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I've been down the juicing road. Load up the juicer squeeze out what seems like a tiny bit of juice for the amount of fruit I had used. Then one day I was looking at all the pulp that is left behind and it hit me! That pulp is full of vitamins and fiber, and I'm just throwing it away! Well that stopped my juicing days and started my blending days. Fruits are almost entirely sugar (fructose) but a whole fruit also contains plenty of fiber and vitamins that are lost when you just use it for the juice.
Once I stopped juicing and started blending I realized that I could mix and match fruits and vegetables into fantastic smoothies that could satisfy my nutritional needs in one great drink! Spinach is especially well suited to a fruit blender drink. It's delicate flavor blends right in and you really can't tell it's there. Mixed with berries, carrots and banana, spinach adds a good dose of the greens you really need but don't always take the time to eat. If you buy spinach in large packages, it's less expensive and can be put directly in the freezer and used as needed in your blender drinks. It freezes perfectly into little spinach chips and is a snap to toss right into your drinks. You can also use broccoli, tomato paste, pumpkin, sweet peppers, parsley, cabbage and beets. Just about any fruit or vegetable is worth a try. Go for a wide variety and get the most nutritional bang for your buck.
Juice is one of those drinks that many people perceive as healthy, especially when it's labeled natural or organic and it says it's made from all natural ingredients. Lets be clear about this right now, juice is NOT part of a healthy eating plan. It is a much better idea to use the whole fruit or vegetable. Aren't we all trying to get enough fiber in our diets? Why throw those vitamins out?
So here's how you do it. Choose your fruit. Blueberries are fantastic and you won't have the seeds found in raspberries or blackberries. Bananas give the smoothie a creamy texture. Peaches, strawberries, melons, are all good. The fruit you use is a personal choice. I recommend buying fruit in season and chopping it up and freezing it for your drinks. Start with spinach and then experiment with other greens. Decide what you like, you can add as much or as little as your want. Put it all in the blender and use the liquid of your choice to blend it up. Here is where you might want to indulge in a little grape juice. Some people like it blended with just water. Others enjoy using soy or rice milk and adding cinnamon. Yogurt is also a great addition. Use just enough liquid to blend and enjoy! Using frozen ingredients creates a delicious frozen drink like a fruit milkshake. What a great way to get all the fruits and vegetables you need, and your kids will love it too!
