15 Reasons to eat a blended food diet
I was recently asked why I would bother blending up my water, berries, greens, oats, nuts and seeds into a green thickie (filling green smoothie) rather than just enjoying eating the foods on their own. There are a number of reasons I blend up my food into smoothies and eat a mainly blended food diet.
1) Faster to eat your meals: I don’t have time to sit down and enjoy my food as I have an active baby who takes about 2 minutes to finish her breakfast, so it’s much better for me to drink sips in between getting on with other jobs.
2) Fruit and vegetables are very chewy: I’m a very slow eater and like to chew my food thoroughly so it can take me an hour to eat a salad and I don’t have the luxury to be able to do that at every meal.
3) Greens have a bitter taste: I don’t really enjoy raw broccoli, kale or spinach so it’s a great way for me to get my greens if I don’t notice they are there in a smoothie. You will gain much more benefit by eating the raw greens rather than cooking them.
4) Nutrients are absorbed much more quickly into the body: After I’ve drunk a green smoothie I feel light and full of energy, however I don’t feel so light after eating a meal that hasn’t been blended. Most of the ingredients in a smoothie are raw which means the nutrients are preserved instead of being destroyed during the cooking process.
5) It is much easier for the body to digest blended food.: I find it much easier to digest all foods in a smoothie. I never have any digestive trouble after a green thickie, where as I still sometimes have digestion problems if I eat food in the wrong order, for example if I ate oranges after my main cooked meal I would usually get a stomach ache.
6) Smoothies taste delicious: I prefer the taste of a smoothie instead of eating the items separately as you can add herbs and spices which make smoothies taste amazing. For example, take some forest fruits, oats, pecans, spinach and mango and throw in some dates, pecans and vanilla and you’ve got yourself a Black Forest Fruit Cake Dessert Smoothie. This smoothie tastes so amazing like an indulgent dessert. I can’t imagine enjoying any of the raw ingredients anywhere near as much as I adore this smoothie.
7) Easy to digest: When you drink blended food the body doesn’t waste energy digesting it so it actually gives you more energy. The body can use this extra energy for healing so it’s more beneficial for people with health problems. I always feel more alert and awake when I eat mainly blended foods even after a bad night sleep.
8) Eat a truck load of greens without noticing: You can pack many more greens into a smoothie than you would normally eat. Green are so amazingly good for you, but we don’t eat anywhere near enough. Adding a couple of large handfuls to your morning smoothie will help you more than you’ll ever realise and let’s face it, would you ever normally eat spinach for breakfast?
9) Faster meal preparation: It’s quicker to blend up a smoothie than make other meals with the same ingredients. It takes much more planning and preparation trying to work out what you are going to cook for lunch or dinner.
10) No cooking time: You don’t have to wait for smoothies to cook. They are ready straight away.
11) Less washing up to do: Just rinse your blender with water straight away and it takes seconds.
12) Eat less fat: Most people cook with some added fats whether it’s oil on a salad dressing or in a stir fri. They add butter to their bread or potatoes and sauces. With a smoothie people are more likely to get healthier fats or can avoid high fat foods completely if they choose to.
13) Better for your teeth: When you drink your food you avoid food getting stuck in between your teeth which can cause a lot of problems especially if you don’t floss.
14) Get more liquids with your blended food: You have to add water or another liquid to your smoothies and as most of us suffer from chronic dehydration, it’s no bad thing to have an excuse to get some more liquid.
15) Easily use up leftovers: Smoothies are a great way to use up leftover fruit and greens in the same way as you might put your leftover veg in a soup.
Do you want a reason for eating blended foods? I’ll give you 15!
So if that doesn’t convince you to get your blender
News Update: This post on a blended food diet couldn’t have come at a better time as for 7 days I am trying a Green Thickie Challenge. I will drink nothing but Green Thickies during this week. I’m going to be sharing my mid week findings on Wednesday with you for my first ‘What I ate Wednesday’ post, so make sure you come back for that plus 2 new green thickie recipes this week. If you want to take part in the Green Thickie challenge, you can sign up here. Read about how I lost 56 pounds on a mainly smoothies diet.
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Green Thickies also co-hosts a blog hop, Healthy Vegan Fridays so join us on Friday to find fabulous health related articles and healthy recipes..
The best type of blender to make Green Thickies is a Vitamix and you will get beautifully smooth Green Thickies, but you can use whatever type of blender you have or can afford. This blender
is reasonably priced and will easily make green thickies along with lots of other delicious food.
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Hi, I'm Katherine, thanks for stopping by. I healed myself of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and lost 56 pounds. I now have loads of energy for my baby girl and enjoy walks on the beach with my family. I am passionate about helping you improve your health and reach your ideal weight. I invented Green Thickies to provide a complete meal drink for busy people who care about their health.
Love this post! It’s great. I’ve been checking out some of your recipes and look fantastic. I’ve haven’t tried anything yet – as I’m not sure about the oats – are they considered RAW. I am currently toying with going Fully RAW or at the least HIGH RAW.
My son just turned 1, so I understand eating on the RUN! Good luck on your challenge, I might have to join you!
