Drinking too Fast or too Slow
This one is a little confusing but believe it or not, drinking your smoothie to fast can cause bloating and not a happy stomach. You don’t need to drink your smoothie in seconds but over a period of 5-10 minutes is fine. Any longer than this and your smoothie will begin to oxidise. This means the nutrients in your drink starts to degrade and is less beneficial. So if you are going to take a while to drink your smoothie you need to make sure you follow some tips to prevent oxidisation.
Storing your smoothie isn’t always easy if you don’t have the correct equipment, and unfortunately reusing old water bottles or milk cartons won't suffice. BPA free Vacuum containers are best for storing juice because they suck all of the air out of the container and the plastic won't leach into your smoothie due to its BPA free title. If you don’t fancy splurging on a BPA vacuum container then a glass airtight bottle is your next best option.
When buying a glass container make sure it's small enough for a single serving so you can open it and drink it all at once, instead of opening it, only drinking half and then saving it for later. This process of saving it for later will let air into your smoothie, which will make the smoothie’s nutritional content decrease a little bit more.
This is why we suggest vacuum containers because you can pour however much you want into a glass and know that the rest is still vacuumed.
After blending you want to pour your juice straight into a vacuum jug or glass container because of the least amount of air that is exposed to your smoothie the longer it will last. You also want to get your containers into the fridge as quick as you can, because the smoothie will react well to dark cold areas.
TIP: Always fill your GLASS container to the very top to reduce oxygen exposure within the container. The smaller the gap between the cap of the container and the smoothie, the better. If you find you don’t have enough drink to fill your container add filtered water.
When taking your smoothie to work or the likes, always store it in a cooler bag with ice packs as this mimics the climate of a refrigerator and will keep your drink tasty and fresh for longer.
You can read more about prolonging juice and smoothies here
Not Using Organic on Certain Produce
Washing your produce reduces pesticide levels but does not completely get rid of them. Some
fruit and veg have a wax coating sealing in pesticide residues like apples, while other produce has soft or waxy skins that help chemicals stick to their surface. The worst pesticides are designed to be absorbed into the plants to kill the bugs that eat them. This means the pesticides are the fruit and veg, so washing does not get rid of all the pesticides.
Click here to read more.
Overfilling
I learnt this mistake the hard way by having a complete disaster moment of covering my kitchen in a green smoothie! This mistake can damage your blender and leave you and your kitchen in a sticky mess. You don’t have to blend all your ingredients together, so cut up your fruit and vegetables and blend them in stages instead of packing it all down. Or, if you really are that eager blend a small portion, drink it and blend some more!
Room Temperature Smoothies
Having a refreshing cold smoothie is going to go down a lot better than just a room temperature one. Add crushed ice to your blend or, freeze fruit the night before and add it to your smoothie for a refreshing tang.
Not Adding Vegetables
It's so easy to chuck a load of fruit into your blender because you know it's going to taste sweet and delicious whatever you throw in. But this isn’t really benefiting as fruit still contains sugar and if drank repeatedly could cause some serious issues. Fruit juice alone will spike blood sugar and results in an energy slump. Over time this glucose and insulin spikes could lead to diabetes. You're probably turning your nose up at the idea of blending greens, but start off with greens that don’t have much taste. We suggest spinach to begin with and start working your way up. We love adding avocado, celery, kale and beetroot, you’ll be surprised how little you can taste certain vegetables.
You don’t always need to follow the recipe
Get to grips with basic recipes that you like and then get adventurous. However don’t always stick to recipes you know because your body needs different fruits and vegetables.
If you correct all of these mistakes you’ll be on to a winner and even a healthy diet.