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OK, I'll admit I've never been a very healthy eater for much of my life and would default to making the food that tastes the best for the least amount of effort required.
So now I've gotten my first blender and I've discovered fruit smoothies fit this bill perfectly. For example, I could blend a grapefruit, an orange, and some strawberries together and create a smoothie that rivals even some sugary sodas in sweetness, without a single drop of sugar added. Now if I'm not craving anything too sweet, then I'll substitute some of the fruits with veggies in the same smoothie (say replacing the strawberries with a cucumber or carrots.)
I almost never eat out OR cook normal meals these days and pretty much live off of these smoothies made with 100% fresh fruits. I consume an average of about 40-50 ounces of blended fruits and veggies DAILY. The remaining 1/3 of my diet is meat an dairy, like a piece of ham here and there or a piece of cheese, a fried or boiled egg, etc.
Does this sound healthy or am I missing something?
OK, I'll admit I've never been a very healthy eater for much of my life and would default to making the food that tastes the best for the least amount of effort required.
So now I've gotten my first blender and I've discovered fruit smoothies fit this bill perfectly. For example, I could blend a grapefruit, an orange, and some strawberries together and create a smoothie that rivals even some sugary sodas in sweetness, without a single drop of sugar added. Now if I'm not craving anything too sweet, then I'll substitute some of the fruits with veggies in the same smoothie (say replacing the strawberries with a cucumber or carrots.)
I almost never eat out OR cook normal meals these days and pretty much live off of these smoothies made with 100% fresh fruits. I consume an average of about 40-50 ounces of blended fruits and veggies DAILY. The remaining 1/3 of my diet is meat an dairy, like a piece of ham here and there or a piece of cheese, a fried or boiled egg, etc.
Does this sound healthy or am I missing something?
No.
Sugar is sugar. Makes really no difference if it's an "added" sugar or a naturally occurring sugar. Fructose is fructose, sucrose is sucrose, sugar is sugar. Very high sugar diets are not the healthiest by any means. If they're roughly similar to Jamba Juice smoothies, it means you're having the equivalent of two medium smoothies a day which is more or less the same as drinking five cans of soda. Five cans of soda would be worse as there's no fiber or vitamins but sugar is sugar. As long as you're not diabetic/pre-diabetic it's not like it's going to kill you same as how drinking five sodas a day won't kill you. At least not right away, anyway.
That would be way, way too much sugar for me. Sugar from fruits and vegetables is still sugar in your body.
It's healthier to eat the vegetables and fruits whole so you get the fiber as well.
If you love smoothies, you might be better off adding a high quality protein powder and good quality fat like coconut oil, and only have 1 small smoothie a day.
You could improve the nutrition in your smoothies by adding in a cup of Greek or plain yogurt (without added fruits) and a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds (rich in Omega 3's).
Another meal could be a big green (dark greens such as spinach or chopped baby kale) salad with red sweet Bell peppers and tomatoes with a simple red wine vinegar & olive oil dressing.
You could add more protein to that salad with tuna, sardines, plain white meat chicken, or your ham & cheese or chopped egg....even better, add in some chick peas, kidney beans or black beans. Beans are filled with good protein and fiber.
When you have time to cook, a baked potato or a sweet potato with some side veggies makes a simple, filling and healthful meal.
Eating in a healthful way needn't be complex...
"Eat whole foods. Mostly vegetables. Not too much." -- Michael Pollan
OK, I'll admit I've never been a very healthy eater for much of my life and would default to making the food that tastes the best for the least amount of effort required.
So now I've gotten my first blender and I've discovered fruit smoothies fit this bill perfectly. For example, I could blend a grapefruit, an orange, and some strawberries together and create a smoothie that rivals even some sugary sodas in sweetness, without a single drop of sugar added. Now if I'm not craving anything too sweet, then I'll substitute some of the fruits with veggies in the same smoothie (say replacing the strawberries with a cucumber or carrots.)
I almost never eat out OR cook normal meals these days and pretty much live off of these smoothies made with 100% fresh fruits. I consume an average of about 40-50 ounces of blended fruits and veggies DAILY. The remaining 1/3 of my diet is meat an dairy, like a piece of ham here and there or a piece of cheese, a fried or boiled egg, etc.
Does this sound healthy or am I missing something?
