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Blending or juicing, which is better? Read this practical guide to learn more about the pros and cons of smoothies and juices.
Blending vs juicing, it’s a never-ending debate, and rightly so! I actually enjoy doing both, as I can see the pros and cons of smoothies and juices.
This guide will hopefully help you decide whether you should invest in a blender or a juicer and figure out which is more likely to give you the biggest nutritional bang for your buck!
Benefits of Blending
Let’s start with the benefits of blending and drinking homemade smoothies regularly.
1. Smoothies keep longer in the refrigerator than juice does
Smoothies contain all of the fiber that the fruits and vegetables initially came with, albeit in a blended form. Because everything is still in the drink, you can store smoothies longer without losing too much nutritional value.
To preserve a smoothie, you need to put it in a glass container like a mason jar filled to the brim. This keeps the air out so that the smoothie will not oxidize. Seal the jar and drink it within 24 to 32 hours. You might need to shake it if the water separates.
2. Sugar is absorbed slower because of the built-in fiber
Green smoothies allow you to have fruit without experiencing the aftermath of a sugar spike and crash. The fiber will keep the flow of sugar regular as your body digests it and it enters the bloodstream.
Fruit smoothies will have the effect of eating whole fruits so that you may experience a bit of an up and down, but nothing compared to fruit juice.
By the way, store-bought fruit juices are the worst, and I don’t recommend them at all.
3. Commercial smoothies are “tainted”
Most store-bought or juice-bar smoothies are less than ideal. These smoothies are made with frozen fruit, with store-bought sugary juices and liquors for added taste.
Many of these store-bought smoothies are packed with sugar to make them taste extra yummy. These smoothies also tend to include dairy of questionable quality and source.
Though commercial smoothies are tainted, commercial juices are even worse. Bottled juices are almost pure sugar with very little nutrition at all. They are also far too high in calories.
4. Blenders are easy to clean
A blender can be easily cleaned by running it under the tap. Or add a bit of water and soap to the blender and push the clean cycle button for a few seconds.
Because blenders are so easy to assemble and clean, many people gravitate towards blending instead of juicing.
5. Fruit smoothies are great tasting for the whole family
Smoothies are great for making fruit-based drinks because they contain whole fruit.
They are also great for green smoothies because you can mix and match to please the taste buds of anyone in your household.
A little extra fruit, or maybe a spoonful of cacao for an added twist; there is a lot you can do with smoothies.
6. With a blender you can make sauces, salsas, and dips
Blenders are great for making sauces and dips. With a blender you can make all kinds of different things aside from smoothies, like salsas, guacamole, sauces, and soups.
Though you can most certainly make soups with a juicer, blended soups tend to be thicker and creamier.
7. You can easily add supplements and superfoods into smoothies
When you’re making a smoothie, you can add a spoonful of hemp protein powder, spirulina powder, maca root powder, and so on.
You wouldn’t necessarily add these smoothie add-ins to a glass of juice, either because of the taste or the texture. That makes smoothies ideal for superfoods and giving yourself a nutritional edge.
Recommended Blender
If you have the budget available, then I recommend you go with a Vitamix blender. Powerful blenders such as Vitamix and Blendtec may cost a bit of money, but they yield excellent results and last many years without issues.
The best Vitamix blender currently on the market, in my opinion at least, is the A3500 in the modern Ascent Series. It’s an incredibly powerful and versatile machine built and designed to last.
If your budget is a bit lower, no problems, Amazon has a great selection of mid-range blenders, such as this Nutri Ninja countertop blender.
Go ahead and have a look at my list of best smoothie blenders that are perfect for making good quality green smoothies.
- Program Settings: Five program settings (for Smoothies, Hot Soups, Dips &...
- Touchscreen Controls give the machine a sleek silhouette and are easily wiped...
- You're in Control: Variable Speed Control and Pulse feature let you manually...
Benefits of Juicing
Let’s go through some of the benefits of drinking fresh, homemade juices on a regular basis.
1. Fresh juices are the shortcut to pure nutrition
Freshly made juice gives you all the nutrients without any of the associated digestion. A freshly made juice bypasses your need to digest through the fibers before you get all the nutrients of the fruits and vegetables.
This is ideal for people who have digestion problems and who need to heal themselves before they can absorb nutrients from whole foods.
This ability to bypass your digestion and go straight into your nutritional system is important for giving your body a break and allowing it to recover.
2. Juice vegetables, but eat fruits
Some experts say that you should juice vegetables and eat fruits. Vegetables are better juiced, whereas fruits are better eaten whole. Fruits need all of the fiber to slow down the absorption of sugar in your bloodstream.
The exception is that of mixing apple juice with vegetables. Vegetables contain less sugar and, therefore, don’t need as much fiber to slow down the absorption. This goes back to the idea that store-bought fruit juices are not healthy.
3. Juice gives you an instant energy boost
When you’re drinking freshly made juice, you’re getting all the energy immediately without waiting for your body to digest it. Whenever I drink freshly squeezed vegetable juice, I always feel energized and more alert.
4. Cleaning a juicer can be quite a task
I think it’s a tossup between making juice and making a smoothie in terms of time. For a smoothie, you need to cut the fruits that you’re going to blend, and for a juice, you might need to cut apples or carrots if they don’t fit in the juicer.
A juicer definitely requires a little bit more time for cleanup. Although I’ve been able to time myself and make an entire batch of juice in less than 15 minutes, I think all of these things come with practice.
5. Juices don’t make you feel full
After drinking juice, you might be satisfied for 30 minutes to an hour. After drinking a smoothie, you might be satisfied for two to three hours.
So I see juice more as a way to add nutrition into your day, and not so much as a meal like a smoothie might be.
6. Juice allows you to juice almost any produce
You might never put a beet or a carrot in one of your smoothies, but you can definitely make juice from these ingredients.
Also, you can mix “bad-tasting” vegetables with tastier vegetables and fruits to make juices that contain a larger variety of ingredients, not necessarily so with smoothies.
7. The debate over unlocked nutrition in juice and smoothies
It’s still debatable whether juice or smoothies unlock all the nutritional value in fruits and vegetables.
Some juicer and blender manufacturers claim that all nutrition is unlocked and is therefore superior to eating fruits and vegetables whole.
While I cannot quote any scientific studies, I can certainly say, from my experience, that it is very easy to digest smoothies and juices.
Recommended Juicer
One of the best Juice manufacturers is Breville, which continuously comes out with new models. Their Juice Fountain Elite is an excellent centrifugal juicer, designed with convenience in mind.
Check out my guide to juicer types, which explains the pros and cons of the different types of juicers that exist on the market.
- The Breville Juice Fountain Elite is a powerful electric juicer that lets you...
- UNIQUE EXTRACTION SYSTEM: The Breville juicers titanium reinforced disc and...
- SHORT PREP TIME: The Breville juicer machines unique 3 inch extra wide chute...
Is Juicing or Blending Better?
It might come down to which machine you’re more likely to use regularly. The blender might work better if you’re in a rush and need a filling meal quickly and easily. In that case, making nutritious smoothies with a blender is the way to go.
If you have a lot of produce from your garden or a weekly produce delivery service and don’t know what to do with it, a juicer might come in handy, especially if you have a surplus of vegetables.
If money is a deciding factor, then I think a blender is a better investment because you’re not wasting the fiber of the fruits and vegetables you’re blending.
Last updated: March 5, 2024