Is a fruit smoothie "processed?" :D

[cowboygus]

So I've been low carbing for a while now, but I need to mix it up now. I need more fiber and more variety.

An easy way for me is to start eating fruit and berries. I've seen a few primal/paleo sources say that most fruit could (generally) be eaten liberally, as long as it is fresh and unprocessed. Also, no juice or dried fruit.

So the question is, is blending the fruit in a blender (with a little cream and ice), considered "processing" it? I have a pretty powerful blender, so I am kind of wondering how effective the fiber still is when it's been mutilated like that.

[Dottie]

I'd skip the cream and use either coconut milk or almond milk and a little stevia

[metqa]

technically yes, when you blend it you are processing it, but I doubt that's what they mean by unprocessed. they want you to start with real fresh fruit, not something from a can that's been heated and pasteurized and fiber removed and sweetened and frozen and thawed and who knows what else.

Making the smoothie yourself should be fine, just use fresh or frozen fruit.

You can't mutilate fiber by blending it. it will still be there. the exception would be Juicing, as it separates the juice from the fiber. You aren't using juice so that's not an issue.

the only other consideration is that since it's liquified, it will digest faster than if you just chewed it up, but that's getting nit-picky IMO. if you drink it all in one shot, you will get a rush of carbs more quickly than if you slowly chewed the fruit piece by piece over 5 min time. If that worries you then I'd say just drink the smoothie slowly and deliberately. Enjoy!

[cowboygus]

Originally Posted by metqa

You can't mutilate fiber by blending it.

I don't know, you haven't seen what my blender can do to an iPhone...

I tease! Thanks for the replies.


Oh and my wife really likes it with Almond Milk. I should give it a try. The fat in the cream makes it pretty satiating though.

[metqa]

Originally Posted by cowboygus

I don't know, you haven't seen what my blender can do to an iPhone...

I tease! Thanks for the replies.


Oh and my wife really likes it with Almond Milk. I should give it a try. The fat in the cream makes it pretty satiating though.

Have you got a youtube video of this? Almond milk makes nice smoothies. I've been trying Coconut milk lately, the milk sub styles in the fridge section, it's really smooth and thick and has some coconut fat in it also. might be good and satisfying for smoothies. I use it for protein shakes and chocolate milk and it's creamy enough for those.

[Tonedbody]

Most of the primal/paleo sources I have seen (Primal blueprint-Mark Sisson & The Paleo Solution-Robb Wolf) recommend eating very little fruit if weightloss is your goal.

I actually haven't seen any sources say that you should "eat fruit liberally". I think lots of people get into trouble with taking that approach because all of the sugar doesn't allow you to keep your blood sugar stable. Which could lead to hunger and cravings for some.

I think most sources say that eating sugary fruit is best post workout or for those that are underweight and want to gain.