Sounds great. I blend in some ground flax seeds/and or chia seeds and some spinach or kale in mine. I also like to use coconut water.
Some people tend to freak out over all the sugar you are consuming, (they are generally low carb advocates) but you are fine as long as you balance some of the fruit with some veggies. Fruit is very nutritious and provides much needed fiber.
Just remember to watch your calorie consumption. And eat more veggies, don't just blend them.
OP I do not know if you are trying to shed some pounds or just eat healthy because they are different things. I lost a few pounds after I stopped eating any dairy and limited fruit and berry consumption. For example I can eat one portion of berries like 60g of raspberry or fruit like 250g of an apple per day.I am 132 pounds. You will not loose weight loading yourself with fruits, berries and dairy
OK, I'll admit I've never been a very healthy eater for much of my life and would default to making the food that tastes the best for the least amount of effort required.
So now I've gotten my first blender and I've discovered fruit smoothies fit this bill perfectly. For example, I could blend a grapefruit, an orange, and some strawberries together and create a smoothie that rivals even some sugary sodas in sweetness, without a single drop of sugar added. Now if I'm not craving anything too sweet, then I'll substitute some of the fruits with veggies in the same smoothie (say replacing the strawberries with a cucumber or carrots.)
I almost never eat out OR cook normal meals these days and pretty much live off of these smoothies made with 100% fresh fruits. I consume an average of about 40-50 ounces of blended fruits and veggies DAILY. The remaining 1/3 of my diet is meat an dairy, like a piece of ham here and there or a piece of cheese, a fried or boiled egg, etc.
Does this sound healthy or am I missing something?
Your sugar intake is going to lead to diabetes. This is an insane amount of sugar. Why do you hate your pancreas?
OP I do not know if you are trying to shed some pounds or just eat healthy because they are different things. I lost a few pounds after I stopped eating any dairy and limited fruit and berry consumption. For example I can eat one portion of berries like 60g of raspberry or fruit like 250g of an apple per day.I am 132 pounds. You will not loose weight loading yourself with fruits, berries and dairy
Of course he can lose weight buy eating fruit and yogurt.
Going over the amount of calories your body can burn is what keeps you from losing weight.
that's a lot of sugar! How long have you been eating like this? Are you tracking your macros with an app? Seriously, i understand what you're saying and it's great you're getting more fruit and veggies and not adding sugar.. but fruits do have a lot of sugar; i think most recommendations are to have less than 8 ounces of juice a day. Try substituting half of your fruits with kale, spinach or similar veggies to cut down on the sugar and add more health benefits.
anyway- i try to stay true to my macros (protein/carb/fat ratios) which balances out my eating. There's lot of formulas for figuring out what ratio works best for you - i generally do a 35/35/30.
Sugar is sugar. Makes really no difference if it's an "added" sugar or a naturally occurring sugar. Fructose is fructose, sucrose is sucrose, sugar is sugar. Very high sugar diets are not the healthiest by any means. If they're roughly similar to Jamba Juice smoothies, it means you're having the equivalent of two medium smoothies a day which is more or less the same as drinking five cans of soda. Five cans of soda would be worse as there's no fiber or vitamins but sugar is sugar. As long as you're not diabetic/pre-diabetic it's not like it's going to kill you same as how drinking five sodas a day won't kill you. At least not right away, anyway.
Except sugar is empty calories with no nutritional value at all. Fruit is much more than sweetness. Fruit is chock full of plant nutrients that you can't find anywhere else. Fruits are in no way equivalent to sodas as you say. Sodas are completely worthless processed swill. Fruits are healthy, and nutritious especially locally grown vine, and tree ripened not picked early, and shipped from far away. Rejecting fruit because they are sweet is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We should be eating more fruit, not less.
The so called "authorities" have had us fearful of fat, iodine, salt, eggs, bread, and who know what else. And now fruit? No wonder we are malnourished. Then they turn around years later saying those things are alright for you now. They are complete idiots, and motivated by greed so they can write the newest bs diet book.
What I'm more interested in hearing is how does the OP feel after eating better? Has it made a difference in their energy level, and other parameters? The OP is eating much more fruits, and vegetables with the blender drinks than they did before. That is awesome for them, good job!
Below for your edification is a link that teaches what phytonutrients are, and why they are important to our health, and well being.
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