Personally, I don't count the fruit I have in my smoothie every morning. I think that even if it turns out that we are supposed to count it, I wouldn't anyway (I'm a rebel), because I can guarantee that if my smoothie goes from 3 points to 5 or 6, I will be searching for a lower point breakfast...and that would be progress in the wrong direction. Now, that being said, I don't tend to overindulge in fruit on a daily basis. My smoothie is 1 cup of frozen berries, and a lot of days, it is my only fruit for the day. I don't portion control my veggies either, except for the obvious ones like potatoes, corn, peas, etc...
I think (as Kaplods pointed out) that this is just one of those areas where leaders aren't cookie cutter images of the perfect WWer. They have their own interpretations, their own quirks and their own methods.
While most of the time they fall within the guidelines for WW, they aren't perfect, so it's going to vary a smidge. (Which is a side note that often a leader or group is important to a person GOING to meeting. Have to find the right one that fits you type of thing.)
JUICE (ie taking an orange and squeezing the juice from it while leaving everything else behind) is POINTS, and should be counted as such.
BLENDED (ie... I take one strawberry, smash it with a spoon, but still eat the whole strawerry -- it's just mashed) is ZERO points, but still most definitely counts as part of daily fruit intake.
(Just a silly thought, but I mean... that's what happens when we chew food. We blend it with our teeth.)
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This is a personal thought, and I'm not advocating re-arranging the entire WW plan, but I've said before that we all have to tweak it to find what works.
Right now, the above is how I work my points: Juice is most definitely and always counted. Whole fruits, however, (even if cut up and blended) are zero, and should be eaten within reason.
Even if WW says "that's not right", well... I've lost 33 pounds that way so far. If it becomes a problem, I will most certainly fix it. At the moment, not a problem.
I agree on the leaders not always being on the same page so to speak. We just changed leaders on my meeting day and I am not sure I am totally liking her yet. I have just decided for now, I am counting my smoothies as the same. my weight loss has been good when I have a good week, so I don't think I am overindulging in fruit. This has been an interesting topic and I appreciate everone's input. I love this place!
I asked at a meeting that I dropped into yesterday at noon. (It was a surprisingly full room for a Thursday at noon!!!) After the meeting, I stuck around for the newbies and asked my question. The answer was blended fruit is zero points. Blending and consuming it raw only eliminates chewing. If you juice it, however, you're going to use way more fruit than 1 piece to get a glass of juice, and by so doing you're removing the skin and fiber and concentrating/condensing the sugar content. Ever juiced? I remember owning a juicer back in the day and thought I'd go broke trying to "drink my fruits and veggies" from the amount of produce required to get a trickle out of the tap. She also said that if you cook the fruit, you break it down, and have to count it...as in apple pie, cherry pie, compote, fruit added to muffins or breads. She didn't mention if you freeze it, as in sorbet or sherbet, so I guess that is a topic open to another discussion. BUT, at a different meeting on Sunday, the leader discussed a frozen banana with a thin chocolate shell and counting only the chocolate. Frankly, if I decided to make a poached pear or a baked apple, both with skin and zero "add ons" like spices and extracts, I would still count it as zero. If I was baking a banana bread, however, I would have to use the recipe calculator and count the fruit so I could get an accurate points count per slice. I understand why WW would do that.
I asked at a meeting that I dropped into yesterday at noon. (It was a surprisingly full room for a Thursday at noon!!!) After the meeting, I stuck around for the newbies and asked my question. The answer was blended fruit is zero points. Blending and consuming it raw only eliminates chewing. If you juice it, however, you're going to use way more fruit than 1 piece to get a glass of juice, and by so doing you're removing the skin and fiber and concentrating/condensing the sugar content. Ever juiced? I remember owning a juicer back in the day and thought I'd go broke trying to "drink my fruits and veggies" from the amount of produce required to get a trickle out of the tap. She also said that if you cook the fruit, you break it down, and have to count it...as in apple pie, cherry pie, compote, fruit added to muffins or breads. She didn't mention if you freeze it, as in sorbet or sherbet, so I guess that is a topic open to another discussion. BUT, at a different meeting on Sunday, the leader discussed a frozen banana with a thin chocolate shell and counting only the chocolate. Frankly, if I decided to make a poached pear or a baked apple, both with skin and zero "add ons" like spices and extracts, I would still count it as zero. If I was baking a banana bread, however, I would have to use the recipe calculator and count the fruit so I could get an accurate points count per slice. I understand why WW would do that.
Thank you for asking! I was not able to make it to my meeting yet.
Hi, I am new here, but I think this recipe from WW site answers the blended fruit question. Creamy Berry-Lemon Cooler
This recipe has frozen lemonade and soy milk in it. The lemonade is around 2 points and the soy milk is 2. The serving is 4 points. There are raspberries and bananas in the recipe that are blended, so it looks like the fruit is 0 points .
If you build your recipe with the online recipe builder, it will count the fruit. You can eat fruit at 0 points of course. But let's face it, you would not consume, three fruits within one minute if you did not blend it. If the smoothies are working for you, keep at it, but it might be something to consider if you are not losing at a rate you are happy with. The way the points are figured is that you will have a couple of fruits a day. But if you go over what they figure, of course your calories will be higher.
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