When it comes to a liquid cleanse, it's often hard to know where to begin. So many people tell me they don't enjoy green juices. But actually they've never tried one! What they've been drinking is a green smoothie. 

NutriBullets have made juicing quite confusing! They're called 'juice extractors', which contradicts what they do. These powerful blenders actually blitz the fruit and veg together to create a thick smoothie. Unlike juicing which separates (extracts) the pulp from the veg, leaving you with a thin, palatable juice. 

You can't use a juice recipe to make a smoothie. Well, you can, but problem number one is it probably won't blend properly. Nutribullets typically need water or milk adding to ensure the fruit and veg can smoothly combine together. A juice won't need anything adding and my favourite advantage is that it requires very little fruit to make a juice drinkable. A smoothie on the other hand needs mango, banana or something sweet to make it easier to drink those thick greens! 

Can I start your cleanse with a Bullet & no juicer?

Yes. But it won't be my cleanse. A juicer is required for my 5 day juice cleanse to see optimal before and after results.You will need to find or adapt the green juice recipes to something more suited to your machine.

Are there still benefits to blending?

Yes, absolutely. I just prefer lots more leafy green veg, so for me a juice works better. But consuming more fruit and veg - however that's done - is always a bonus. There's also an argument for the benefits of blending which suggests that consuming the whole fruit or veg as one (without extracting the insoluble fibre) creates less of a sugar overload.

Will my Bullet still come in useful?

Yes. I often blend avocado or ice into my juices as neither should be put through the juicer! I also use it to make soups and creamy cashew sauces.  

I can't afford a juicer as well

You'd be surprised! Read my article on how to pick up a bargain for less than £20

Juicer

A juicer does just that! It extracts the ‘juice’, the water and the majority of nutrients, from the fruit and veg you put through it, leaving behind a pulp. 

Juicing therefore also removes the insoluble fibre. Whilst fibre is responsible for slowing down the body’s absorption of sugar, it also slows down and prevents the fast absorption of nutrients. Without the insoluble fibre your body absorbs 100% of these nutrients. This can result in weight loss for those drinking green juice.

Juicing also gives the body’s major organs, primarily the stomach, pancreas and colon, a break from digestion. Due to the lack of insoluble fibre, a huge amount of ‘plant juice’ can be consumed in one ‘meal’. Take a look at the huge plate of greens you start with when juicing on a green juice diet. Thats a lot of goodness you’re consuming, much more than if you were to drink it blended. A lot of people start with a 7 day juice cleanse for improved skin health and weight loss. 

There is often confusion between the jobs of juicers / blenders and machines using the ‘nutrition extraction’ label. Basically, if the machine you’re using removes the pulp from your juice - it’s a juicer. 

Find out here how you can invest in a juicer for less than £20! 

Blender

A blender or ‘smoothie maker’ uses a fast spinning blade to finely blend the fruit and veg you put in it. Blenders are perfect for making smoothie drinks. 

You can use a blender or smoothie maker in conjunction with your juicer but it’s by no means a replacement.

You can of course blend certain fruits and veg, although the taste and texture - especially of the super beneficial green juices - will be more difficult to stomach. 

I much prefer a nutri machine like the bullet or ninja to a standard blender as it blends to a much smoother consistency and the super sharp blades pulverise even the toughest foods.

Ninja or NutriBullet

You may have seen these Nutri machines and wondered how they differ from juicers and blenders. A Nutri machine is not a juicer. It does not extract the pulp from the fruit and veg. We don’t recommend this for a 3 day juice cleanse. If you’re looking to improve your skin and see weight loss results, use a juicer instead.

More comparable to a blender, the thing that differentiates the Nutri machine from other smoothie makers is it’s unique blade designs and cyclonic action. Nutri machines pulverise all fruits and vegetables into a smooth drink. You don’t get those bits and that grainy taste you get with an ordinary blender when juicing greens. Nutri enthusiasts hail it as the perfect solution, delivering a super smooth veg drink, which still retains its insoluble fibre content (therefore reducing the sugar hit) 

The Nutri machine also mixes protein powder better than any blender I’ve ever used. Often if I’m making a gym bunny smoothie I’m left with a powder residue coating inside the blender. The Nutri machine fully pulverises and properly mixes everything, including the powder. It comes at a price though. The Nutri machine is not a replacement for your juicer and is often more expensive than a budget blender. 

This is the Ninja model I use - which also works to blitz soups, mix dough and chop veg