With the arrival of Spring, the desire to eat light, fresh, and cleansing foods is definitely growing for me. Do you feel that way too?

That’s exactly what our bodies need after the Fall and Winter. Balancing building seasons with cleansing seasons.

A quick and easy way to up the fresh veggie intake is with smoothies and fresh juices. I often get asked which is better?

In this post I want to explore the pros and cons of both and leave you with my recommendation of which to incorporate into your routine.

Juicing

With juicing the machine extracts the juice from the pulp. The juice contains the water and most of the phytonutrients along with soluble fiber.

The pulp is mostly insoluble fiber along with some nutrients. Fiber is good for you. It keeps your digestive tract healthy and it slows down the absorption of sugar. But it also slows down the absorption of nutrients and some nutrients stay in the fiber.

With juicing it is estimated that 70% of the nutrients are extracted from the produce and into the juice; improving the chances that you actually absorb those nutrients.

Pros

• With the insoluble fiber removed it is much easier on digestion and improves your chance of assimilating all the nutrients in the juice. I like to think of it as a “liquid supplement”.
• You’re still getting the digestive and heart healthy benefits of the soluble fiber.
• It’s a quick and easy way to get a lot of fresh veggies and fruits in just one glass of juice.

Cons

• Without the insoluble fiber the juice will not be very filling and may leave you still feeling hungry.
• Removing all the pulp leaves you with quite a bit of “waste” — to counter this issue, re-use the pulp in soups, broths, smoothies, baked goods, or even to add some extra nutrition to your pet’s food. The pulp is also great for your compost.
• Juicers are sometimes more difficult to clean and generally cost more than a blender.

Image Source: www.rebootwithjoe.com

Blending

With blending nothing is separated or removed; blenders pulverize the whole produce in one container. This means all the nutrients and fiber remain in tact.

Pros

• Includes the insoluble fiber which leaves you feeling full longer, helps keep blood sugar stabilized, and is great at keeping your bowels moving.
• Still allows you to easily and quickly increase your veggie and fruit intake.

Cons

• If you are ill or have any digestive compromise, it will be more challenging to assimilate all the nutrients because of the remaining fiber.
• You will also need to drink more smoothies than juice to get the same amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients per glass.
• Keep the ingredients simple, otherwise you could be left with more of a “milkshake” than a health boosting drink.

Image Source: www.rebootwithjoe.com

Choose Both!

I love both! Smoothies and raw, fresh juices are easy and delicious ways to infuse your body with lots of healthy nutrients. They also both help you get those 5 servings of veggies and 3 servings of fruits we’re aiming for each day.

Whether you choose to blend or juice, you are gifting your body with improved health by using these nutrient-packed drinks to get more healing veggies and fruits into your body.

Eating a whole foods diet with lots of fresh veggies and fruits (whole, juiced, or blended) can curb appetite and reduce cravings for sugar and processed foods because you are nourishing your cells with what they are asking for – micronutrients!

If you’re new to Juicing or Green Smoothies here are two easy and yummy beginner drinks you can try:

Mean Green Juice

(from: www.rebootwithjoe.com)

• 1 whole cucumber
• 4 celery stalks
• 6-8 kale leaves
• 2 green apples
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 inch piece of ginger

Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie

(from: www.simplegreensmoothies.com)

• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1/2 cup mango
• 1 banana

Combine the spinach and water first and blend until smooth. Add the fruit and blend again. Use at least one frozen fruit to make the smoothie cold.

As your taste buds adjust to the natural sweetness in fruits & veggies, you will be able to gradually transition your drinks to more vegetables and lower glycemic fruits.

If you’re already a seasoned pro with either juicing or blending, I’d love to hear from you. Share a favorite juice or smoothie recipe we could try!