i've been trying to figure out what the ideal breakfast is...smoothie with some greens, superfoods and fruit, or green juice? i know its a personal choice, and one is obviously more complex (in terms of digestion)...also, i know some raw eaters are really into green juices - if you are one of them, do you ever add anything else? apple, carrot, beet, etc? is there a benefit to keeping it 100% green? in general, i love my juice all green, only sweetened with fennel. but i do add the ocassional burdock root or slice of beet.

anyway, what is your ideal breakfast and why? and if you are into smoothies and/or green juices, how do you decide?

(i am asking because if i have one, i feel like i am missing out on nutritional benefits of the other...also if i smoothie in the morning, i wonder if my body will fully assimilate a juice later in the day...)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2009 07:06AM by yemango.

Ideal breakfast: nothing (though in practice I always have juice at least)
Next best: juice and/or fruit

I make juice every morning for husband and I, and it really just depends on what I have around.

We often have green juice, and this is my favourite combination (for 2 people): 4 packed cups spinach, 2 sticks celery, 2 apples. I always sweeten my green juices with apple or pineapple.

There's no need to feel you're missing out on any nutritional benefits by having one than the other. Both juicing and blending have advantages and disadvantages. Just have whatever you fancy.

Also, I can't see any reason why if you have a smoothie in the morning your body won't fully assimilate a juice later in the day.

[i feel like i am missing out on nutritional benefits of the other]

Smoothies are better. You get more use, less waste, more fiber, more vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and calories for your money.

[...also if i smoothie in the morning, i wonder if my body will fully assimilate a juice later in the day...)]

If your diet is high to very high in fiber you will not get as many calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients as what is present in the food.

I know this sounds like a contradiction to my first statement in this post. But it's not, because there is more "starting material" present when you eat a whole food or a smoothie rather than a juice. For example,

juice of 6 oz. of peeled orange might yield 4 oz, body uses almost all of it.

smoothie of 6 oz. of peel orange yields 6 oz. of food, but body will use maybe only 85% of it because of the fiber. 0.85*6 = 5.1 oz that your body can use.

Even though your body will lose some of the starting material because it's indigestible (the insoluble fibers and nutrients present that can't be separated from the insoluble fibers by your body), it will also gain serious benefits from the soluble fibers present, which help your circulatory and other systems stay disease free. Bacteria in the large intestine ferment the soluble fibers into short-chain fatty acids which your body needs to be healthy.

Gut bacteria: we need them! They need soluble fibers! So feed them as well as yourself.

I have a piece of fruit when i first get up, usually a banana. Then i go for a run - if i am hot and have been sweating when i nget back i often have a juice made of apples, celery and cucumber.

Late morning i have a fruit smoothie - at the moment 2 bananas, raspberries and some other fruit if it's around. If i don't run i have this smoothie earlier like mid morning.

I don't eat leaves and salad stuff till lunchtime or later - this is just what works for me - i,ve yet to appreciate the joys of 'green' smoothies!

Hi flipperjan

I'm not big on green smoothies, but two I like are:

Bananas, dates and a bit of water, blended, then add spinach and blend.

Mango, blended, then add spinach and blend.

i read you should have over 600ml of water after waking up.

after that fruit.

Fruit, and an a half avocado (after yoga of course!).

I have lemon water upon waking up, then do yoga usually and then enjoy a green smoothie made of things that I have in the refrigerator and as of late that has been: handful spinach, mixed berries, 1 banana, 1/2 of an apple, pineapple, a few pieces of collard greens, dulse flakes and flax seed oil. I save the salads for later on in the day.

WOW..

Interesting to see how different "ideal" raw breakfasts there are..

Mine is a bit different:

Seesame seed milk (about 2dl soaked sesame seed, 1 liter of water and a banana blended together)
about 1dl soaked (whole) oat, and sometimes soaked (whole) wheat

I put the oat to a plate, add some sesame milk, and a sliced apple, and some frozen blackberries. The rest of the milk I drink as it is..

If you are trying to loose weight you might try fruit for breakfast:
[www.ehow.com]
How to Eat According To Your Body’s Circadian Rhythm
By HealthNut, eHow Member (6 Ratings)

Your body follows certain daily cycles known as your circadian rhythms. Circadian refers to the regular recurrence of cycles of activity that occur every twenty four hours. If you eat in tune with these naturally occurring rhythms you will notice a tremendous increase in your overall health, energy, and well being.

There are three activities associated with eating and assimilating foods. The three cycles are referred to as the appropriation cycle (eating), the assimilation cycle (extraction of nutrients) and the elimination cycle (elimination cycle). Each has its own eight hour cycle during which its activities are most heightened. The appropriation cycle is from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm. This is when the body is most capable of efficiently taking in and digesting food. The assimilation cycle is from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am. During the hours of sleep, the body is extracting what it needs. The elimination cycle is from 4:00 am to 12:00 noon. The body is gathering wastes and preparing them for removal.

Instructions Difficulty: Moderate

Step 1) Upon waking eat ONLY fruit until 12:00, the only exception to this being water. Eating fruit does not disrupt the elimination cycle because the sugar component in fruit it is already a carbohydrate in its simplest form, glucose. Thus it requires absolutely zero digestive energy to break down the molecule and make use of the energy

The elimination is the focal point, because to lose weight and be healthy you need to eliminate the excess toxins in your body. Every last one of the 100 trillion cells in your body is in itself a small, extremely active and dynamic processing plant. Each one is taking in the nutrients it needs, performing literally tens of thousands of life functions and producing its own waste that must be eliminated. So important is the removal of this waste that the most extensive system in the human body, the lymph system, has as its primary function the task of collecting all the wastes from every cell, degrading the waste – breaking it down – and preparing it for removal from one of the four eliminative organs of the body; the bowels, bladder, lungs, and skin.

When you awaken in the morning the elimination cycle is in full swing, at its highest activity level – the exact opposite of the appropriation cycle, which is, in fact, dormant. That is by design. The intelligence of the body has worked it out so that the one activity of the body that requires no energy so that the elimination cycle will not be disrupted. The very moment food enters the stomach requiring digestion, energy must be allocated to deal with it, and the elimination cycle suffers a loss of some of the energy that was being used to perform the vital task of waste removal. Fruit requires no digestion in the stomach. You can eat all the fruit you want and the elimination cycle will not be affected in the least.

The digestion of food requires energy. Food will remain in your stomach for about three hours before it ever passes into your intestines, where the process of extracting what is needed to build up a storehouse of energy can begin. That’s why you’re so tired after eating a big meal.

Step 2) Eat all your foods from 12:00 to 8:00. The appropriation cycle is when the body is predisposed to digest food and will allot the energy to do so. It follows that after the food has been digested, energy will then be allocated to extract and utilize the nutrients it needs and will be followed by the elimination of what is not used. To force the appropriation cycle into action prior to the completion of the elimination cycle not only severely retards the process of accumulating wastes from the body, it also throws the rhythm of the three cycles into turmoil.

Step 3) Do not take in any more food after 8:00. This is when your body will switch from the appropriation cycle over to the assimilation cycle and begin to extract all the nutrients you took in during the day. If you are to eat anything after this time your body will be forced from assimilation to focus back on digestion, diverting energy away from proper nutrient extraction and piling another burden on your digestive track. Eating cooked food at night and then going to sleep forces the body to expend energy on digestion during the time you would be sleeping. This is the prime reason people wake up groggy.

Again the exception is fruit. Since fruit requires no digestive energy you can eat as little or as much as you want without affecting the proper assimilation of nutrients, just make sure it’s been three hours since you’ve eaten as food in the stomach will halt its absorption.