After yesterday’s post regarding fruit juice, I felt an obligation to throw something more positive out there, a liquid fruit/veggie drink I back and drink periodically. To be honest, I was a little surprised the “no juice” post was at all controversial; I thought most people knew juice was on the “NO” list if you were trying to limit unnecessary sugar/calories (which we all should, generally speaking). But a lot of good questions came up. Before I jump into the recipe, here are some answers:
Q: What about juicing vegetables?
A: Based on the little I know, this is better but I’d also say it’s unnecessary. Personally I would get rid of the juicer and use the blender instead. The general rules I’d follow would be: Eat the whole food. Don’t separate fiber from sugar. Don’t drink more volume than you would eat just because it’s been changed into a form that’s easier to consume. Carrots, for example, are a sugary veggie to start with. Would you eat fifteen of them? I hope not. So why drink them? Probably better to eat one whole carrot and have some sauteed kale with your eggs for breakfast.
Q: What about soup?
A: Assuming you’re using whole foods in your soups they don’t have the same issue as “juicing”. It depends completely on what you’re making the soup out of, of course, but soups are not made with a juicer so the “don’t separate the fiber from the sugar” rule doesn’t really apply.
Q: What about fermented, aged, grape juice?
A: Aka, wine, right, Kyle? I love wine. I drink it, but not every day, and I’ve cut back how often I drink it considerably. The effects of Resveratrol are hotly debated. My take is you can look at a glass of wine as 100-150 calories. If that’s how you want to spend those calories today, go for it.
I hope that helps. Thanks for reading, and for the questions.
When I’m in a rush for breakfast I’ll throw together a green smoothie in the blender. It’s easy to make smoothies tasty, just add a couple bananas, a bunch of honey or agave, and some dates. But as mentioned above, I try to keep the composition of my smoothie in the realm of something I would be ok eating if it weren’t all blended together, something that isn’t a carbohydrate/calorie bomb. Here’s my latest invention, featuring persimmons, in-season and available at fully 50% of all farmer’s market vendors at my local market this past weekend:
In a blender, combine:
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Spinach/Kale
- 1 Persimmon
- 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 tbsp Hemp Powder
- 1/4 cup Blueberries
- 2 fresh Dates
- 1 tsp Green Vibrance
Blend. Drink. Enjoy.
What’s your go-to smoothie recipe? Leave it in the comments, please. Thanks! Please be safe as you head where ever it is you’re going for Thanksgiving.
ian
