Over much of the past 31 days I have been fasting, I have been using both the juicing and blending methods. In the past, I’ve only juiced when I fasted. This has sparked some questions about what the difference between the two is as far as method and health benefits.
While I don’t necessarily thing one method is better than the other, there is a difference and there are definite benefits to both, which is why I have chosen to do both.
Juicing and Blending
If you are bored someday and want to stir up some trouble, walk up to a straight juicing friend and tell him that you bought a new blender so you can make juices, too. Then look out! People are often married to one method or another, especially hard-core juicers.
Die-hard juicers are adamant that “juicing” refers only to creating juices in a juice extractor appliance. In fact, juicers who favor the centrifugal machine (lowest priced and most common) will even take sides with owners of pricier masticatingmachines when they have to defend against the blender/smoothie/Vitamix crowd.
Smoothie aficionados seem to have more of an open-door policy. They are often amused at the strict juicing rules and have two questions for juicers:
Why are you wasting all of that good fibrous pulp?
and
What do you do about getting enough protein?
So what distinguishes a juice from a smoothie? Asked another way: what is the difference between juicing and blending?
The Ingredients
- Blendsand juices are both made from raw vegetables, leafy greens, or fruit, though you don’t have to do as much prep work for juicing (ie: foods you would peel for blending can go through the juicer).
- Non-organic produce must be peeled first. Always. For both methods.
- Frozen ingredients are acceptable for blending, but not for juicing.
- Certain soft seeds (melon, tomato, papaya) are allowed into a juicer, which would pulverize them. However, they can cause a texture issue for some who are blending.
- Liquids such as milk, water, coconut water, or yogurt are added to blends.
- Supplements like protein powder or chia seeds are frequently added to blends.Juicerians would never allow this.
The Machine
- Blenders can be bought for as little $19 at discount stores.
- Juicers start at around $100 and can go for an much as $1500.
- Deluxe blenders that can even blend soup start around $400.
- Blenders are simple to clean after use. The base of the carafe unscrews so the blades can be washed.
- Juicers take a little more work to clean. The stainless steel mesh screen must be scrubbed, the pulp catcher needs to be rinsed or cleaned, and the feeder chute and main bowl and pitcher need to be washed.
The Method
- For blends, everything can be added all at once to the blender.
- The blender operator can choose between settings (puree, whip, mix).
- Liquid can be trickled in through an opening in the top of the blender to better control consistency.
- For juices, the produce must be fed through the top and pushed down into the machine.
- Juicingcan be a slow process.
- All output from the blender is consumable immediately.
- The juicer separates water and nutrients (juice) from fibrous pulp. The pulp can be discarded or used for baking or frozen for future smoothies.
Do some households own both types of machines, a juicer as well as a blender? Absolutely! In fact, there are some recipes that call for extracting juice and then continuing by adding the juice with ingredients in a blender. This is what I do about half of the time, using my Breville juicer and Vitamix.
I shared today that I have been using both of these methods during my 31-day fast. Today is the last day of my fast, and tomorrow, I will be sharing more about this experience. I hope you come back to hear more of my story.
Recipe of the Day
Today, I thought I would share one of my favorite blend recipes. This one begins with juicing most of the ingredients and then adding them to the blender with some healthy fat and protein foods. If you don’t have a juicer, you can certainly blend the entire recipe without juicing first.
Pinkalicious Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 apple
- 1/4 pineapple
- 1 carrot
- 1 beetroot
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 ripe banana
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1 tsp. fermented vegan protein powder
- handful ice cubes
Directions
- Wash all produce well
- Core the apple, peel the pineappleand lemon
- Add the first 5 ingredients through juicer (I recommend Breville)
- Add the banana, avocado, protein powder and ice to your blender, pour in the juice, blend until smooth and enjoy!
Yield: 1 serving
Find more juicing recipes.
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