Whether it’s to accommodate an on-the-go lifestyle or because they simply can’t stand crunching away on veggie after veggie, more and more people are electing to sip their fruits and veggies in the form of juices or smoothies.
This practice has been around for quite some time, but use to be fringe movement popular among the most dedicated health-foodies. Today, with the ready availability of juices and smoothies premade and the copious source material to instruct the do-it-yourself juicer or smoothie chef, people of all walks of life are joining in the game.
Benefits
The USDA recommends that health-conscious eaters down between two to four servings of fruit a day and consume between three and five servings of veggies. That’s a lot of roughage for many, leaving most people skimping on meeting these requirements.
By using a juice or a smoothie as a fruit and veggie-downing vehicle, eaters can meet these requirements with substantially greater ease and substantially less chewing.
Juice Vs. Smoothies
While both fresh juices and smoothies provide easy access to fruits and vegetables, these two forms of consumption are not created equal. When you consume your fruits and veggies in a juice form, you are taking in the nutrients, but not the fiber.
Not only can skipping this fiber be a problem if you already don’t get enough of this dietary component, it can also make it harder to get filled up. If getting and staying full as a means of avoiding snacking is of importance to you, you may find more success with smoothie making than with juicing.
Getting Started
Want to start juicing or smoothie-ing? Step 1: Get the right equipment. If you want to start juicing, invest in a juicing machine as you won’t be able to extract all of the juice by hand. To get started on a smoothie regiment, you need only a relatively high-quality blender to do the trick.
After you have your equipment in hand, you need your fruits and veggies. Nearly anything can be turned into a juice or a smoothie, so you can allow your taste buds, your dietary needs and, of course, your wallet, to make the decision for you.
For a low-cost option, use frozen fruits heavily, as these are often more readily available and decidedly cheaper than the fresh options. For veggies, fresh is by far the best, so set aside funds to buy your carrots and kale and spinach from your farmers market or local grocery store’s produce section.
If you plan to make a smoothie, you will also need to add liquid. You can use anything from water to coconut milk as your base, depending on your tastes.
Pro Tips
Don’t let your on-the-go lifestyle prevent you from partaking in this healthy eating option. While it is best to consume your juices or smoothies immediately after you make them, you can let them sit for up to 72 hours at max, so making your drinks for the next day the night before is an option you can exercise.
For an easy and cheap way to take your juice and smoothies with you, try mason jars. You’ve probably seen juicers or smoothie drinkers using these classic-yet-currently-en-vogue containers as this is a popular practice. By dusting off a mason jar and using it to hold your power drink you enable yourself to easily seal up the drink and take it with you wherever the day may take you.
If you’re loving your juicing but sick to death of cleaning that pesky juicer, take at least a little of the work out of the process by lining the compartment into which your pulp is deposited with a plastic grocery sack prior to juicing. With this handy tip you can simply pull out your waste and toss it in the trashcan instead of struggling to clean out your machine at juicing’s end.
