Blender Nutrition Question

[Jonj1611]

A bit off the beaten path I know but I need to get more potassium and bananas are a great source of that however I am tired of eating bananas now and would like some variety.

If I blended the bananas to make a milkshake is any minerals/vitamins lost in the blending process? More specifically potassium

[kalniel]

A bit off the beaten path I know but I need to get more potassium and bananas are a great source of that however I am tired of eating bananas now and would like some variety.

If I blended the bananas to make a milkshake is any minerals/vitamins lost in the blending process? More specifically potassium

Not in the slightest.

But if you want to get more then there are plenty of foods that are better than bananas - avocado, sweet potatoes, chard, spinach, beetroot etc.

Try a banana, avocado, spinach and apple juice (and/or coconut water) smoothie for a potassium dose.

Or just eat chips (potatoes are good) with potassium chloride (KCl) sprinkled on them instead of sodium chloride - look for low sodium salt replacements.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I don't think you should eat Blenders.




Spinach and sliced beetroot can be had as a Bistro style salad,with lunch or in a sandwich.

[Jonj1611]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice Definitely need some variety thats for sure!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice Definitely need some variety thats for sure!

It's not helpful the UK has a lack of variety of banana types here.

[Saracen999]

Yes, the blender route works. I had a low potassium count a few years back. It was a side-effect of a medication I was on and the doctor's reaction? First step, he prescribed a banana a day. Seriously, he did. You should have seen the look on the young lady's face in my chemist when I presented that prescription.

I had the same problem as you. I quite like bananas but not every day. Result? Banana smoothie, banana milk shake, banana and strawberry milkshake, banana and strawberry frozen yoghurt, banana cheesecake, etc. Kalniel's suggestions all look good to me. I got pretty good at green smoothies too, though the first one or two tasted a bit like blended lawn clippings. I might have overdone the spinach a tad.

I was just getting the hang of the banana variants when the doctor decided that the med I was on was the cause, and the git changed it for a variant that didn't have the effect of leaching potassium.

By a strange coincidence, having kinda over-dosed on bananas back then, I had my first one in months with my lunch today .... 'cos I'm sure you all needed or wanted to know that. Maybe I ought to get a Twitter account?

The low-sodium salt idea is pretty good too, especially for anyone with a hypertension issue (high blood pressure), because sodium is one of the major aggravators so cutting it out, or down, is a good idea anyway. If you need potassium as well, then like me, it was a win-win. I can never remember which way round it is but the two common low-sodium salts, Lo-Salt and So-Salt, vary in sodium content. One is lower than the other. Some people loathe the taste of these, but I can't tell the difference with normal table salt (except in the wallet) so I switched entirely, but to be honest, cut back massively on salt altogether.

The caveat? Medical advice on a forum is not a good idea (and yes, I realise that wasn't what was asked for) and I stress that what I said above WAS qualified medical advice, from my GP, but that that was for me. YMMV.

And so, I'm stopping at that, before a passing mod stops me instead. Oh, hi, guys.

[Jonj1611]

Thanks mate, appreciate the advice, yes my potassium count has been low, seems to dip down quite regularly, could well be one of the medications I am on but the doctors around here its difficult speaking to them about anything.

So banana's it is, I will certainly be trying a variety of different ways to have them

I didn't know that about sodium to be honest.

Picking up a blender tomorrow!

[Saracen999]

Blenders. Hmmm.

Two main types. Ones with sharp blades, and ones with blunt blades. I have the latter. The problem with sharp blades is that they go blunt. How quickly depends on the quality of the steel. The ones that start out blunt stay blunt, but rely on powerful motors to basically smash stuff, rather than cutting it. But they tend to be much more expensive. I have a Vitamix, and I am a fan. There are some cheaperr Vitamixes now, but mine was in the £500 bracket. Then again, has a 20-year warranty. The motor is powerful enough to smash up ice into a smoothie. Don't try that with 'sharp' ones - few things will blunt the blades quicker. I can also blend nuts in butters (like peanuts into peanut butter), or blend flour, milk, cheese, a little butter and a smidge of mustard into a HOT cheese sauce, in about 5 minutes.

The 'nlunt' ones are far more versatile, doing both hot (soups, sauces, etc), cold and frozen (frozen yoghurt, ice-cream, etc) blending, but at a heck of price. I think you need to expect to use it a lot to justify that. A competitor for Vitamix is Blendtec, but they're not as common in the UK. There is also, IIRC, "Ninja". They appear to be modelled on Vitamix/Blendtec but a lot lower-priced. What I don't know is whether they are as solidly built. My guess would be not as solidly.

My main reservation about the sharp bladed ones is that whenit comes to things like smoothies, the result tends to have like little bits in it. The smoothies seem to have a slightly slight texture, and I don't like it. The blunt ones rely on smashing things with blades running at about 30,000 rpm, and a smoothie is smooth. I suppose you get what you pay for.

[Jonj1611]

Erm yeah, I was looking in the £50 bracket

I have seen many that crush ice and some that don't, some that take hot liquid and others won't. Got a bit bewildering as I went up through the price range. I just want something that will blitz a banana and ice cream.

Funnily enough I did look at the Ninja Auto IQ Multi Serve which is about £100 at the moment

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Blendtec of "will it blend?" fame!

[Saracen999]

Erm yeah, I was looking in the £50 bracket

I have seen many that crush ice and some that don't, some that take hot liquid and others won't. Got a bit bewildering as I went up through the price range. I just want something that will blitz a banana and ice cream.

Funnily enough I did look at the Ninja Auto IQ Multi Serve which is about £100 at the moment

Just be wary of the "will crush ice" claim. Cheaper blenders will, but for how long? If they rely on sharp blades, that is a blade-wrecker. It's rather a case of buy right, buy once but buy cheap, buy again and again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to buy a pricey blender. Unless you know you want/need it and can justify that cost, it's a hell of an expensive kitchen gadget. What I'm saying is to not be too optimistic about blending ice with the cheaper ones. There is a large questionmark on how long either the blades or the motor will do it for.

Also, just to be clear, when I referred to hot, like soup, the Vitamix/Blendtec type take cold ingredients, and heat them through sheer friction in the blending. They do not have a heater, but cold goes in and hot comes out.

Blendtec of "will it blend?" fame!

If that was the "will it blend these iphones", then yeah, that Blendtec.

[Zak33]

If I may be so bold as to add something odd to the equation of BANANAS in a different way

If you crush 1 banana with a fork in a mixing bowl, then beat in one egg...

it looks like a disaster... beat it together well

Then Fry it... in butter or oil, then a tiny grind of salt

It makes THE BEST pancakes....gluten free if that rocks your boat too

(AND if you like chocolate, grate a little on top at the end)

[Jonj1611]

You know that would probably have been the last thing I would have thought of to do with bananas!

[AGTDenton]

Slightly off topic but this reminded me of a documentary series 15 or so years ago on the BBC or C4 that in one episode looked at how we absorbed vitamins & minerals from various fruits & veg. The only one I remember is the carrot, they looked at whether it was absorbed better raw, part blended/chopped or as a liquid. I think blended/chopped turned out to be the best for a carrot but don't quote me on that, it was around 15 years ago.

It was a series hosted by a doctor that was looking at the health benefits of vitamins and whether it's better to take a vitamin or get it from real food. I'll try and find it but it was quickly removed as I recall, as in one episode she upset the drug world by saying the cheap unbranded supermarket one is just as good as a branded one. Once the series finished, I recall it being taken off the website pretty quickly.
Hopefully someone on here may remember it.