I'm sure you've all heard the ongoing rant about the power of green juice... but does it really work? Is green juice really the super food that's going to change your life? I want to use this post to talk to you all about the pros and cons of green (or any other colour) fresh fruit/veg juice and get into some smoothie recipes as well!
A couple years ago I watched the documentary on Netflix called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross then watched it like three more times even making my mom and dad watch it because I was so intrigued with what it said! This documentary is done by Joe Cross, the juicing king who went on a several month long journey of only consuming fresh fruit and veggie juice. By the end of his 'cleanse' -and I use this term loosely, he had lost a ton of weight and cured all his health issues no longer needing any medications. So of course I had to try it! And my family was completely on board. My mom and I did it for one week, and my dad did too but he had to add in some food around day 4. By the end of the week I had lost 8 pounds and was feeling great except for the fact that I had no energy and was STARVING. I remember going to my grandparents house for a party and they had tons of snacks out and not being able to eat anything was torturous. My first meal after the juicing was a baked chicken breast with feta cheese, Greek feta dressing and a tossed salad and I could seriously taste everything. It was amazing. I no longer wanted to eat anything sweet.. I couldn't even get through a few bites of my cereal because it was TOO sweet and that's saying something for me because I absolutely love sweets. My parents had the same feelings which made it super easy to keep on track with a healthy diet (for like a week). But was it really worth it? Yes I lost 8 pounds but where did that come from? I gained it all back very quickly after because I was actually eating food again and that whole week I had no energy and couldn't even go workout because I probably would have passed out. So what's all the rage???
WHATS THE RAGE ON CELERY JUICE?!
So I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with this picture that Kim K posted on her instagram explaining the benefits of drinking celery juice... which obviously sparked the interest of 10 billion people who now also drink celery juice in the mornings (yes, I'm exaggerating but it's still a lot of people). I tried to do some research on this from actual peer-reviewed journals but all I really noticed is that there is not a lot of research done on this (or juice cleansing in general) to back up the facts.
I searched several academic databases including PEN, PubMed, EBSCO, and even google scholar and found really nothing on juice cleansing. However, this has been a super popular trend coming in over that past few years and is constantly being sold in the media as a cure all to health problems ranging from obesity to hypertension to gastric complications to arthritis. The term 'cleanse' also markets this method as a way to flush toxins from the body and spark energy to get you moving all day long. During my literature search I did find an article by Yeong-Hay H. Lein published in 2013 that actually talked about some of the negative side effects of the juice cleanse and why we may not want to be promoting it.
PROS AND CONS OF JUICING
While the fresh fruit and vegetable juice is indeed packed full with nutrients like antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A, and phytochemicals, juicing removes all the fibre from these fruits and vegetables which are what make you feel full and energized. Fibre also plays an important part in healthy digestion and keeping cholesterol and blood sugars on target. This is one of the main cons of the juice cleanse because one of the main selling points is that it gives you more energy... but how can it do that without the fibre?! Many posts sell juicing as an energy boost because it allows the body to absorb all the nutrients while saving energy from not having the break down the foods to get those nutrients out, but where is the evidence? Sure juicing is easier if you don't feel like chewing one day, but it also requires more time and effort to prepare. Juicers are also not the cheapest kitchen appliance out there either! At the end of the day, juicing is going to leave you more hungry than anything meaning more juice will have to be consumed throughout the day to keep that full feeling, but don't forget about those natural sugars! Of course it's okay to have natural sugars from fruits and veggies but if you think about it, most people could sit down and eat one orange or maybe two clementines and feel full. Or maybe a salad packed with handfuls of spinach, fresh strawberries, maybe some summery vinaigrette and whatever fruits and veggies you could imagine! Just think of how nice and filling that would be and you'd likely feel fantastic after eating it! Now think about putting that through the juicer. Two handfuls of fresh spinach will likely yield MAYBE 1/2 to 1 cup of juice, probably not even that much. One orange by itself is like a gulp or orange juice. If you wanted a full glass of fresh orange juice it's going to take maybe 4 oranges. THATS A LOT OF SUGAR! What's the benefit to doing that when you could have one whole orange and be satisfied? Vegetable juice isn't as much as a concern for sugar intake but most juice recipes do call for some sort of fruit to add flavour because as I'm sure we all know or can imagine, plain vegetable juice does not taste like rainbows and sunshine. I know it sounds enticing to try the cleanse, I definitely had to try it after hearing about all the benefits and yes I did see some awesome results in just one week! But I also didn't get the energy boost I was told I'd get and yes I was very hangry. The weight loss simply comes from cleansing your bowels and comes back once the food is entered back into the diet! Maybe it will be the boost you need to get that diet back on track or whatever you might be seeking, but in my opinion it's a lot more satisfying to just eat the fruits and veggies!
