Why do I suggest to have smoothies instead of juice?

Would a freshly made juice be better than nothing? Or healthier than the fizzy drinks that you buy?

In theory, yes, it is healthy if you drink a small cup of it, however, if it is all that you drink, then it can be more damaging as a juice will get rid of the fibre in the fruits and vegetables, which is the one that would slow down the release of fruit sugar in the body. Also, most of vitamins and minerals would be found just under the skin of the fruits and for the vegetables you might not get the full nutrients that they have.

If you need to make a change or decide to do a two day off juicing for detox for the new year, have smoothies instead, as that would deliver more of the nutrients that you need and it will be released slower;

Especially if in your genetic make-up there is diabetes, or insulin problems. In this way there is no sudden raise of sugar in your blood steam as you would get with the juice. Your blood sugar level will be more balanced and you will not have that craving of another sweet thing or juice after 1 hour!

A good smoothie machine, such as the Nutribullet or similar, is ideal, however any smoothie machine will do. You can add carrots or any other green vegetables in there, with nuts or seeds with orange squeezed juice and or water if you are allergic to citrus foods.

You can also use yogurt of any kind such as soya yogurt, coconut yogurt or normal yogurt if you are ok with dairy. This is ideal also for children as they would get greens and fruits together and get used to the taste.

Sample of a healthy smoothie:

• Two squeezed oranges (for two people) or add 3 mandarins, or yogurts of any kind
• A quarter pomegrade, cut the inside (it is a bit messy so do that in a sink)
• Few nuts or seeds of any kind (such as walnuts, brazil, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds, almond nuts, cashew nuts, etc.).
• Organic apple 1 or 1 pear (you can wash it very well if not organic)
• Spinach or kale (if you have a good blender) (optional)
• 1 carrot whole (washed and peeled)
• 1 squeezed lemon (optional) with grated zests of lemon and oranges (very very healthy to have) (wash them well first even with soap if they have wax on).
• Blueberry if in season or frozen mixed berries a couple of tablespoons.
• Add two teaspoons of honey (optional) (no other type of sugar)
• You can add ices for adults if you want too. Enjoy it, you can change any of the fruits and vegetables according to the taste.

© copyright Maria Esposito BSc (Hons)