CHUNKIES - was - Nutrients -vs- frosty

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I also wanted to add that frequently I want texture in my "smoothies" (I guess I should call them "chunkies"). Yesterday, I made "guacamole smoothie"... I blended: The juice of a lemon and a lime, 1/2 of a cucumber, 1/2 of a red bell pepper, 1/2 of an avocado, a stalk of celery, and a big hand full of spinach and some Sea Salt to taste. After blending this until it was all very smooth (only took about 30 seconds) I added a chopped up stalk of celery, the other half of the red bell pepper (roughly chopped), the other half of an avocado (roughly chopped), and some cilantro (I pre-cut the stems into little pieces with scissors over the container before blending). Then I blended on variable 5ish until the second batch of ingredients was roughly chopped up in the mix. Then I poured it into a bowl and ate it with a spoon!I don't worry that I'm not getting ALL of the potential nutrients this way. I might be missing some nutrients that were trapped in cell walls that didn't get busted open, but I really enjoyed the texture, and I got WAY MORE nutrients than if I'd eaten a Mc's Big Mac instead ;-)Sometimes I do the same thing with fruit-based Green Smoothies. If I have sprouts on hand, I like to pour a green smoothie over them like a TON of sweet dressing, and I eat it all out of a bowl...

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Mar 19, 2012, at 12:01 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

Hi ,I think that the amount of "extra" nutrient release that you might get from additional blending time is not worth it if you aren't happy with the texture of your final product.I discuss blending for a long time on my website because some people want SMOOTH and CREAMY smoothies - sure there might be some extra nutrient release, but I bet it will have almost no measurable difference to your health if you blend a little bit less, and drink your smoothies the way you like them! Is the extra nutrient release 5%? 3%? 1.2%? Who knows, but I bet it is insignificant in the big scheme of things :-)I don't think it is as much of a trade off as you think. I say make the smoothie taste good and make it a daily habit - you will get LOADS of nutrients and enjoy it at the same time!

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Mar 19, 2012, at 11:51 AM, juliendbq wrote:

This is probably a no-brainer but, I'm having a hard time coming up with a frosty type of smoothie, as the guy at Sam's demo had.

For a time I quit adding water, thinking that was the problem, but then had difficuly getting the blades of my VM to keep blending. I've added a small bit of water and that's no longer a problem.

Since most of the nutrients are broken down by blending for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, I've noticed my smoothie go from what might be more dense (at 30 seconds) to complete liquid. While yesterday's smoothie was yummy, it wasn't thick at all. I used 1/2 frozen apple, 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, @1 cup frozen green grapes, a sprig of parsley, 1 stalk of kale (w/o the rib), Romaine lettuce and spinach--not in this order. Like I said, it tasted great!

So, ... is it a trade-off? Less nutrients for a frostier smoothie? O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.Ps. 34:8