WHAT ABOUT SMOOTHIES?
So... what about smoothies? I may be biased because I absolutely LOVE smoothies. If you read my last post you'll remember me talking about how I grew up being a super picky eater. I hated eating vegetables especially nasty ones like spinach and kale...eww. Once I started to get interested in nutrition I learned all about why they were so important to eat in my diet, along with foods like chia seeds and avocados so I started packing them all in my smoothies! I worked in a mall for quite a while with a smoothie place in the food court so I'd go and get some nice and summery coconut pineapple smoothie until I ventured into the world of green smoothies and guess what... I loved them! Since then I've been making smoothies regularly using fresh or frozen spinach, kale, avocados, coconut water, chia seeds, hemp seeds, almond milk, maybe some yogurt before I became vegan, and whatever fruits I had in the house. Smoothies have all the benefits of juicing as far as nutrients go, but also keep the fibre in the foods to help make you feel full. They are also a bit easier to make and produce a lot less food waste as you can actually eat the whole fruit/vegetable. Smoothies are also best using frozen fruits which can help save a lot of money since fresh produce can get pretty pricy!
Lately I've been loving making smoothie bowls which I make using the same ingredients as the normal smoothie (this is the base) but then I top them off with extra fruits and seeds to add some healthy fats and carbohydrates! I also love using hemp hearts to add some plant-based protein! While you could always add a scoop of protein to the smoothie base, adding toppings like the hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, nut butters, or even coconut flakes can help give that extra protein and make your smoothie bowl that much yummier!
RECIPES
Here are a few of my favourite smoothie/ smoothie bowl recipes!
Coco-Green Smoothie
This is definitely my go-to recipe for smoothies. I've always LOVED smoothies that taste like I'm on the beach... some pineapple with a hint of coconut.. you know something line a pina colada! This recipe is awesome by itself or as a smoothie bowl topped with sliced bananas, chia seeds, maybe some fresh pineapple, hemp hearts, or whatever you've got! As you can see here I had some fresh raspberries I wanted to use up so I added them on top of my mini smoothie bowl. However I typically would choose banana slices to go more with the flavour of the smoothie as shown in the photo below!
I typically just estimate the amounts of each ingredient, but for a general reference you can use these amounts:
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup coconut water
1/2 banana
2 handfuls of fresh spinach OR mix of spinach and kale leaves
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp chia seeds
OPTIONAL: 1 scoop protein powder of your choice!
Optional toppings: banana, chia seeds, hemp seeds
Keep in mind, these amounts usually make enough just for me or a small one if I share so you may need to adjust the amounts as you wish!
This is a similar smoothie bowl I got from Booster Juice one day when I was out and craving a smoothie! Their recipe uses kale, spinach, pineapple, mango, chia seeds and hemp seeds! It actually tasted pretty good and is a good option if you need something on the run!
Berry-Banana Smoothie
I really struggled to get a good photo of this one because it is SO dark in colour! This smoothie bowl features a variety of mixed wild berries, bananas, and a nice coconut kick because who doesn't love a tropical aftertaste in their smoothies?!
1 cup frozen mixed berries (this one is mainly blueberries which is why it's so dark!)
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 banana
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp chia seeds
Optional toppings: bananas, chia seeds, hemp hearts, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, almonds
Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
This next one is your basic strawberry-banana smoothie and its SUPER easy and yummy! This is definitely the simplest one I make because I buy my strawberries and bananas frozen and already mixed so I just throw them in the blender and we're good to go! You could definitely amp up this smoothie by adding more fillers like protein powder, maybe some coconut water or coconut milk, but here is what I use and it's good enough on it's own for me!
1.5 cups frozen strawberry banana blend
~1 cup of almond milk (may need more/less depending on blender strength and desired thickness)
1 tbsp chia seeds
Thats it!!!
Optional toppings: bananas, chia seeds, hemp hearts.
As you can probably tell I love topping off my smoothies with a little extra chia and hemp! Chia seeds are awesome because they add to the texture of the smoothie by helping the thicken it up by forming a gel with the coconut water/ almond milk, and they're also a great source of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, fibre, and antioxidants! I'm also a huge banana lover so I top it off with banana slices seeing as I usually have one open from using half in the smoothie!
So I hope this helped you clarify a bit between juicing and smoothies and that you all try and enjoy these awesome smoothies! Thanks for visiting my page, check back later for more!!
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