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Juices or Smoothies?

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#1

Invisible Blob , 12-29-2006 12:43 PM

In college I used to get yogurt smoothies and have discovered some healthy ways to make them at home. However this weekend I came across a great book at the library: Power Juices 50 energizing juices and smoothies by Hunking and Hunter. The book has a lot of cool extra info in the front and shows the nutritional info for each recipe. My question is are juices better than smoothies for on the go snacks? Do any of you have ideas or opinions?

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#2

denice81 , 12-29-2006 01:22 PM

IMHO, I'd skip both, unless its vegtable juice, there is SOOOO much sugar in fruit juice and unless the smoothies are made with just ff yogurt, whole fruit, and ice, i'd skip those too. My hubby lost tons of weight just by eliminating juice from his diet.

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#3

jillybean720 , 12-29-2006 01:31 PM

I prefer smoothies over juice because they're thicker, so they feel more substantial, plus I can pack some protein into a smoothie that would be nearly non-existant in a juice.

I don't use ANY yogurt in my smoothies (I tried it, but to me, the yogurt totally overwhelmed the other flavors, and I didn't like it at all). I make my morning smoothie with a frozen banana (I peel them, break them in half, and stick them in little ziplock baggies in the freezer), about 1.5 cups skim milk, and 2 scoops of Aria vanilla protein powder (which is a combination of soy and whey protein). I had never had protein powder before and was so afraid it would make my smoothie "chalky," but it was love at first sip To me, it tastes like melted ice cream--I even made my boyfriend try it the first time I made one, and he nearly drank half of it because he liked it, too

Also, with juices, you'll probably get a LOT of calories in a small amount because you're basically squeezing the sugar water out of a fruit. Yes, it's natural sugar, so it's better than processed (assuming you're squeezing your own juice and not buying it with added junk), but it's still not as healthy for you as eating the actual fruit--yoy miss out on a lot of fiber and nutrients by having only the juice instead of the whole fruit.

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#4

alinnell , 12-29-2006 01:58 PM

Since smoothies usually use the whole fruit, they would be better for you nutritionally than just the juice.

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#5

thintowin , 12-29-2006 03:11 PM

I agree. Go for the smoothies if they are made with fresh fruit, yogurt or milk, and ice. You can find tons of great smoothie recipes to make at home. Ingredients can include: fruits, protein powder, peanut butter, etc.

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#6

KnitALisa , 12-29-2006 03:22 PM

I say no to both as well. Too much sugar, too little protien and fiber. Plus I have absolutely no self-restraint when it comes to juices and smoothies.

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#7

muzikjunky , 12-29-2006 04:18 PM

Smoothies are so good though. heh. But, there are healthy ways to making them. Like jillybean said above. Use real fruit, protein & what not. Never really tried it with the protein powder though. I will have to look into that.

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#8

jillybean720 , 12-29-2006 05:12 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by theobviouschild
Plus I have absolutely no self-restraint when it comes to juices and smoothies.
Just a suggestion...I make my smoothies using the Magic Bullet. That way, I only make 1 serving at a time because you blend the drink directly in a cup instead of in a giant blender pitcher

If anyone is interested, the smoothie recipe I described in my post has 308 calories, 27g protein, and 3g fiber. Since it has so many calories, I drink it as a meal, not just a snack--it's my breakfast almost every day, and with that amount of protein, it keeps me full for a good 4 hours or so (although I try to eat a little something about every 3 hours to keep my metabolism up, but I am not usually hungry yet when I eat my morning snack between breakfast and lunch). You can also lower the calories by using frozen strawberries (unsweetened, of course) instead of banana

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#9

JasonsLea , 12-29-2006 07:48 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by jillybean720
Just a suggestion...I make my smoothies using the Magic Bullet. That way, I only make 1 serving at a time because you blend the drink directly in a cup instead of in a giant blender pitcher

If anyone is interested, the smoothie recipe I described in my post has 308 calories, 27g protein, and 3g fiber. Since it has so many calories, I drink it as a meal, not just a snack--it's my breakfast almost every day, and with that amount of protein, it keeps me full for a good 4 hours or so (although I try to eat a little something about every 3 hours to keep my metabolism up, but I am not usually hungry yet when I eat my morning snack between breakfast and lunch). You can also lower the calories by using frozen strawberries (unsweetened, of course) instead of banana

I was thinking about getting a Magic Bullet. Is it nice?

