Green Smoothie / Juice

[sprouting]

Hello,

I am meant to be having green smoothies to alkalise my gut. Anyway I have a cold press juicer which I use for juicing leafy greens and wheatgrass etc... (I'm fairly new to green smoothies) It was recommended that I add avocado to my green smoothie but I haven't tried this yet.

Am I meant to be blending the greens rather then juicing them??

Is it alright to juice an apple to make it more palatable?
I read somewhere that apple is the only fruit you should mix with vegetable juice...?

I tried blending spinach once and gagged trying to drink all the chunky fibre and gave up on that - now I'm just using my juicer as I don't actually have a blender at present.

As well as the above questions how much leafy greens should I be aiming for per a juice?
I have been adding a teaspoon of green powder to my juice.

Any help or ideas for making them, and getting a variety would also be helpful.

Thanks Heaps!

[GlimR]

Smoothies are blended using the whole fruit/greens (in a blender)
Juices have the fiber removed...apples, lemon & ginger all make the green juices easier to drink, especially till you get used to the taste, and you will.

You could make a juice w/carrots, apples, lemon & ginger and add increasing greens to that and build up...from several leaves to a bunch.

[Revvell]

I'm not sure what you mean by "I am meant..." Who means you to do this?

In my book, pretty much all smoozies are made with fruit and greens. Fruit makes the greens palatable.

There's one fully veggie juice with lemon juice I think to smooth out the rest of the veggies (which, in actuality, if you're using cukes, tomatoes or anything else with seeds is truly fruit).

You can juice whatever fruit you want to add to a smoozie.

If you're going to make smoothies, you best bet is to get a decent blender to eliminate chunks. There are a LOT of threads on here about which one's people like. Methinks Vita-Mix is the top choice with Blend-Tec second, yet, if you can't afford top quality, check the threads for what others are using.

Revvell (http://www.facebook.com/RevvellsFitnessJourney)

[sprouting]

(Yeah it is a bit silly of me to say I'm meant to. It is highly recommended by my Dr and I mean myself to do it... only I haven't kept up with it well enough as of yet.)

A blender or any more appliances is out of the question at present.
So am I better making green juices in my cold-press juicer or green smoothies in a cheap ol' blender?
I should think a cheap blender will make both an unpleasantly chunky drink and also be of far less nutritional quality then the juice from my cold-press juicer.

[MysticTree]

I should think a cheap blender will make both an unpleasantly chunky drink and also be of far less nutritional quality then the juice from my cold-press juicer.

Nutrition will be pretty much the same but smoothies have the edge in my view because you retain the fibre.

Cheap blenders are fine for making smoothies. You may have to add a little more water to aid the smoothie-ing process. Where cheap blenders fall down mostly is the time it takes to get the smoothie smooth - you might have to rest the motor a little to prevent heat build up. Also they wear out more quickly.

Citrus is nice juiced but otherwise why not go for a mixture of juices and smoothies. If you feel like you want juice, have juice. If you need fibre and something a bit more filling then have a smoothie. It needn't be an either/or situation.

[sprouting]

Thanks!

One of the reasons I bought my cold-press juicer was that it is supposedly produces a nutritionally superior result then an ordinary juicer which pulverises fruit/vege. (The other reasons include wheatgrass, mincing and crushing, pasta making etc...)

I would have thought that blending leafy greens would causes oxidation, heat and destroy a lot of the nutritional content.
However I am sure this has been discussed many times before and I can see how including the fibre is beneficial.

The main idea of the green smoothie/juice for me is not so much a meal (or snack) as much as an alkaliser and nutritional boost.

Anyway I might mix and match a bit and have both...

[MysticTree]

If undamaged nutritional content is your absolute ideal then why not just eat the whole foods? Not wheatgrass obviously but the other fruits and veg that you would drink the juice of or put in a smoothie.

[sach68]

Be sure when you blend the green smoothie to give it a really good blending. You want it to be a nice pure consistency.. it looks much better. When we make our green smoothies for retail we give them a heavy blending so they have a very nice consistency. You might like to try our Hawaiian recipe too... using fresh coconut water, mangoes, banana, pineapple and kale.. VERY nice!

[siennagray]

If your blender is leaving chunks, perhaps you could use your juicer to make a smoothie by stirring the juice, pulp, and water to the desired consistency. Both green juice and green smoothies will be alkalizing. If you are eating enough fresh fruits/greens/vegetables throughout the rest of the day, it should be okay to miss out on the fibre from your juice. Otherwise, there are also a few recipes out there to use your pulp as well (most of these probably use a dehydrator).

[abinak]

Geogina, I enjoyed your responses and have a question. You said NOT to blend the wheatgrass. Is there something I should know. I have been blending and growing it FOR my smoothies and I really enjoy it. Is it the blending process that you were referring to? I have an OLD Osterizer.
P.S. I like the fiber too. I have not begun to juice ...yet.

[MysticTree]

Geogina, I enjoyed your responses and have a question. You said NOT to blend the wheatgrass. Is there something I should know. I have been blending and growing it FOR my smoothies and I really enjoy it. Is it the blending process that you were referring to? I have an OLD Osterizer.
P.S. I like the fiber too. I have not begun to juice ...yet.

Well done! It is generally considered too tough for blenders and better juiced in a masticating juicer.

[artificialist]

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread...I've been looking into juicers last couple of days. Issue i'm having is that some higher end smoothie machines claim to be able to make smoothies and to juice fruit/vegatables. Is that just a marketing plot? Why would I buy a juicer if I can buy a smoothie maker that can make smoothies and fruit juice? What is the major difference between the two?

[Traceyraw]

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread...I've been looking into juicers last couple of days. Issue i'm having is that some higher end smoothie machines claim to be able to make smoothies and to juice fruit/vegatables. Is that just a marketing plot? Why would I buy a juicer if I can buy a smoothie maker that can make smoothies and fruit juice? What is the major difference between the two?

I am a big juicer but sometimes I don't like to clean it. Lately I have been using my Vita mix. ( I had 3 other cheaper ones but they all broke) I blend spinach water and orange juice. It is technically a smoothie but the consistancy of a juice. I also have a strainer to take out the pulp If I feel like it. If you are on a budget. First try craigslist/pond shops/ thrift stores. 2nd I personally would reccomend a good blender first. Then get your juicer later because you can still make juice in the blender. When you blend you have to add a liquid to make it go. Its your choice. If you decide to get a juicer there are many threads discussing the topic. Have a great raw day.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Love smoothie. They are practical and so much faster to prepare then a juice. They cost less money because you use the entire food, and therefore have a complete meal. As mentioned on this thread, the fiber cleanse your guts also.

Juice or smoothie have both good side in health wise. Juicing is absorb quicker and it very cleansing. If you don't have a cleanse liver, you can find your gall bladder pack with stones due to the fast cleansing. Nothing wrong, to start slow and using smoothie instead of juicing.

If you are feeling incline to do smoothie, go for it.