Why are These Refreshing Smoothies Ideal for Your Health and Energy (and Superior to Juicing)? Part 1: Vegetable Smoothies

Machines that grind fresh raw fruits and vegetables into juices seem to be everywhere these days: in the stores, on television, pictured in books. It’s a sign that people want to include healthier foods in their diets and reap the benefits of the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes in fresh produce.

But juicing is not the panacea it’s often portrayed to be... especially for people with Body Ecology imbalances.

If you have poor health or candida, drinking juices when your body is still too acidic and without an understanding of how to do juicing properly will only magnify your symptoms. We recommend waiting until your yeast infection is well under control, you have alkalized your blood and your inner ecosystem is healed (which may take at least 3 months) before you begin juicing.

So what can you do in the meantime?

You can make blended smoothies! The smoothies we recommend are delicious, easy to digest and assimilate into your body. They are also ideal for the warm summer months. They do not feed yeast as many smoothies do.

In Part 1 of this two-part piece on smoothies, we will discuss the benefits of vegetable smoothies and provide you with two easy vegetable smoothie recipes. In part 2, we will talk about fruit smoothie do’s and don’ts and provide you with a “template” to make Body Ecology fruit smoothie recipes.

Sublime Vegetable Smoothies

Both blended smoothies and juiced vegetables will provide you with a raw food treat that is full of enzymes yet will be much easier to digest than eating the raw veggie in its whole form.

So, what’s the difference between vegetable juices and vegetable smoothies?

With vegetable blended smoothies, you are drinking all parts of the vegetable, including the fiber. These juices digest more slowly and are even healthier. When you juice vegetables, you remove the fiber, so the vegetable juice metabolizes or goes into your system too quickly, with an effect similar to sugar. Your blood becomes quickly acidic.

Vegetable blended smoothies allow you to obtain the benefits of vegetables in a delicious drinkable form. And, when you make vegetable smoothies, you are breaking down the cellulose fiber in the vegetables, which makes them easier to digest.

We humans lack the ability to digest insoluble fiber because we don’t have the enzyme cellulose in our stomachs like cows do.

Ingredients Count

What you put in your smoothie counts when it comes to creating great health.

Here are some examples of Do’s and Don’ts in vegetable smoothie making:

• Don’t – Use raw cruciferous vegetables,like collards, kale, cauliflower, arugula, Brussels Sprouts and broccoli. These raw vegetables have thyroid suppressing properties and are best eaten cooked or fermented.
• Do – Use plenty of NON-cruciferous veggies and fresh garden herbs like celery, romaine lettuce, cilantro, basil, cucumbers, green beans, sprouts, yellow squash and zucchini. Veggies and herbs are packed with vitamins and minerals and provide delicious flavor for your smoothies.

  We DO NOT recommend the use of beets, carrots or other root vegetables because they become even sweeter when juiced or blended into smoothies. Later as your yeast infection or viral infections are under control, you may be able to add very small amounts of these sweet veggies blended into smoothies but only IF you are sure they are wellbalanced with mostly alkaline-forming ingredients like the veggies mentioned above (and see below)

  Basically, your choice of main ingredients should ensure a very mineral-rich, alkaline smoothie. It’s the mineral-rich vegetables and the fiber in the blended smoothies that help keep your smoothies more alkaline.

• Do- practice The Principle of Balance between expansive and contracting foods. Since veggies are slightly expansive a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and/or a dash of Wheat-Free Low Sodium Tamara (by San-J) can be used to create more balance. 

  A scoop of Vitality SuperGreen with its fermented algae, fermented green veggies and cereal grasses is a nutrient-dense addition that alkalizes.

• Do – Use a healthy, organic form of fat, like avocadoes, unrefined hempseed  oil, flaxseed oil, cod liver oil, evening primrose or melted ghee or coconut oil. These add flavor and body, plus a fat or an oil helps keeps your body feeling satisfied longer.
• Do – Add sea veggies like wakame or Irish Moss. A small amount goes a long way but they do provide additional proteins, iodine and other minerals that can ensure that you start your day with extra energy and even more brain power.
• Do – Use fermented foods and drinks in your smoothies. Using a probiotic liquid like a few ounces of Innergy-Biotic will add a balancing sour taste, much like lemon juice would. And the addition of beneficial microflora to help create an inner ecosystem in the power center of your body... your intestines... is a must! Even adding a spoonful of cultured vegetables works really well and has many excellent benefits.
• Don’t  - Combine vegetables and most fruits in your smoothies. However, having said that, a very sour Granny Smith apple and other sour fruits like lemons, limes, noni, acai, cranberry and pomegranate juice concentrates may be okay for most of us. Fruits digest so quickly that they usually do not combine well with any other foods. Blended smoothies may be an exception. It’s a matter of following the Principle of Uniqueness. See what your body likes best. It will speak to you loud and clear.
• Do – Try a small amount of a soaked nuts or seeds or even a spoonful of any nut or seed butter that your body seems to like. These give a nice texture, consistency and flavor to your yummy one-of-a-kind creation.  
• Do - Follow the Body Ecology guidelines for foods to include in your diet. The Body Ecology Diet outlines everything you need to know about the foods to include and avoid when creating a healthy inner ecosystem.

Best Time of the Day to Drink a Blended Smoothie?

We love them in the morning because that’s when our body needs alkaline, easy-to-digest, liquid-y foods best. We wake up dehydrated and acidic and are usually not ready to overburden our digestive systems with rich, complex meals.

Blended smoothies can be a meal replacement especially if you are trying to lose weight. They can also be consumed at any other time of the day and are ideal to take between meals if you need to put on more muscle and/or gain weight. (Yes, while obesity seems to be the main focus of our attention today, some people are undernourished and need supplemental nutrition)

In a nutshell, drink your blended smoothies for breakfast, or as a simple yet nourishing meal or as a snack anytime of the day. They digest so quickly that you will soon find yourself feeling hungry again.

Now that you have some simple yet basic guidelines, you are ready to make your own delicious smoothies!
Here is a vegetable smoothie recipe to get you started... be creative and you’ll find that whipping up these smoothies is as easy as it is delicious!

Energizing Green Vegetable Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients

½ of a small cucumber
½ cup fresh basil
1 cup spring mix
1 TBL coconut oil
2 cups fresh green beans
5 chives
½ cup water
½ cup Innergy-Biotic

Directions

• Wash the vegetables and cut them up to prepare for blending.
• Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until the consistency is smooth.
• Add more water if you want to thin out the consistency.
• Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Variation: Add 1 Tbsp of Hemp Seed Butter

Blend your way to great health with vegetable smoothies! Find out why vegetable smoothies are superior to juicing when you are healing candida and other health issues. And get started making your own smoothies with our energizing smoothie recipe!