While juicing may look like the newest trend, this is an age-old way of getting your daily fruits and vegetables. Juicing has several noteworthy benefits and can be a way to keep your family healthy, especially as the temperatures drops and our immune systems take a hit from the chill.
Do some trial and error to find what sort of juice mixes you like. Softer fruits like peaches or strawberries will have a much thicker consistency than harder fruits like apples. Mix them up in different amounts to see what makes the consistency of drink that you like the best. The more you like it, the more you will drink it!
Learn to love wheat grass if you can. Start your wheat grass relationship off very slowly as it is an extremely strong tasting plant. The nutrient benefits are out of this world but some people think the taste is as well. Use strongly flavored fruits and small amounts of wheatgrass and work your way up to larger amounts over time.
When preparing for a juice diet, make sure to stock a LOT of fresh fruits and vegetables! On average, it takes 4.4 pounds of raw fruits and vegetables to make just a single quart of juice, so you’ll need lots. Also make sure to get a large variety of ingredients so that you don’t get bored with the same old juice.
If you can’t afford to juice with organic fruit and vegetables, don’t worry about it. It’s nice to have pesticide-free items, but you can only work with what you have available. Wash your produce in a mixture of 8 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and 3 tablespoons of baking soda to get all the nasty stuff off. Rinse your produce well before using.
Check out farms near where you live to pick up the produce you need for juicing at amazing bulk prices. Many items can be kept in a cool, dark place for longer periods of time. So those are the foods you want to pick up on the farm in larger amounts.
When juicing for your health you should drink the juice as soon as it’s made. Refrigerating the juice or leaving it on the counter will allow it to lose nutrients as they break down within the juice. Drinking it immediately will be just like eating all those fresh ingredients whole!
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is that you want to ensure that all of the fruits and vegetables that you purchase are cleaned as well as possible. This is important for health reasons as well as making sure that there are no outside factors that effect the taste of your juice.
Vegetable juice contains very few calories, no fat (unless you add dairy), little sugar (unless you add a sweetener, including fruit), and lots of fiber. It will taste wonderful and provide you with all the nutrients and vitamins needed to fulfill your daily required intake. It’s also a ton of fun to make!
One of the best juicers that you can use in order to have high quality juice are masticating juicers. These juicers operate on a more gentle process and therefore preserve the juice’s valuable nutrients. Another advantage of using this kind of juicer is that it enables you to store the juice for a much longer period of time.
Sugar cane juice can help build your immune system, but chewing on the actual sugar cane can cause tooth decay. Instead, juice your sugar cane along with fruit, vegetables, and other healthy additives to get the most nutritious juices possible every single day. Juicing can taste great and help you stay healthy!
Pour that lovely juice into ice-pop makers in the summer for a sweet, healthy, tasty treat the kids will enjoy! It won’t be as nutrient-rich as drinking it immediately after making it, but it’s a lot better than giving your children a commercially-produced ice-pop laden with sugar and preservatives.
In regards to juicing, it is important to know that you might experience a slight change in the color of your skin when consuming a lot of carrot juice. This is only temporary and will cause no harm to you.
Some people claim that mixing fruit and vegetables in your juice leads to indigestion as the enzymes required to break down fruit are very different than those to break down vegetables. I, personally, have never had a problem, but if you find you have any tummy upset after drinking a mixed juice then you should probably stick to one or the other.
In regards to juicing, it is important to consider the fact that it does remove the fiber intake that you would have gotten from eating the fruit outright. Be sure to obtain fiber in other ways if you had been relying on your fruits and vegetables as your main source.
If you have a large batch of juice and need to store the juice for a while, adding drops of lemon juice is a good idea. They will act as a natural preservative and help the juice stay fresh. Also remember to keep the juice in a container that is air tight and refrigerated.
It is very important to monitor your blood sugar levels when juicing if you have diabetes. When you have high blood glucose levels it is best to drink vegetable juice rather than to drink fruit juice. If you still prefer the sweetness of fruit juice, limit your intake.
Fish oil is an excellent addition to any juice you make! It’s full of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which are essential to the human body. You need to get these from your diet; we can’t make them ourselves. Cod liver oil, evening primrose oil, and flax seeds all contain Omega-3 Fatty acids. Adding a little to your juice is a wonderful way to boost your intake.
Whether for drinking or as part of a recipe, juicing your fruits and vegetables can liven up your diet and be an easy way to help your family stay healthy. Whether you’re sneaking your kids some vegetables or wanting something refreshing after a hard day, you have only healthful rewards to gain.
