Blended Foods
Healthy:
What
to Eat: Blended Foods Are Healthy and Nutritious
By Dr. Ben
Kim
DrBenKim.com
As
mentioned earlier in this series, cooking vegetables and other plant
foods can soften naturally occurring fiber, which makes it easier
for your digestive system to extract the many micronutrients that
are abundant in plant foods.
Another
way to soften and even break down fiber in plant foods and thereby
get the most out of what you eat is to blend some of your foods.
When
I ran a residential fasting clinic, I found that people with chronic
inflammatory bowel disease who couldn't tolerate even small servings
of raw vegetables had little trouble digesting generous portions
of blended salads.
I also
found that people who had dental problems that made it difficult
for them to chew their foods thoroughly benefited from blended meals,
particularly blended salads.
How
do you make a blended salad? It's quite simple, really. Combine
a few leaves of romaine lettuce, one chopped tomato, half an avocado,
and small chunks of any other raw vegetables that you enjoy (chopped
onion and zucchini are nice choices) in a strong blender or food
processor, add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and
begin blending while adding a slow drizzle of extra-virgin olive
oil. Add just enough oil to allow the vegetables to come together
into a thick soup-like consistency - you may be able to stop drizzling
in oil after the first tablespoon or two and let the food processor
do the rest of the work.
If
you need to add a little extra flavor, season with a pinch of sea
salt and pepper just before eating.
Blended
salads don't look appealing at first glance, but they're exceptionally
rich in nutrients and easily digested by people of all ages and
health statuses. Think of them being like freshly pressed vegetable
juices, but with all of the naturally occurring fiber still present.
Another
way to promote optimal digestion is to blend steamed vegetables
to make simple soups. Whenever I worked with people with severe
ulcerative colitis - cases where it was common to have 30 or more
episodes of bloody diarrhea per day - I found that the most easily
digested meal was a bowl of plain Yukon gold soup, made by blending
steamed Yukon gold (yellow flesh) potatoes with a little vegetable
broth or freshly pressed celery juice. Also well digested by the
masses was a bowl of soup made by blending steamed zucchini and
vegetable broth or celery juice.
Blending
soups can only help maximize the number of nutrients that your digestive
tract is able to extract out of them; this applies to both cooked
and raw soups. This is why the vast majority of healthy
soup recipes in our archives call for blending of all ingredients
to create easily digested soups.
If
you'd like to invest in a blender that will serve you and your loved
ones well for decades, the best machine that I can recommend is
the Vita-Mix.
It's a few hundred dollars, but in my opinion, the price is right;
I haven't found another blender that's better at producing silky
smooth soups and smoothies. And I like that while it's extremely
powerful, it's relatively easy on the ears compared to most blenders
on the market.
If
the Vita-Mix is not within your budget, I recommend that you take
a look at the Cuisinart
Stainless-Steel Blender with Glass Jar, which also does an excellent
job with soups, smoothies, dips, dressings, and sauces.
If
you're keen to begin blending to get more nutrients out of the foods
that you eat, here are a few recipes from our archives to get you
started:
Roasted
Cauliflower Soup Recipe
Homestyle
Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Raw
Carrot and Avocado Soup Recipe
Best
Hummus Recipes
Please
consider sharing this series with family and friends who don't know
about the benefits of chewing thoroughly and including blended foods
in their diets. Blending to promote optimal nutrient extraction
out of foods is especially helpful to the young, elderly, and people
with dental and digestive tract challenges.
Other
articles in this What to Eat series:
What
to Eat - Principles of Healthy Eating
What
to Eat - How to Get the Most Out of What You Eat
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