Juicer Vs. Blender/juices Vs. Smoothies?

My mom and sister have a BlendTec. Doesn't it cook too? It seems like I remember that, but maybe not. I have no idea if it's necessary. It seems like a lot for a blender. But my mom/sister love theirs.

One thing to be aware of when it comes to juices or things being changed into a liquified form vs their normal form...your body digests them differently. When you chew your food, your mouth takes time per bite. Your teeth chew it up, saliva is mixed in, and that aids in your body being able to break it down properly and digest it better.

When you drink it in juice form, that saliva doesn't get mixed in there, and your body then digests the juice/smoothie more like sugar. It's going to increase your insulin level way more, and this is where the weight gain comes in.

If you want to juice or eat a smoothie, make sure to "chew" your juice/smoothie. You need to mix in your saliva to help break it down. I know this might sound crazy, but it makes sense if you think about it. A friend of mine was explaining this to me. She'd been studying something about nutrition (can't remember what...something to do with her degree) and shared this. Now I try to eat things more in their normal forms than in juice. I rarely drink juice. If I do, I do it very slowly... :-) Hope that helps!

I've been researching this exact topic! I agree with posters (and our pediatrician/dentist) that juice is basically sugar water and you lose most of the nutrients (especially if processed). Fresh-squeezed juice from an at-home juicer is better but using the whole fruit raw (like a smoothie) is definitely best. You can make juice with a blender if you strain it with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, but you're losing all the good pulp/fiber. Alternatively you could save the pulp to mix in soups and such.

As far as the BlendTec machine here is a great review on the top two blenders: VitaMix and BlendTec http://vitamixvsblendtec.com/. VitaMix has the top vote but BlendTec is somewhat "cheaper." They are both powerhouses that are used for so much more than smoothie-making. Other blender models work well for smoothies, just may be a little less "smooth" and a little more time-consuming. Check out http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-testing/best-blen....

There is a huge difference between juice and a smoothie. Juice is pure sugar because the fiber that was in the whole fruit has been removed.The fiber is a very necessary component to slow the absorbtion of the sugar (among other things). A smoothie is a different animal because you take a whole fruit (or vegetable) and grind it up, fiber and all. Smoothies are a great way to get a lot of different fruits and vegetables in your body all at once. You can also add in things like flaxseed, coconut oil, nuts, you name it. I can't comment on the machine question except to say we use a Magic Bullet in our house and it's worked pretty darn well. I have thought about getting a bigger blender...

This is what I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Oster-Fusion-Blender-2d-BRLY07B/dp/...

It's a combo food processer/blender & can do just about anything you want it to. What I love best about it is that there are a couple of automatic buttons such as the smoothie button where you put your frozen fruits, juice, yogurt, whatever you want in there, pop the lid on & hit the button. The blender spins it one way, stops, spins it the other way, stops, spins it really fast, pulses a few times, stops, & crushes up any ice you might have in there with it, then spins super-duper fast until the smoothie is done.

A few years back I bought the Vitamix from Costco (around $400), and I absolutely love it! It does way more than a blender could. I use fresh fruit to make ice cream in about 2 minutes, and my kids prefer the "fruit ice cream" to store bought. I also use mine to make soups and sauces. It cleans itself really easily, and it is one of the best purchases I ever made. It can even grind almonds into almond milk, make dough, and grind grains. Mine came with a huge cookbook of great recipes that I make all the time. The other treat my kids love is taking our leftover smoothies and putting them into popsicle molds to eat later as a popsicle.

It's best to eat it all. I use a regular blender all the time! I throw raw broccoli and greens into yogurt and banana and berry smoothies and the kids are none the wiser. Ive never done apple cores in there, but pretty much any normal crunchy veggie will blend. Juicers are a pain in the neck and you lose lots of fiber etc than you could be drinking! Blenders are way better. For myself I put some water, loosely fill it with salad greens, add some sort of veggie like broccoli or asparagus, whatever, then some fruit. Farewell pricey Odwalla smoothies.....You can thicken with bananas, cooked sweet potatoes, avocados, the sky is the limit.