The Benefits of Blending and Why It Beats Juicing Every Time
The idea of changing the format of fruit and vegetables to make them into a drink is a classic. And for many years, the principle way this was done was through juicing – basically getting the juice from the fruit to make a simple drink. But then the idea of blending came along, and the smoothie was born. But what are the benefits of blending, and why does it beat juicing every time?
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Blending vs juicing – what’s the difference?
The facts are there – eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables has a positive effect on our health. In fact, it can reduce the risk of a stroke by 26%, reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and generally make us healthier and, therefore, happier.
But not everyone can eat an onion raw or munch their way through a dozen strawberries at a time. So, we have started to find different ways to get all that goodness in a simpler format and this led to juicing. Juicing is where the liquid part of the fruit or veg is separated from the solid bits, the pulp. This creates a mineral and vitamin rich drink that contains phytonutrients or good plant compounds.
Then the idea of blending the fruits rather than juicing them came along. Rather than separating the two, blending simply blasts the solids into a thick liquid and mixes them with the liquid part of the fruit or veg. The idea is to create a very nutritious, thick drink that doesn’t have much in the way of lumps in it – the smoothie.
So, in other words, blending is making smoothies and we all know how good that can be. But are there reasons to favour smoothie making over juicing? The answer is definitely yes.
Health benefits of blending
Keeps foods whole
When you blend foods, you keep them intact. Okay, not intact when they are whizzed into a drink, but intact in the sense that all the nutrients in them are retained in the drink in liquid form. This includes stuff like fibre that comes from the solid part of the food and is crucial for things like dietary tract regulation. If you juice a fruit, you get some of the goodness but not all of it.
Extra nutrition
When you blend your foods into a smoothie, you can add a range of different ingredients and get the extra nutrition that you need. Say you are a bit low on a certain element in your diet – just add an ingredient or two that are rich in it to boost your body. You can do this somewhat with juicing but not in the same way.
Eat new foods
If you are like me, there are some foods you don’t like. And eating them is a no-go area. But put them in a blender, reduce them to a smoothie, and mask them with strong tasting ingredients that I do like, and their presence is invisible. This works well for kids too! So, you can eat new foods that you might not otherwise fancy on your plate.
Less time to convert to fat
An interesting benefit of blending is that our bodies take a while to break down the food we consume, and this gives us extra time to convert fats and oils that we don’t always need. These are then converted to body fat. However, when we have a smoothie, those same ingredients can be immediately converted into their nutritional values while there is less time for them to be converted into body fat.
Fills you up for longer
Finally, many of the foods in a smoothie have low caloric values and this means we stay full for longer with them. This means we eat between meals less, and can help if you are trying to manage your weight. This can also help with steading blood sugar levels as you don’t get the big spike up and rapid crash that you get from some foods.
You might also like How to Use Milk in Smoothies: The Best Options for Every Kind of Smoothie by The Smoothie Bird.
What do you need?
If you have never tried blending before, what do you need to get started? The answer is very little!
Good blender
Top of the list is a good blender. You can spend a lot on one of these or a moderate amount. I have a Ninja blender that does a great job and if you are a little less fussy about the consistency of your smoothie, you can go for an inexpensive model. Look for ones that can blend ice and other tough ingredients, as many recipes use this kind of food.
Ingredients
There are millions (honestly, look at Pinterest) of recipes out there to use every conceivable ingredient for a smoothie. You do want to have a balance of ingredients in terms of their consistency including liquids as well as solids so that the creation is more of a drink than a solid – although smoothie bowls have a thicker consistency than a smoothie drink. Frozen ingredients can be useful to cool the drink and there’s less worry about them going off before you use them.
Extras
You can also add extras to boost the nutrition of your drink. For example, protein powder, seeds, nuts, or even treats like chocolate can help with the taste and the goodness you get from the drink.
And if you want to get started today, here’s a simple and tasty Ginger Peach Breakfast Smoothie to try as soon as you have your blender!
More from the Smoothie Bird:
How to Use Orange in Your Smoothies (Including Orange Juice)
