There tends to be two camps when it comes to juicing for health. There are those who feel juicing is a total cure all and spend a great deal of time and money on expensive machines and pounds of organic produce. Then there is the other camp, those who believe juicing is not optimal because it doesn’t include the fiber. These people tend to shun the “liquid calories” from juice and stick with whole fruit or smoothies while thinking those hippie juicing freaks have lost their kale juice soaked brains.
I happen to have my own camp. At Camp Balance fresh fruit and vegetable juices are a wonderful addition to a healthy diet that includes plenty of whole food and fiber. It’s not a fast or an extreme lifestyle. It’s simply a way to get lots of nutrients in your system in a delicious manner using real food while giving the digestive system a break from working so hard.
Why juice at all? I do it because it makes me feel incredible. After consuming a juice filled with apples, carrots, spinach, celery and beets I feel electric and alive. I experience a lightness and a pure feeling emanating from deep inside me and I enjoy that healthy positive sensation. I do it because it is a nutritious and healthy alternative to other beverages. I do it because some days I don’t eat perfectly and juicing is a great way to fill in those gaps. I do it because consuming a primarily plant based diet feels right for me.
Oh, I also do it because it tastes really flippin’ fantastic.
Here are some tips if you are interested in giving juicing a try.
- ~ I use a very inexpensive Hamilton Beach Juicer which hasn’t let me down yet so don’t let the thought of dumping a huge amount of money into getting a juicer scare you.
- ~ Start with slightly sweeter juices if you are not accustomed to juicing before trying the more bitter blends. I almost always add apple or carrot to my green juices.
- ~ Drink the juice you make as soon as possible. If you cannot consume it immediately your best bet is to put it in a cold thermos with a tight seal, keep it chilled and drink that day.
- ~ Juice organic produce whenever possible and thoroughly wash or peel all food that isn’t organic.
- ~ Be aware that fruit juices can cause blood sugar spikes and dilute with water as needed. As a rule, I drink twice as much vegetable juice as I do fruit juice.
- ~ Use the leftover fiber to make crackers or add to your compost pile.
- ~ Clean your juicer well after each use so mold doesn’t grow there and contaminate your product.
Be adventurous with juicing! Try combinations you might not think would be appealing and delight in being wrong. Decide your health is better served by drinking low calorie, nutrient dense vegetable juices instead of canned energy drinks full of sugar and chemicals. After trying out juicing at home and seeing how amazing it can make you feel you might choose to do a one day, three day, or even a week long juice fast and experience what it is like to be fueled with only pure, clean, natural juices.
Here are a few of my favorite combinations:
- ~ Apple-carrot-ginger
- ~ Spinach-cucumber-celery-carrot
- ~ Carrot-ginger-lemon-kale
- ~ Beet-apple-parsley
There are so many more recipes to explore and enjoy but those tend to be my most often made concoctions for taste and health.
Don’t let juicing scare you. It doesn’t have to be a lifestyle nor do you have to give up anything you currently eat or drink in order to enjoy and benefit from it. You don’t have to swear off smoothies or biting into an apple to incorporate fresh juices into your life. All you need is a decent machine, a basket of produce and a willing spirit. Are you willing to see how a glass of juice can make you feel vibrantly alive and internally balanced?
Cheers to that!
Thoughts to ponder: Is your diet in a rut? Is the idea of drinking fresh juice exciting? What juice combinations sound tasty to you?
I haven’t tried juicing, despite seeing it all over blog land! I’m sure I would enjoy it – fresh juice always tastes so nice!
Oh, oh…rush over to Carrots ‘N’ Cake today. Tina is raffling off a new juicer on her site and the money goes towards her marathon for cancer in Hawaii this winter!!
Thanks for the juicy tips!!
Mark recently posted..Being Mindful of Your Mind
You are so welcome! Bottoms up!
Emma,
I almost bought a juicer a couple months ago from an infomercial on TV. Thank goodness I didn’t. I looked up the product online and there were many bad reviews.
