Americans do not eat enough produce. Most have, at most, one or two vegetables for dinner and ZERO the rest of the day. The CDC recommends that adults eat [at a minimum] 2.5 servings of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit. Seriously. Sadly, very few people are actually eating even the minimum amount recommended.
How Much Produce Are We Eating? According to the CDC…
- 68% Eat fruit less than 2 times daily
- 74% Eat vegetables less than 3 times daily
- 34% Are obese now
- 42% Will likely be obese in the future
- 11% Meet the minimal goal of 5-a-day
This is far from enough. The minimum amount recommended is also far from enough for disease prevention. Eating your fruits and vegetables is crucial for the prevention of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and many other health conditions. Not only that, when you aren’t feeding your body nutrients it craves, your cravings will increase! More cravings equals more weight gain.
Juicing Verses Blending
I started making green smoothies when my boys were almost 12 months. I loved the fact that they are an easy way to pack in nutrients and fiber into one easy glass. It is near impossible to eat all of the fruit and vegetables by themselves in one sitting. Blending them is easy!
However, it took me a while to appreciate and understand the difference between blending green smoothies and juicing vegetables. They each have their place and I now incorporate BOTH into my diet and love their differences.
I love this image from Crazy Sexy Wellness…
Green smoothies are great for a meal replacement. They are packed with fiber and I can add major super foods to them for energy and support. I always have a juice on an empty stomach since the nutrients go strait to the blood stream for a mega energy boost. They are also perfect for cleansing the system since you are giving your body a break from digesting the fiber.
Blenders are great because you can easily juice vegetables in the blender (one less thing you need to buy)! This is why I love and invested in the Vitamix!
How to Make Green Juice in a blender
What you need
- A high powered blender (vitamix, blendtec, etc)
- A nut milk bag
- Fresh organic fruits and vegetables (remember pesticides kill nutrients and are toxic for your body)
Yes, you will have a lot of pulp left over (aka fiber), but all of the essential vitamins and minerals are taken out and absorbed immediately into your body! With the leftover pulp, I put it back into the ground in my garden. My plants love the pulp and my body loves the juice!
Do you love to juice? Make green smoothies? Are you going to try to make green juice in a blender? Which is your favorite? Let us know! 🙂
Keep it clean, Keep it natural! From my Natural Health Blog to you!
I don’t understand the difference of having the pulp left over from a juicer to the pulp left over in a nut bag from the blender? Isn’t it the same?
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You are right, pulp is pulp! If you have a juicer, this post doesn’t really apply. Juicers are very self explanatory. But, for someone who would like to juice and make green smoothies for example, but cannot afford two high quality tools, a high powered blender is the way to go! 🙂
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