Lia
Hi Lia, thank you! No the oats that you buy from normal shops would not be considered raw as they have been heat treated, but you can buy raw oats that need to be soaked before eaten, but they can be expensive. I would consider myself high raw as most of my diet is raw fruit or veg. The reason I don’t eat fully raw anymore is because 1) I don’t have the time as I had to eat more food to get enough calories and would often spend all day eating or drinking smoothies. And 2) It’s more expensive. I save money by adding oats to increase my calories. Also sometimes I like to have the option to have occasional treats and not beat myself up about it as I found I was getting too pure about my diet when I was fully raw.
Yes eating on the run is a must with a 1 year old! My baby is just over 1 too, not walking yet but still into everything. Thank you, my challenge is going really well so far. I’m feeling very good on it. I’ll be reporting more on Wednesday.
Thanks for visiting Green Thickies.
What a great article! I love it and totally agree. We do try to do alot of green smoothies, but I do enjoy cooking and baking too. Thank you SO much for this, it does help to have into when people ask. :)
Hi, thank you. Yes I’m the same. I love my green smoothies/green thickies but I’ve realised during this week’s challenge of eating nothing but green thickies how much I do enjoying chewing my food too. I think it’s great to do both but a blended food diet is great to do for regular detoxes. Thanks for visiting.
Great post! I will send people I know here when they ask me about this type of thing. Thanks for linking up at Meatless Monday :)
Thanks Jessica, that’s very kind of you to share the post.
Great list of reasons! I can’t wait to reintroduce them back into my life :) And you’re right- they sure are tasty! I can personally vouch for how tasty your are- that ginger cookie one is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this on HVF :)
Aww thanks Gabby. I hope you can get back to fruit based smoothies again at some point. I just love trying new smoothie recipes every day. I do love the ginger sparkle smoothie too. In fact I’ve not made that for a while, I need to revisit a lot of my old recipes.
Hello, I’m new to your blog, I have just read up on everthing :-) We have for years been having smoothies for breakfast, but just with fruit. I miss them on those days, where I don’t get any. I would like to try adding greens and oats, but my husband don’t fancy them. The other day I gave him his part and added one dl soaked to my part. And I was, as you say, not hungry for hours. I like your list of reason! :-)
Hi Oly, Welcome to Green Thickies. Thank you for taking the time to have a good read. Yes I don’t feel the same if I don’t get my green smoothie for breakfast. My husband didn’t fancy a green smoothie for years either. I had to dare him to take a sip and when he did he loved it and drinks them every day now. You could always add dark berries to the smoothie to turn it purple or a bit of beetroot to turn it pink. I often say ‘try it first and then I’ll tell you what’s in it’ as a lot of things he thinks he won’t like but actually can’t taste. I made him a ‘pina colada’ green smoothie with dandelions in which he didn’t like the thought of but absolutely loved. I’m so glad you found it filling too. If you have any questions just let me know.
I am addicted to your posts! I love the blend of information and recipes! You are just what this mamma needs ;) Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays recipe party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) We are building a great set of gluten free recipes so far! Its making my meal planning easy :) How about yours? See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Aww that’s so kind Cindy. I’m so glad you are enjoying my posts. Thank you so much for tweeting and pinning my entry. Yes I’m loving the gluten free recipes too. I eat gluten free most of the time so it’s great to have more inspiration for meals as it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Let me know if you need anything. See you next Friday, Katherine
I found your post really interesting, and it’s wonderful that a blended diet works for you. Your smoothies always sound so delicious, and they are definitely full of goodness. I don’t eat that many blended foods to be honest, as I love the experience of sharing a meal with my family as well as the individual taste and texture of the foods. But I always enjoy a good smoothie for a healthy and nutritious treat!
What’s “forest fruit?’
Love the fullness factor. I plan to check out more of your recipes for the speed factor. I race around all day for my job, and like you, it takes forever for me to eat my salad. I chew carefully for pleasure, to slow myself down and to protect my less than youthful GI tract. On to read more of your recipes.
THanks!
The green smoothies diet was made by Robyn Openshaw, who is an expert in nutrition and a health educator. The diet doesn’t just involve drinking green smoothies, as you can continue to have other nutritious foods during the day to ensure you get a number of nutrients. Leafy green vegetables are the most nutritious foods, only one of the hardest foods to include into your diet simply because they aren’t so tasty. The green smoothies diet was made to help you incorporate these foods to your diet by blending vegetables with fruits along with other sweeteners to make them more fun.
Yes I love The Green Smoothie Girl and her book is excellent. That’s right she doesn’t just involve drinking green smoothies. I don’t just drink green smoothies either, but often have them for breakfast and lunch unless I’m on the challenge. I feel better drinking smoothies and Robyn admits that she will just drink green smoothies if she needs to lose weight or have a detox. The Green Smoothie diet is a great book which I recommend on this website too. I’m glad you had so much success with green smoothies. They really are amazing aren’t they.
love this I been on the green smoothie way of life for 2 weeks I feel great
Your blog is awesome! I have been having fruit smoothies as my bfast for years! I recently started adding greens and have really enjoyed knowing I’m adding all the extra goodness without having to chew through it as well. Keep it up!