Juice or smoothie – which is best?
On our Juice Detox retreat, I’m often asked the question ‘which is better – a juice or a smoothie?’. The answer is really that they’re both good, but it’s how you use them. But before I answer in more detail the other really important thing to remember is that we’re talking about GREEN juices and smoothies.
What makes a juice/smoothie ‘green’? Basically it’s got to have some green leaves (such as baby spinach) and be mostly vegetables i.e. the fruit content is low.
The next question that comes up is: What is the difference between a juice and a smoothie? A smoothie includes the fibre and a juice doesn’t. So to make a smoothie, you roughly chop your ingredients, place them all in a blender with some water and blitz. For a juicing you need a juicer machine as this extracts the juice from all your ingredients and throws the fibre into a waste container.
So now back to answering the first question and how we use them…
A green smoothie is great for breakfast. Since it has all the fibre it is slower to digest giving you energy steadily throughout the morning plus you feel full for a long time. Besides green leaves and vegetables I also like to add a handful of oats, a spoonful of Chia and flaxseeds and some raw cacao nibs. This provides something to chew at the end of the smoothie which is very satisfying (& healthy). Here’s my ultimate breakfast smoothie recipe blog.
I like to have a green juice in the afternoon when my energy starts to lag. As it is just the liquid and all the fibre has been removed, it is absorbed really quickly into the body. So all the vitamins, minerals and natural sugars can be taken up by our system rapidly and used where we need them. This helps renew energy, concentration and stamina for the rest of the afternoon. So instead of reaching for the sugary caffeine drink and the chocolate bar or sweet biscuits (‘cookies’ for the Americans) try juicing for a refreshing natural multi vitamin drink!