blend, process or juice?

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20percy14
20percy14 Posts: 24 Member
in Recipes
I would like to start making smoothie type drinks in the morning as breakfast has never appealed to me. I know some people juice and think its great. Some people blend/process to get the fibre from the pulp and poo-poo juicing for that reason. I dont have a juicer or a food processor/blender. what should i invest in?

P.

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  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,354 Member
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    You would probably get more use out of a blender and/or food processor. You can use those elsewhere when cooking.
  • Choices55
    Choices55 Posts: 2
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    The Oster My Blend 20 oz Personal Blender is great! Available at Target, Walmart, etc. around $25. I'm not a breakfast person either, so this has been wonderful. Just put everything in, screw on the blade cap, put it on the base and it mixes/chops/blends everything. You can 'lock' it onto the base so by the time you have your ingredients put away, it's done. Replace the blade cap with the travel cap and off you go. Never leaks, and you can drink right out of it. Fits in the car cup holders. (They thought of everything.) Gosh, I sound like a commercial. I love using Welch's Light 45 calorie White Grape Juice (1 cup), 1 container Greek yogurt, flax seed, about one cup fresh or frozen fruit, and as much spinach, kale, or whatever healthy veggie I can stuff in. I top it off with water so it's not too thick and blend. Very refreshing!

    http://www.target.com/p/oster-my-blend-personal-20-oz-blender/-/A-14461606#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=oster+blender
  • Fenomka
    Fenomka Posts: 103 Member
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    I've done all three. I can say that probably for every day use, blender/food processors are faster, a bit easier, and less cleanup over all, which is always a plus. You'll get valid nutritional benefits out of all of them, so I would say for starters, go with the blender/food processor, and then once you've been doing that a while, if you decide you don't like it as much, you'll have had time to save up for a juicer (they can be spendy).

    In regards to specific types, I have a basic Ninja blender, and I love it. I picked mine up at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, for about 40$, but it came with three different sizes of pitcher, everything is removable, dishwasher safe, and it's SUPER easy to use, and super powerful.
  • JustineMarie21
    JustineMarie21 Posts: 438 Member
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    BUY THE NUTRIBULLET!!! No I'm not paid for advertising them, I am just a health nut and a proud owner of a nutribullet.
    Juicing does not give you the fiber/protein or as much antioxidants that the bullet can give you. The juicers waste your money because you are buying so much veggies/fruits for ONE drink. Also unless your using the leftover pulp for lets say crackers? Then your throwing money down the drain as well as nutrients. The bullet cuts through plant cell walls extracting everything, making it more digestible for your body to absorb quick. You can also pulverize nuts to add healthy fats. I really don't want you wasting your money....
  • jamieo70
    jamieo70 Posts: 24
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    I'll second the Nutribullet. It does a great job.
  • lalee93
    lalee93 Posts: 52 Member
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    I have a NutriBullet, as well, and love it! It is definitely one of the best investments I have made. My husband and I both love the smoothies and they are an easy way to pack in some good veggie nutrition. I haven't gotten too adventurous with that, but always use 1-2 cups of spinach as the base to my smoothies and you cannot taste it and it is broken up very well, so that you don't feel stems or see chunks of spinach. I drink a smoothie every morning, and then may eat an apple an hour or two later once my stomach has "woken up", but it keeps me satisfied until lunch! I also like that NutriBullets come with a blade that allows you to "grind" nuts, seeds, oats, etc. into powder to add to your smoothie if you wish. Overall, I believe it is a great product. The only issue that I have ever had with it is that sometimes the seal pops out of its little crevice and you have to pop it back in (no problem) or I screw the lid on a little funny and it might leak a little (also not a problem). Neither of those deter me in anyway though, and are normally my own fault.

    Good luck with your investment!
  • cpdiminish
    cpdiminish Posts: 84
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    I'd do a blender first. Make sure you get one that is supposed to hold up well for ice and it will give you more options for how to store your fruit as well.

    I also have a juicer and though the juices I've made are great, but I use it a lot less often than the blender.

    I went all out and bought the $200 blender and a $300 juicer, both from Breville. I wanted appliances that were highly rated for the my intended uses and that would last my lifetime so I didn't scrimp.

    Smoothies

    Downsides: If you're doing mainly fruit smoothies, they are going to be really high in calories. You'll want to look for smoothie recipes that also include vegetables to get this under control. It is also seems to be really hard to make a small batch of smoothies.

    Upsides: If you get the kick-butt blender that can crush ice, you can store your fruit in the freezer and not have to worry about it going bad too quickly - less waste. Smoothies do retain all of the fiber, but even the process of blending helps to break down the cellulose so it is easier to digest than if you were just eating the fruit or veggie whole.

    Juicing:

    Downsides: It takes a heck of a lot of fruit and vegetables to get the juice you want, so it can be an expensive endeavor. You can get more yield with a better juicer but it will cost you more money. Clean up can be cumbersome, some juicers pretty big and parts that need to be hand washed.

    Upsides: Some of the most delicious flavors I have ever tasted have come from freshly-made juice. I swear that apple/carrot juice with just a touch of ginger is actually ambrosia.

    But I would caveat that neither juicing or smoothies are good for dieting on their own. Too much of either doesn't just throw things out of kilter, but can actually kill you. I'd definitely look up the negatives before getting too gung ho. That juicing documentary by Joe Cross is one of the most-dangerous things I've ever seen.
  • 20percy14
    20percy14 Posts: 24 Member
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    Thanks everyone, I will have to hit the shops after the easter break. :-)

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