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#10

muzikjunky , 12-29-2006 07:49 PM

I was thinking of getting one of those also, but ended up buying a smoothie maker. It was cheaper also, so. lol.

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#11

jillybean720 , 12-29-2006 08:23 PM

I LOVE my Magic Bullet for smoothies. I have also had a smoothie maker, as muzikjunkie mentioned, which is really just a belnder with a spout. I find I do better with the Magic Bullet because I can make sure I don't make too much of any recipe since you can make the recipe right in a single cup instead of in a big pitcher. I also find it's easier to clean than a blender/smoothie maker because the cups and the blades are separate, so you can just toss them eaily in the dishwasher or sink and not have to reach down to the bottom of a pitcher to try to clean around the blades (sometimes, pieces of banana or strawberry pulp get stuck on the blades, and cleaning them at the bottom of a big blender can be a chore).

Also, I had my smoothie maker for only a few months before I broke the little plastic spout while trying to screw it back on after cleaning. I've had my Magic Bullet for about a year and a half with no issues at all. Oh, and since you can make single cups of smoothie (or whatever else you happen to be blending), I like it because I can make a smoothie for me and a milkshake for my boyfriend both in a matter of minutes--2 different recipes without having to clean out the blender in between. I've also used it for mixing up eggs and toppings for omelettes and for pureeing spinach to add to sauces. I didn't have much luck with trying to make ham or chicken salad in it (which they say you can do in the little cookbook that comes with it), but I think it was just to dry to mix well since I was trying not to use a lot of mayo.

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#12

Invisible Blob , 12-30-2006 01:25 PM

Thank you all for your ideas and comments. Perhaps I should have clarified on juices. I forget most people think about fruit juices first, I go for the fresh vegi juices myself and was wondering if others did the same. My favorite is a mix of spinach, tomato, carrot and red pepper (I know it sounds gross) I like it because of all the vitamins it has, A,C,B1,B6,niacin, folic acid,iron, calcium,potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and it only has 175 calories per 1/2 pint.
I am always on the go and rarely have time to actually sit and eat a full meal so I favor the juices and smoothies. Although in the juices I never add anything other than vegi or fruit to them. The smoothies I use ff yogurt or 1% milk, fruit, ice and occasionaly a dry supplement to try to offset my poor eating habits.

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#13

jillybean720 , 12-30-2006 02:54 PM

Even if you are making your own fresh juices (which is awesome), I still think you're missing out on things like fiber that you really only get from the solid parts of the fruits/veggies (but maybe your supplement helps with that?). Plus, all you're getting is veggies/fruits, whereas with smoothies, you can incorporate some fiber, dairy, and protein in addition.

Just my opinion, though--can you tell I LOVE smoothies? Of course, I probably also just have a hard time wrapping my brain around it all because I really HATE most veggies an have had periods in the past where, since I don't eat very many veggies at all, I've forced myself to choke down 6-8 ounces of V8 every day, and it literally was so gross (to me) that I gagged and was nearly sick every single time. Good thing I've learned that I can live and lose weight just fine without torturing myself in such a way

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#14

trnsfrmnreplace , 12-30-2006 10:11 PM

MMmmM. I love my strawberry-banana smoothie fix at lunch during work. I always say to go less on the frozen yogurt and add more ice for thickness.

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#15

junebug41 , 12-30-2006 11:02 PM

Hi there,

I juice as well, pretty much anything and everything. I've been juicing a lot of grapefruit lately because my dad sent a whole bunch up from a farm in south texas. I also make a V-8 type juice that has everything on the pic on the bottle, but tastes nothing like it (celery, beets, carrots, tomato and parsley). Jilly, I can't tolerate V8 either and I think it's a flavoring in the tomato paste. I.B.- Spinach is weird for me. Sometimes I can't handle the fact that something so green and perfect turns my juices into brown sludge

Oh, I don't drink it much anymore, but when I was losing weight I would blend some chocolate soymilk, a banana and some ice and it would keep me very full until lunch. I do it sometimes now with vanilla. I primarily drink my breakfast. It seems to work better for me at giving me the right amount of energy that early in the morning and keeping my appetite in check.

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