Question about Smoothies

[Deanna in CO]

OK, folks, I've been around here for a while and I'm a bit confused about the whole issue of fruit. Here's what I've read:

1) Most of us can't tolerate raw fruits in any substantial amount while we are healing. The only things we can handle are bananas and cooked fruits such as applesauce and canned peaches or pears.

2) Many of those who've been around a while (whether in remission or not) do juicing, both of fruit and vegetables.

3) At least some of those who've been around a while have smoothies for breakfast, often made with fruit such as blueberries.

OK, so can someone help me out here? Do fruit juices and processed fruits such as would be included in a smoothie not count as raw fruit? It would definitely help out my breakfast options if I could have smoothies and/or juices - are these likely to be tolerable while I am still healing? (As a reminder I have now been GF 6 months and completely DF/EF/SF for over 3 months.)

So what kind of smoothies do you all eat? I was thinking about at least peanut butter and banana smoothies (though I reacted slightly to peanuts on a skin test done about 7 years ago - as I did to almonds - so perhaps cashew butter or sunflower would be better?). A blueberry and/or strawberry smoothie would be wonderful though. Obviously I'd make it with coconut or rice milk, no dairy milk or yogurt.

Thanks all!

[MaggieRedwings]

I defintiely am not one to give advice on smoothies since I have never done them. Hopefully, some of the smoothie drinkers will chime in.

Maggie

[nancyl]

Deanna,
I've been GF for 10 months, DF and SF for about a year. I've been making smoothies for several months and this is what I put in it.

Almond milk, frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, fish oil. I add some coconut ice cream to help gain a little weight and have just started adding a vegan protein powder. I started with 1/2 teasp. powder and am up to 1 full teasp. which is no where near the recommended dose. I'm taking it slow, but it's delicious. The powder is gluten, soy, dairy, and sugar free. It's called Vega put out by Sequel. I'm sure you can look it up to see the ingredients.

Hope this helps.
Nancy

[tex]

Do fruit juices and processed fruits such as would be included in a smoothie not count as raw fruit?

IMO, the answer is yes, but as is usually the case, moderation is the key to using them successfully. IOW, don't overdo the total amount of fiber in your diet, if fiber is a problem (which it is for most of us while recovering). Limited amounts should be fine. In general, most of us have trouble with citrus fruits, so it's usually best to avoid them. When selecting fruit to add to a smoothie, look at fiber and sugar content, and especially the sugar alcohols (such as sorbitol and mannitol). I suspect that the high sorbitol content is the reason why grapes continue to be a no-no for me -- they're a pretty potent laxative for me.

Tex

[Zizzle]

Deanna,
I make smoothines with Silk (or equivalent brand) coconut milk, frozen rasberries or strawberries, frozen blueberries, a whole banana, and some rice protein powder. Sometimes I add a little orange juice. I keep meaning to try making an avocado smoothie, like they make in Vietnamese restaurants. I think they are just milk, something sweet and avocado. Mango, papaya and canteloupe make great smoothies too, Latin American "liquado" style.