Cooked or Blended vs Whole

car0lyn428

What is the nutritional impact if your vegetables are cooked or blended in a smoothie versus earing them whole?

lynn_glenmont

If you cook them in water and drain them, you'll likely lose some vitamin and minerals -- possibly some insignificant amount of calories in the form of sugars leaching into the water as well, but no practical way to figure out the exact amount.

If you roast, grill, saute, broil, etc. (dry cooking methods), there's no meaningful nutrition effect on most foods, other than any oil or other fat added during cooking and (mostly in the case of meats) any fat that cooks out that you drain, falls into the fire, leave in the pan, etc. I account for what's added, and try to find database entries that reflect the cooking method I'm using for meat, if I'll only be eating a portion of what's cooked.

I can't imagine how blending would effect nutritional content (unless you leave the top off the blender and some unmeasurable amount of the ingredients wind up on the walls and ceiling).

(ETA: sorry, in the middle of this writing this I forgot you only asked about veggies -- just ignore the parts of the response referring to meat. When you say "blended in a smoothie" you're not talking about juicing the veggies, are you, because that would definitely affect the nutrition.)

AnnPT77

Cooking can make some nutrients more bioavailable, i.e., easier for our bodies to access. I'm not sure whether putting them in smoothies will do that, but it shouldn't make them any less useful/usable.

Personally, I feel more sated by foods I chew vs. drink, but that's individual.

paints5555

Cooking can also destroy some vitamins (vitamin C) but how much can depend on the cooking method.

AnnPT77

paints5555 wrote: »

Cooking can also destroy some vitamins (vitamin C) but how much can depend on the cooking method.

Good point. I should've said that - glad you commented!

yirara

apart from nutritional impact: Some people feel less full when drinking their food instead of chewing it.

musicfan68

If you blend fruit or vegetables into a smoothie, you destroy the fiber in them, which to me, is detrimental nutritionally. Fiber can help fill you up, and if you destroy the fiber by making smoothies, not a lot of benefit. I would rather eat the whole vegetable or fruit rather than drink it.

Xellercin

I think whatever preparation way helps you maximize your intake of nutritious foods while maintaining your caloric intake goals is the best.

I wouldn't start blending all of my vegetables even if it did make them more nutritious because I don't like gulping down thick smoothies, so the net result would be me consuming fewer vegetables.

However, a coworker of mine despised the feel of chewing fibrous things, so she drank liters of juiced vegetables and fruit, and that was the best way for her to get plants into her diet.

BarbaraHelen2013

musicfan68 wrote: »

If you blend fruit or vegetables into a smoothie, you destroy the fiber in them, which to me, is detrimental nutritionally. Fiber can help fill you up, and if you destroy the fiber by making smoothies, not a lot of benefit. I would rather eat the whole vegetable or fruit rather than drink it.

I think you’re confusing blending with juicing. Juicing absolutely removes the fibre since it’s all left in the machine as pulp - the waste product.

Personally I don’t ‘get’ the trend and appeal of smoothies but they do contain the fibre inherent in whatever you ‘smoothed’ - it’s all still there since there is no waste product.

I agree I’d much prefer to eat my vegetables and fruit than whizz them up into a gloopy drink!