Greens: Juice, Blend, or Abstain?

As general rule, I'm an advocate of eating the whole vegetable or fruit vs. drinking it. But sometimes, a green juice, with an attractive list of bright and nutritious ingredients is enticing. It's a bit of alchemy, watching a cart full of vegetables go into a machine and come out in a glass. And drinking it feels like drinking sunshine. Maybe that just a health halo, but I can bask it in nonetheless.

I juiced consistently for about a year, and found it nourishing and gratifying. Pure green juice (vegetables only, with the exception of lemon) helped me with hydration when I needed something other than water or tea. Then I moved into a condo half the size of my townhome, and, over one year later, my juicer remains in it's box. The reasons are many: the juicer is big and heavy and I don't have the space for it in my kitchen. Produce is expensive. I eat plenty of vegetables. Ultimately, juicing currently is not a return on investment for me as far as time, labor, money, or product.

And I think that's the key: whether or not juicing feels worthwhile to the individual. The one exception might be green juices that are a whole lot of apple juice and 3 leaves of kale. As with anything, it's important to pay attention to the content: just because it's green doesn't mean it's healthy. In my opinion, sugar devoid of fiber is likely not supportive of most health and wellness goals and might even be counter-productive.

The fiber conversation brings up another green liquid that started a movement: green smoothies. For a long time, I thought these were a terrible idea: loads of fruit with a handful of spinach and voila! A large meal's worth of calories and three times the recommended daily amount of sugar down hatch in three minutes. Fortunately, there is increasing education and awareness regarding sugar, and versions of green smoothies packed with greens are now becoming more popular. With juicing not currently a viable option for me, and my Vitamix blender begging for use, I decided to try my first green smoothie.

It was heavy on the greens and I expected it to be barely palatable. To my surprise, it tasted far better than the ingredient list would suggest. 0ne pear, three cups of greens, a thumb-sized piece of ginger, a good handful of cilantro, a few mint leaves, the juice of a lemon, 10 almonds, and a couple drops of stevia yielded a drink that was actually enjoyable. Even more surprising is that it kept me full for hours. I tried again the next day, this time with half a pear, two cups of microgreens, some apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon, and about a tablespoon each of hemp and sunflower seeds replaced the almonds; the remaining ingredients were the same. This version was equally good.

The upside of smoothies (vs juices) is that there is no pulp to figure out what to do with. At first I turned it into crackers and pizza crusts, but the celery fibers made that rather unappetizing. I ended up composting, but that was wet and messy, and I honestly wouldn't want to take that on again. A smoothie that is mostly not fruit is a great option for anyone who wants to incorporate foods they otherwise might not eat, or foods that are reaching expiration in the fridge.

For anyone who is not juicing or blending, I'm not advising that you start - unless it's something that interests and serves you. For those who, like me, were averse to drinking foods, you may want to reconsider. I discovered that, for me, there were times when it actually hit the spot as far as hydration, with an added bonus of increased satiety. It's not something I do regularly, but it's no longer something I purposely avoid. For anyone who is juicing and/or blending because they think it is virtuous, but they hate it, then I encourage them to consider other options. Yes, food doesn't have to be enjoyable all the time, but it shouldn't be punishing.