Smoothies for Good Health (2 page)

Simple.

Variety is the spice of life

Since nature has very kindly given us so many different types of fruits and vegetables to choose from, it’s only polite to try as many of them as we can. And not only that, but eating a variety ensures you get the goodness that different types of fruits and vegetables can offer.

Fruits and vegetables are full of a variety of healthy compounds that are often responsible for their color, so the more colorful the better. Aim to eat a rainbow of different colored fruits and vegetables every day and you can't go wrong.

What counts?

When thinking about how to make up their 5-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables, most people tend to forget that it’s not just the fresh stuff that counts. You can get portions from dried fruits, juices, smoothies, beans and pulses as well as canned and frozen fruits and vegetables.

Here’s a quick guide on what count

All about Smoothies

Smoothie does it

Recently scientists have officially recognized that smoothies count as two portions of your 5-a-day target. And that is only the case if one portion comes from the crushed fruit and the other comes from the fruit juice. Or one portion comes from the crushed fruit and the other comes from a combination of crushed fruit and juice.

So, to put that into an eye catching box:

Fancy a bit of roughage?

Usually found in all twig-like breakfast cereals and corrugated cardboard crackers, your mother might have referred to fiber as roughage. And while this miracle stuff sounds like one nutrient, fiber actually refers to a group of nutrients and is truly brilliant.

Fiber not only helps keep things moving along nicely, some fibers can help protect against heart disease and some cancers.

However, like fruits and vegetables, we don’t get enough of the rough stuff. Because fruits and vegetables contain fiber, getting your 5-a-day doubly ticks off your fruit and vegetable tally and your fiber quota all in one go.

For those of you who like important looking graphs to demonstrate how things work, here’s one to show how smoothies can help increase your fiber intake.

And here’s another to show you how smoothies contain as much fiber as two portions of fruit.

Vitamin C

When it comes to getting your vitamins, you need them to be ACE. That’s because, along with vitamins A and E, vitamin C is one of the most important antioxidant vitamins when it comes to maintaining a healthy immune system and helping us to absorb iron from our food.

Back in the day (maybe around 70 million years ago, give or take a millennia), scientists beld that humans were able to make their own vitamin C.

Not anymore.

Along with guinea pigs and gorillas, humans are one of the only creatures on the planet unable to produce their own vitamin C*.

This is the reason why it’s essential that we get vitamin C from whatever we eat and drink.

Luckily, some smoothies can give you over 40% of your daily requirement for vitamin C. So you can sleep easy tonight.

*In case you were fretting about your pet guinea pig, there’s no need to feed them one of your smoothies. Thanks to their diet of greens and grass, guinea pigs get all the vitamin C they need. Same goes for your pet gorilla getting all the vitamin C from their diet of fruits, plants and the odd termite or two.

Smoothie Strategies

When you want a quick snack or meal to enjoy on the run, smoothies are a scrumptious solution. With a little planning, you can have everything you need on hand to whirl one together in a flash. Here are some pointers that will make preparing smoothies fun and hassle-free.

Check Out You Blender:

To make smoothies, it’s helpful to assess your blender. Does it blend frozen fruits and ice easily? If not, you may need to let the fruit thaw slightly before blending it and use crushed ice. Or you might consider investing in a more powerful blender or a smoothie maker.

Plan Ahead:

Keep a supply of ingredients on hand so you can make smoothies any time. Start by selecting a few recipes to try and pick up the ingredients you need at the supermarket. You should store juices, liquid ingredients, fruits, and vegetables in the refrigerator so they are ready when you want to make a smoothie. Well-chilled ingredients give smoothies a better flavor and texture. If recipes call for frozen fruits, freeze the pieces ahead. Stock up on ice.

Freezing Fruits:

In choosing fruits for smoothies, make sure you start with ripe fresh fruits. The better the flavor of the fruits, the more flavorful your smoothies will be. For some smoothies, canned and refrigerated fruits also may be good options. To freeze fruits, cut or chop them into small, bite-size pieces. Try to avoid large chunks because they will be difficult to blend. The smaller pieces also will freeze more quickly. For example, slice bananas into 1/2-inch rounds rather than 1-1/2-inch chunks. Line a baking sheet or tray with plastic wrap. Arrange the fruit in a single layer on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm. Most fruits will freeze in about 2 hours. Once the pieces are frozen, put them in freezer containers or plastic freezer bags and seal. Stored this Fr way, fruits can keep in the freezer for about a year.