to think smoothies are a bit pointless?

[AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves]

Inspired by goady thread which has just been deleted, but picking up on one point that's always puzzled me:

I don't understand why people have smoothies instead of eating fruit and vegetables in something more like their natural form.

Don't our jaws and teeth need the exercise, chomping away?

Does it affect the amount of fibre you're getting if you blitz fruit and veg to pulp before eating it? We need that fibre going through the gut to keep things moving at a brisk pace and to carry off all sorts of nasty stuff with it.

And surely it must be awfully easy to swallow a huge amount of fructose from the fruit and the sweeter vegetables (eg parsnip, carrot) if it's all in liquid form? Fructose is just sugar, you know. Sugar + acid (lots of that in fruit too) = disaster for the teeth.

Am I missing something?

[ClapHandsIfYouBelieveInFatties]

Some people find eating fruit is a chore. They don't mind drinking things though. I don;t know about fibre or fructose.

[TheSpottedZebra]

Erm, they're just more appealing to some people? Taste, convenience, preference.

[KellyElly]

Does it affect the amount of fibre you're getting if you blitz fruit and veg to pulp before eating it? Yes, as does juicing.

[UriGeller]

I can stick a handful of spinach and some cabbage in a smoothie with berries and natural yoghurt and It would be delicious. But I hate vegetables.

[Topaz25]

I find I can consume a larger quantity and variety of fruit and veg in smoothies. I also find them easier to drink on the go than carrying the equivalent amount of fruit around with me. Blending them does reduce the amount of fibre but I eat whole fruit and veg sometimes too.

[AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves]

Mmmmm. I love fruit and don't find eating it a chore, which is probably one reason I'm puzzled by smoothies. However, I try to keep to eating no more than two portions of fruit a day because of the sugar/acid thing. It's better to aim for lots of veg than lots of fruit.

[shoofly]

Because my ASD diagnosed 8 year old is a complete fruit and veg refuser and one smoothie a day seems like a reasonable way of getting something relatively healthy into him. It may not be ideal but if he drinks water and a small amount of milk the rest of the day, I'm not going to add a smoothie to the huge list of other shit I have to feel guilty about.

[AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves]

I should add I also love, love, love vegetables! This is fortunate as I am Scottish and grew up on a traditional Scottish diet of lots and lots of sugar, white flour, saturated fat and salt. I had the good luck, though, to come from a family that liked vegetables and pulses.

[Fudgeface123]

As long as you're using the whole fruit then it's just like eating the whole fruit. Juicing is a different matter, you're basically extracting all the sugar and leaving the good stuff behind.

I'm not a big fruit lover, much prefer veggies but I will have the occasional fruit smoothie

[Aeroflotgirl]

Yabvu different strokes for different folks.

[BumpNGrind]

I just love the taste! I have a very sweet tooth and figure that a smoothie is better for me overall than a glass of pop.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

I make smoothies, using whole fruit, not just juicing, for all of us. It's a healthy drink. Add honey instead of sugar, natural yoghurt instead of cream, sometimes some pumpkin or sunflower seeds or even porridge oats. They can be nourishing, and quite delicious

Our family does also eat fruit as it is, but sometimes smoothies are a very good way of getting fruits into reluctant children. (It's what I found, anyway)

[Ilovexmastime]

Is it an either or situation though? I give my DC an Innocent Smoothie every day in their packed lunch, plus a piece of fruit and a piece of veg. They also eat fruit as a snack at home and we have an evening meal involving veg.

Personally, if I'm out and I see a smoothie stall/shop then I'll have one because they're yummy and it's so much easier to buy one than make one at home.

[Sleepwhenidie]

Of course it's always better to eat the whole fruit/veg but a smoothie can be a great way of topping up-I made one earlier with kale, spinach, a few chunks of pineapple and a handful of blueberries and raspberries. Added chia seeds, coconut oil, fresh ginger and mint, supergreen powder and alpe cider vinegar...loads of great things that I wouldn't otherwise manage to incorporate into a days meals. I still eat veg as well (not usually any other fruit).

[manicinsomniac]

They're useful for 'on the go' meals.

[AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves]

I can see the usefulness for fussy eaters but isn't honey just sugar in liquid form? As to whether a smoothie is better than a glass of pop - up to a point, yes.

Calories in Innocent strawberry/banana smoothie 250ml:136; sugar 30.6g

Calories in 335ml can of coca cola: 140; sugar content 39g

Vitamin/mineral content obviously not comparable at all. No fibre in Coca cola. Not sure I'd want to have 30g of sugar in a drink as a regular option though.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

isn't honey just sugar in liquid form

Honey has very many health benefits - sugar, either refined or unrefined is not great.

One or two spoonsful of honey in a smoothie mix intended for four or five people are hardly likely to cause ill effect.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

Supermarket/readymade smoothies, I think are probably not a very healthy option, as they do contain a lot of bad sugars and additives. There have been some consumer-type reports that tell you how unhealthy they are, despite their healthy claims

Home-made - well you can decide what to put in.

[BertieBotts]

I like fruit and smoothies and juices.

I'm not particularly concerned with ho healthy they are, I just like them.

[HeySoulSister]

Op... You seemike you are trying to preach, but are coming across as a bit clueless!!

[ithoughtofitfirst]

Phwoar love a good smoothie. Drink? Done. Fruit? Done.

I made a pretty horrific green one before though. Too much mint. It wasn't the best.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

I think, if you're really trying to be picky, then fruit being chomped by the jaws and teeth will probably do more harm than a drink made from them, ie, it fruit and natural sugars will be in contact with the teeth for longer, whereas a healthy drink is swallowed, and a drink often accompanies a meal anyway, which will naturally dilute the amount of sugar/teeth contact ratio.

Drink lots of water as well, in between meals. But a smoothie or fruit-type drink is fine, alongside a normal, healthy, balanced diet.

They're not pointless, to my mind. Most certainly no more than a fizzy can of pop

[BeachyKeen]

I make my smoothies from scratch.
I use plain yoghurt, homo milk, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, any bananas that need using, bruised peaches with the bruises cut out, that sort of thing. I add in a bit of flax seed, pumpkin seeds and almonds sometimes too.

Like fuck is that comparable to a can of Coke.