I still intend to juice. I’m so glad to know the a Hamilton Beech works just fine.
Angela Artemis recently posted..How to Walk Through Walls
Amazon has a great deal on that juicer and I have put it through its paces. It just works like a champ every time and it’s easy to clean too!
Emma,
I agree juicing is one of the better way to get nutrients. I used to have juicer, I like eating fruits and vegetables raw also. (most of them).
Our diets in western world needs this! Thanks for sharing.
Preeti @ Heart and Mind recently posted..Enlightment- An Awareness and Understanding
Our diets so need this! From what I remember reading almost half of Americans don’t get enough fruits and vegetables in each day. Juicing definitely helps!
Your blog looks amazing! And I’m inspired to juice it up! Thank you : ) And thank you so much for the lovely comment you left on my blog recently. Your support is so appreciated. : )
Elana!! Great to see you again and thanks for the sweet words. Supporting someone as lovely as you is sheer joy and I appreciate your visits too.
Hi Emma,
I used to love juicing when I was younger. I just started to do it again earlier this year for breakfast smoothies. The Magic Bullet works like a charm, particularly when you don’t want to use a big blender or juicer and want to make a serving for one. It’s amazing what you can blend together and make concoctions that are not only good for you, but that taste great, too.
I know that for myself my energy level goes through the roof when I start off with a great juice in the morning.
You sure are adventureous with juicing! Spinach? It might be good for you, but I can’t stomach it. Each to their own
Karen recently posted..Just For Today Challenge – 31 Days To A Better You eBook Launch
Greetings Karen!
Trust me, you don’t taste the spinach if you doctor it up well.
I am all for health but I am also all for great tasting stuff too.
Magic Bullet has been on my wish list for a while now and it just moved up a notch. *lol*
Thanks for sharing here and maybe it will inspire you to get juicing again too.
All the best.
I LOVE my big ol cup of fruit juice first thing in the morning, although technically, I make more of a smoothie out of it since I use frozen fruit.
Combine your frozen fruit of choice with a fresh banana, some orange juice, and a dallop or two of plain yogurt in a blender for 30 seconds and you have what I passionately refer to as the “Jimmy’s Ultra Power Smoothie 5000″. Nothing beats it for a quick, delicious, and healthy breakfast.
Jimmy @ Run, Jimmy, Run recently posted..Doctor- Doctor- Give Me the News…
I love smoothies too and have blogged about how fabulous I think they are. I tend to like juices more in the winter when the thought of icy fruit is a bit much when there is snow outside. Your smoothie sounds delicious though and I wish you happy sipping.
ooh – i’d love a link to some recipes on what to do with the leftovers from juicing!
Mindy recently posted..121-229- Im a traitor so be it -
your wish is my command:
http://www.bloglander.com/juicing/basics/using-pulp/
also, click crackers in the post above too for a recipe!
I love fruit. I had kiwi and cantaloupe today. Delicious. But, I’m sorry, I’m far less in love with fruit juice and fruit smoothies. I can see how it would be a good way to get veggies in, but I also love those. (I will put in a caveat that there is nothing like apple cider or cranberry juice mixed with seltzer water for a mocktail.)
Thanks for sharing, Molly.
I like the mocktails too!
Emma, thank you for the very balanced post on juicing. My husband and I have had a heavy-duty juicer for decades and enjoy fresh juice nearly every morning. We believe there are many health benefits to it but have not personally experienced any of the miraculous cures some people claim. One of our favorites (all organic) is carrot, celery, apple, lemon.
Welcome to another fan of the mighty juice! I haven’t had any miracle cures but I do know a woman who got great relief from her tummy woes thanks to a regime of cabbage juice! Your favorite is a really good one too!
Thanks for coming by and commenting, Jean.
Yeah, Juice is a thing which help majorly when it comes to nutrition…It tends to provide nutrient as in vitamins and at the same time providing nourishment to the body…Nice post.
Olusola
Olusola recently posted..Why Food and Not Pills