This post comes to us courtesy of Joe Cross, founder of Reboot Your Life.
People often ask me what’s the difference between juicing with a juicer and making fruit and veggie-based drinks with a blender – which is really the difference between juices and smoothies. Both are amazing additions to any diet. Juice allows us to work with the freshest fruits, vegetables and herbs to create drinks that are deliciously vibrant, deliver an amazing nutritional punch and are incredibly easy to digest. But smoothies have their place in a daily menu as well – they can offer fiber, good fats and opportunities for adding more protein into your diet all while tasting deliciously decadent.
So what’s the difference?
When you juice you push clean produce through the chute of a juicer. This process removes the insoluble fiber (but the soluble fiber remains in the juice). Important micronutrients typically more difficult to absorb become accessible to the human body. These nutrients include digestive enzymes and certain phytonutrients. Also, by creating an all liquid product, the body and consume more of these phytonutrients at once.
It amazes new Rebooters sometimes how small the juice yield is from vegetables like kale, and makes it clear that it’s a lot easier to drink a head of kale than to eat it!
When you make smoothies, you load up a blender with clean, fresh or frozen fruits, and green leafy veggies (swiss chard or spinach, for example) and liquid like coconut water, juice or almond milk. You can also add ingredients like almonds, hemp or soy milk, cacao nibs or chia seed for fun.
When you drink smoothies, your body benefits from the phytonutrients found in the skin and flesh of fruits and veggies. You also benefit from the large amounts of fiber found in whole fruits and vegetables. Fiber is important for regulating blood sugar, keeping bowels regular, aiding in hunger control, and it may help prevent certain types of cancers.
Nutritional Tip
Remember: some juices and smoothies are meant to serve as full meals, while others are supplements. It’s important to look at your entire diet each day to ensure you are meeting your body’s nutritional needs while keeping your caloric intake in check.
Both smoothies and fresh juice can be a healthy and delicious way to boost the amount of micronutrients in your diet. Last week I gave you five of my favorite juice recipes, so here are two of my favorite smoothie recipes to add to your recipe box.
Blackberry Kiwi Blend
1/4 large pineapple, core removed and roughly cubed
1 cup blackberries
1 kiwifruit
1 banana
1/2 Comice pear
1/2 cup coconut water
30 mint leaves
1 Tbs. flax seed oil (optional)
Add all ingredients to blender and liquefy. Serves 1.
Great Green Fruit Blend
2 cups beet greens, red Swiss chard, kale, spinach or a combination, roughly chopped and packed into measuring cup
1 banana
1 Golden Delicious apple
1/2 Comice pear
10 strawberries, green tops cut off
1 cup coconut water
Make sure to set the blender on the liquefy setting for this recipe. Add all ingredients to blender and liquefy. Serves 1.
About the author: Founder of Reboot Your Life – a health and wellness company that provides tools and information to support diets rich in fruits and vegetables (www.jointhereboot.com).
Dan 
Chelsea 
Rachael 
