To think smoothies are more than one of your five a day

[feellikeahugefailure]

I've just had a smoothie with a handful of grapes, two kiwis, handful of spinach, handful of kale and a handful of frozen mango. At least 80g of all the fruit and probably 40g of the leaves. This is 4 portions right?

[Lurkedforever1]

Utterly pointless waste of otherwise nice foods to combine them into vile tasting vomit consistency and call it job done. Why not just eat them? If you need the sugar readily available for exercise then surely drinking it after is a waste of time in that regard?

[PunkrockerGirl]

Colleague of mine brings in her vile concoction every day. It looks like liquidised compost with a splash of vomit thrown in for extra flavour
Makes me feel I'll just looking at it and it doesn't make her a very happy person either

[JasperDamerel]

Do you know about soup? Because I have soup it's days and have always counted it as more than one portion. I am slightly worried now that I will have to start eating lots of extra veg.

[dementedpixie]

I would imagine soup is the same as smoothie and would count as up to 2 portions if blended but could be more if the veg is left chunky so they need more chewing and processing to break down

[JasperDamerel]

What about very finely chopped?

My winter vegetable intake is dwindling away...

[PurpleDaisies]

Why does it matter?

[PurpleDaisies]

Posted too soon. If yo like drinking smoothies, that's totally up to you. No one is legally enforcing five a day on you-if you want to count them, fine. I prefer my fruit and veg in non liquid form but you're free to eat what you want.

[dementedpixie]

How many portions were you counting it as?

[FankEweVeryMuch]

I guess soup must be the same then? Why are smoothies touted as bad and soups as a good and hearty way to get vegetables into your diet?

[suchafuss]

Diabetics tend to avoid smoothies for the reasons above, too much sugar in one hit!

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

Smoothies are easy to digest. They take no effort to consume. Their chemical makeup is altered by being blended so they're not as good for you as whole fruits and vegetables.

You seem to have an aversion to these facts, but you'd be better off eating a carrot, an apple, a banana, and a satsuma.

[suchafuss]

Im not 100% sure but would say its something to do with fact they are made with veg and protein so lower sugar/carohydrate content and so lower GI than fruit

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

Fank there are fewer sugars in most vegetables than in fruits, so although similarly broken down and easier to digest they're not sugary.

[PurpleDaisies]

Why are smoothies touted as bad and soups as a good and hearty way to get vegetables into your diet?

Vegetables aren't usually really high in sugar like fruit is.

[RunnerOnTheRun]

Some great replies here! I agree with most.

Drink them if you like them but don't fool yourself all that is being used by your body in the same way as it would if you ate it whole. In fact I challenge you to eat in one sitting exactly what you put in it. The point is whole fruit and veg is highly satiating compared to making it in to a drink and overloading on sugar and calories. Anything you process loses nutritional value and increases calories compared to its original form from nature.

[FankEweVeryMuch]

So an smoothie made from vegetables would be the same as soup?

I understand the fruit sugar aspect but a smoothie made from spinach, kale, carrot, ginger and a piece of random fruit- surely that's comparative to soup.

[FankEweVeryMuch]

Oh and I'm not disagreeing with the fruit sugars aspect, I'm just interested.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

Fank it all depends on the ingredients, and how you treat them. Not all soups are blended, so although cooked the ingredients are less processed so will take longer to digest and absorb. It's a case by case thing. Anything that has been pulverised to the extent that it's smooth is going to be lacking in any real fibre, though there will still be vitamin content.

[dementedpixie]

But blended soup wouldn't count as more than 2 portions either. It's the blending action that reduces the portion count

[RunnerOnTheRun]

A soup is more processed than a raw smoothie, so soup could be seen as less nutritious. Plus I could eat an entire butternut squash, potato, onion and stock in one go in the form of soup. It's just so hard to stop at one bowl and feel full! so we tend to over eat. However they're very nice and a good alternative to pizza or white bread rolls for lunch.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

I really want leek and potato soup now :o

[FankEweVeryMuch]

Smoothie for breakfast and soup for lunch tomorrow for me

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

I had a rummage in the freezer and unearthed what I think is soup. If it isn't, it's chicken stock which will become soup in short order:o

[EatenEasterChocsAlready]

ok....what about an avacado, kiwi, apple, almond nut, walnut, and chia seed smoothies with almond milk with some oats?

[sashh]

how on earth do they not count? Its the whole fruit / veg just blended.

Because your body isn't digesting it the same way as whole fruit/veg.

The digestive process normally starts in the mouth with chewing and release of saliva which contains enzymes that start the digestive process in particular the digestion of starch.

Swallowing a liquid misses this out.