I’m a little bit of a sceptic when it comes to juicing and smoothies. I often get nervous for people when I see that they are on a big cold pressed juice drinking kick. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of benefits from drinking cold pressed juices and smoothies, but you just have to be weary what you’re drinking and how much of it.
Some Facts of Juicing to Know
When you drink juices, this are a lot of nutrients more readily available to your body in much larger quantities than if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole/raw. Literally, jucing is the process that extracts water and nutrients from product and discards the indigestible fiber.
This is good, right?
Yes, in a way. Juicing makes it so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to digest all the fiber. But, be cautious because when you remove the fiber from the produce, the liquid juice is absorbed into your blood stream very quickly. This okay if you’re lacking a lot of nutrients or per say you just depleted your body from a hard work out. Therefore drinking cold pressed juices or a turmeric shot (more to come on this) at that point in time would be good, meaning it would get to your muscles quickly and provide a lot of nutrients faster.
Although, if you are only juicing fruits, this would cause a rapid spike in blood sugar. Unstable blood sugar levels can lead to mood swings, energy loss, memory problems and more! In addition, fiber is filling! So, without any fiber in juice, this will cause you to become very hungry quickly.
What About Smoothies?
Unlike juicing, smoothies consist of the entire fruit or vegetables, skin and all the yummy fiber from the vegetables. The blending process, which breaks the fiber apart (and makes the fruit and vegetables easier to digest), also creates a slow, even release of nutrients into the blood stream and avoids blood sugar spikes. Smoothies tend to be more filling, because of the fiber, and can be great to drink first thing in the morning after a workout before you consume some protein, which should be consumed within 20 minutes of finishing your workout, or later in the day to get in some extra nutrients. Smoothies are especially great if you’re not a fan of eating vegetables with your meals.
With that said, I do enjoy drinking a nutricious-filled, delicious smoothie time to time! My green smoothie is packed, going to repeat that, PACKED with amazing health benefits. I like to drink this one to two times a week after working out and or before I eat my morning power breakfast. This smoothie is also great to drink if you’ve been on vacation or just splurging too much during the work week. Note: I would not recommend drinking this smoothie, or any smoothie or juice as meal replacements. 
Five Benefits of Drinking My Green Smoothie Recipe
- Spinach has an extremely high nutritional value and is rich in antioxidants. It is a good source of vitamins A, B2, C and K, and also contains magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, calcium and potassium.
- Parsley is a great source for vitamin C, which is needed for a healthy immune system, and it is rich in folic acid, which is needed to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease.
- Lemon juice is great to keep you regular, if you know what I mean. It’s also good for your skin, hair, has lots of vitamin C, can restore balance to the body’s pH, and has been said to help anti-aging! Say whaaa? Yes! It’s true! For an extra somethin’, somethin’ add the lemon peel! The lemon peel contains the potent phytonutrient tangeretin, which has been proven to be effective for brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
- As cool as a cucumber definitely rings true! Cucumbers are actually pretty amazing. Although, its made up of mostly water, they contain B vitamins, including vitamin B1, vitamin B5, and vitamin B7 (biotin), which are known to help ease feelings of anxiety and buffer some of the damaging effects of stress. Also, they are said to freshen breath, fight inflammatory, and contain an anti-inflammatory flavonol called fisetin that appears to play an important role in brain health.
- Ginger, like cucumbers, has amazing anti-inflammatory benefits. These properties can help with muscle soreness (which is why I suggest drinking it after a workout), and helps with digestion, nausea, and is said to be a metabolism boosting substance. For example, research suggests that consuming thermogenic ingredients, like ginger, may boost your metabolism by up to 5 percent, and increase fat burning by up to 16 percent. Mmm, ginger, you’ve got my vote!
And that is the short version of all the amazing benefits of this drink! Plus, something fun about this smoothie, like most of my recipes, is you can totally customize it! I encourage you to add other ingredients or sub out some to your liking. Other ingredients may include: mint, kale, orange juice +peel, and cinnamon.
- 1 Banana
- 1 granny smith, geen apple
- 1 whole cucumber
- 2 cups spinach, roughly 2 handfuls
- 1 bunch of parsley, about a handful
- 1 lemon, juiced (add the peel for more nutrients!)
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled
- 1 cup coconut water
- Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high for a minute or so.
- You may want to add more of any of the ingredients detailed to your liking. For example, I like my smoothies really liquid-y, so I often add more coconut water or lemon juice.
