As concerns about health and nutrition continue to rise, so has the custom of making fresh-squeezed juice at home. Juicing offers a convenient and healthy way to lose weight, stay fit and avoid artificial additives and preservatives. Homemade juices can include both fruits and vegetables. From apples and oranges to tomatoes and celery, the following article provides you with all the information you need on juicers, juicing and juices.
For healthier juices, try vegetables with dark green tints and then build upon that with other items. You will want the juice to be between 50 to 75 percent spinach, chard, broccoli or another similar vegetable for ultimate health benefits. Add in some apple or another tasty ingredient to make the remaining percentage taste delicious.
Buying fruit and vegetables for your juicing can be easy by using all five senses to find the freshest produce to bring home. Sniff the item and make sure it smells good, like you would want to eat it. Squeeze it and feel if it’s too hard or too soft. Look it over for imperfections, and then take it home and taste a bit. Enjoy!
You don’t have to buy a fancy juicer to start juicing, you can use a blender or food processor just to get the hang of it. In fact, a food processor can do just as good a job as a juicer! I also picked up an inexpensive citrus juicer, though, as I found doing it manually hurt my hands.
When juicing and learning how to do it, do not start with dark green vegetables from the get go. Gradually introduce vegetables such as kale, mustard greens, swiss chard, wheat grass and dandelion greens. Only use 1/4 cup of any of these dark green vegetables at one time, as they are extremely powerful and have a cleansing effect on the body.
There are a million-and-one recipes of items to include in your juicer. You can try a combination like apple with carrot and ginger, or celery and pear. My favorites are apple with lemon and pear, apple with cinnamon and honey, and, my daughter’s favorite, banana with mango and orange. Try new ideas to find your own favorites!
Buying a masticating juicer will allow the juice you make to have it’s nutrients break down much slower, meaning you can take your time in drinking it or even store it for a while. It will also leave as much of the natural nutrients intact as possible, giving you the most healthy juice to drink.
Always drink your juice right away after you have put it through the juicer! This is when the juice is most potent and has the most nutritional value. If you cannot get to it right away, get to the juice and drink it as soon as possible. Do not make a large amount of juice to store.
Keep your juicing regime simple. If you make it too complicated you’ll be less likely to stick with it. Instead of using elaborate juicing recipes with several different types of produce, just stick with 2 or 3 vegetables. Apples blend nicely with many different vegetables and lend a bit of sweetness too.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is the fact that you may wish to invest in an expensive set of knives. This can be very beneficial because with nicer tools, your juicing experience will become that much easier to do and you will find that you are much more efficient.
When it comes to juicing, one thing to remember is the only way for the body to process wheat grass is by juicing it. This is important, because you are creating a way to introduce important ingredients into your body that you could not have done otherwise.
It’s best to avoid juicing fruits and vegetables that have a low water content. Avocados and bananas, for example, are quite dense and don’t have much water in them. They will clog up your juicer and you won’t get much juice out of them. If you really want to include them, blend them first and then mix them with juices from other produce.
If your fruits and vegetables are organic, go ahead and juice the peels as well. The skins of produce are loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients, so peeling them will remove a lot of the nutritional content. The only exception is citrus fruits like oranges or grapefruits, where the rinds are not very digestible.
Certain juices are very potent, so contact your pediatrician before giving any juice to a small child. Some fruits can cause diarrhea in large doses, for example, so while they just keep you regular they could instead keep your child regularly in the bathroom! If you can’t get to the doctor any time soon, stick to juice that is typically sold with kids in mind, like apple and orange.
Why not try using some seeds in your juices? Shelled unsalted sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds are excellent options to try. You can even used cooked grains, but just remember to clean your juicer out well afterward as they may leave behind a lot of gunk.
Have you heard of almond milk? Anything that comes in liquid form can be juiced! Try adding chopped almonds to your juicer, and save the pulp for use in cookies, cakes, or breads. You might also add the almond pulp to a sugar-free banana bread to give it more flavor.
Homemade fruit juices, vegetable juices and mixed juices are nutritious, delicious and, best of all, completely natural. Juicing gives you the freedom to make your own unique blends, as well as all of your family’s traditional favorites. As the above article has illustrated, juicing is limited only by your imagination. Bottom’s up!
