vegetable smoothie that I liked.

Simple, few ingredient, smoothies containing both fruit and greens would be appreciated also. I think I would do more if I came up with something sweet. ALSO, THEN MAYBE MY HUSBAND WOULD BE MORE INTERESTED! A very good reason to try!

[SharonC]

Styersky,

I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are open to doing this at the age of 71! So many people your age and even younger are so unwilling to even think about changing. You are special!

My parents are special too - especially my Mom, but I have to give credit to my Dad for going along so well because his personality is not as open to change. They do GREEN SMOOTHIES too! Although, my Mom has to sneak in the GREENS because my Dad does not want to drink his greens - he is like a child sometimes!! They started in their 60's. But, not sure they would have done it on their own (like you!) if I was not encouraging them and keeping them in line!

Here are a few recipes that we like (I prefer to combine fruits according to the food combining chart, just because!) ...

oranges
pineapple
strawberries
kiwi
blueberries sometimes
and GREENS
NOTE: Do not have to use all these fruits, but I would not leave out the oranges because they make it sweeter
NOTE: Like to add coconut oil to this one - makes it really creamy

bananas
mangos
blueberries
grapes sometimes
acai sometimes
and GREENS
NOTE: Do not have to use all these fruits - the banana makes it really sweet and creamy.

apples
sometimes pears
celery
cucumber
almond butter
LOTS OF ICE - VERY REFRESHING
Sometimes add fresh aloe vera

My husband's favorite (usually make on the weekend and take to the pool!!)...
young coconut - meat and water (could use banana instead or both)
raw chocolate & sweetener
and GREENS

I like to add ice to make them really cold. Worked up to adding a lot of GREENS, so mine usually need a little help to make them taste sweeter. I use several drops of liquid stevia being very careful not to add to much, or it will not taste good, OR just add agave to taste. The agave is probably better for starting out, especially if trying to get someone to really like them. Also, probably best to not add a lot of GREENS at first - you want it to taste really good, and then as the body begins to get used to all the GREENS add a little more every week or so. Almost forgot to add that if you are trying to trick someone, it is best to add blueberries to make it look purple instead of green, except for the chocolate and the apple/pear one.


Hope you enjoy,
Sharon

[styersky]

SharonC . . . you are so kind. Thank you so much.

I have no children and I think that may have something to do with desiring to be healthy. My husband is 13 years older than I am. No doubt, I will be left alone. And I have no family. I absolutely MUST be healthy and independent!

Your recipes for smoothies sound wonderful and I can't wait to try all of them. I feel sure that from all of these we will find one that Wayne will accept. And that will be a big step!

Thank you so much!

[Mialsse]

When I first started raw I couldn't get enough of the sweeter green smoothies, but now I usually prefer the more savory "V8" type smoothies like you mentioned (greens, tomato, onion, celery, garlic, etc). About two months ago I completely lost the taste for bananas. I used to love them, but now even the thought of them makes me quiver, so the sweeter green smoothies aren't all that appealing anymore. However, one of the sweet ones I still like is ...

some kind of greens (I've been using a baby spring mix with tons of different greens mixed in)
either strawberries or blueberries
2 clementines or 1 sweet orange
1/2 of a lemon or 1 whole lime


It's pretty good. Often I'll throw in some cucumber, string beans, carrots, etc just for the added nutrition, too. And if that isn't sweet enough for you, throw in a little pineapple, too.

[styersky]

Thanks for the hints on smoothies. Will try this in the morning.

It's interesting how our tastes dictate what our body apparently needs. Never thought I would be "addicted" to tomato, onion and avocado!

[styersky]

I have been trying many of your ideas for green smoothies. And my favorite is watermelon and spinach. So simple, and so good. Even my husband will drink it!

[codajess]

I would like to try a blended salad. Something more savory. I do need some directions on those, though. I imagine if I try to be creative with those I'll royally muck up. I never could cook. I never could get food-creative and have it work out. :D

Any suggestions for a tried & true blended salad?

[styersky]

The closest I have come to a salad smoothie is

tomato, onion and spinach. I love it. Been thinking of adding other veggies for a spicy veggie taste. Any suggestions.

[Mialsse]

Garlic! Gives it a nice zing. That's one of my favorites (spinach, tomato, onion, and garlic)

Or instead of spinach, maybe try mustard greens. They have a little bit of a kick to them.

[britaniefaith]

read 'green for life'!!! such a great book, once I sat down at started reading it, I couldnt put it down. lots of good info in there.

[styersky]

Garlic! Gives it a nice zing. That's one of my favorites (spinach, tomato, onion, and garlic)

Or instead of spinach, maybe try mustard greens. They have a little bit of a kick to them.

I will definitely try the garlic. I can handle the odor of onion on my breath, but is the garlic as easy to deal with?

We are limited as to the type of greens available. . . small town and WalMart is very small. Occasionally we go into a larger town where there is a nice Kroger. So I will try to find Mustard greens.

Anyway, I read somewhere here on this board that Spinach may not be the best source of calcium because of oxalic acid. What do you know about that? At my age I am searching for calcium.

Thanks for the info.

[sciencegal]

OMG you guys are making me hungry!!!! Those green smoothies sound SOO GOOD!!! UMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Sciencegal:D :D

[Mialsse]

styersky, I just tried a spinach and watermelon smoothie ... I AM IN LOVE! I've always loved watermelon, but I'd never tried putting it in a smoothie before (why?!). Boy, was I missing out. So simple, so sweet, so YUM! I drank the entire blender full myself and had to make another batch for the kids, lol. We're on batch number 3 already this morning - we all love it!

About garlic, I've never really had an issue with garlic breath unless I eat it in a salad. When I blend it in a smoothie, I don't really notice the taste lingering in my mouth afterward. After a salad, though, if it's really bothering me, I'll just chew a little sprig of parsley and be good to go.

[Veganforlife]

You all want a good recipe book for smoothies?
Revvell's smoothies and smoozies is full of every kind of recipe for every palate out there. Check it out!
www.revvellations.com

Scroll down and it's halfway down the page. Yum-Oh recipes!!!!!!!!!!

[styersky]

Good idea. I will keep parsley on hand.

Glad you liked the watermelon spinach smoothie. I usually do a whole blender full myself early morning and then 2 or 3 hours later have breakfast which is usually tomato, onion and avocado. Yep, I am stuck in a rut. For some reason nothing else seems palatable for breakfast. It must be that is what my body is calling for and I keep waiting for that to change!

Surely there are other foods that could go into that watermelon spinach smoothie, but it is so refreshing and delicious just do not have the nerve to tamper with perfection!

Watermelons will be gone very shortly here until next summer.