Once considered the drink of drop-outs and hippies, confined to earthy-smelling health food shops and co-ops, the juice revolution has swept the nation. Now available at such trendy places as Jamba Juice and even sold in pedestrian grocery stores, the fresh vegetable and fruit juice movement is now a common part of American life. Read on for tips to learn how to be a part of this healthy revolution.
When preparing a healthy juice, select a deep green vegetable to serve as your juice’s foundation. Between half and three fourths of the juice content should be vegetables like chard, broccoli, or spinach. The other 25-50% should be made up of your favorite fruits in order to better the taste.
Drink your juice soon after making it if you are looking to benefit from the health benefits. Juice starts to lose its benefits as soon as it comes out of the fruit or veggie. The longer you let it sit, the more it will lose, so go ahead and drink it as soon as possible to be able to let your body enjoy all the nutrients.
Juice your softer fruits first and then send down your harder items. The hard textured fruit will do the job of cleaning the fruit that was left behind by the softer items. This means more juice for you and less clean up as well. Follow that trick and you’ll usually get the maximum amount of juice in your glass, not left in the juicer.
If you are juicing greens, try rolling them into a ball first. Using the ball method is much more efficient for your juicer to handle than just trying to send your greens in there in their normal leafy state. Keep your juicing quick and efficient for optimum results.
Find support in a friend, family member, or co-worker for the changes in your life pertaining to your health, including juicing. Having to tell them that you haven’t been juicing will embarrass you after all the great things you said about how it will change your life, leading you to get back on track.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on fresh juicing produce as long as you shop in season. Berries are great in the summer, but will cost you an arm and a leg to buy in the winter, so skip them until the prices drop again. Apples last all winter, so feel free to buy a few bushels and keep them in the garage.
Before juicing, research the fruits and vegetables that you plan on juicing. Different foods offer different benefits for your body; some are high in vitamin C, whereas another item might be rich in antioxidants. Your best option is to mix items that will provide you with a variety of vitamins and minerals, ones that will meet your daily requirements. Blending different types of produce ensures that you’re receiving a wide range of vital vitamins and nutrients. As an added bonus, you get to play around with various flavor combinations.
Ask your friends and family if they’d like to go in on purchases in bulk at local farms with you so you can buy more and get larger discounts. Apple farms, for example, will sell you bushel after bushel for decreasing costs per pound. Take a few cars up, load the back with apples, and share with everyone! They don’t have to be juicers to enjoy fresh produce.
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!
If you absolutely must store your juice after you make it, make sure to store it in a completely air-tight container. Letting air get at it will start a process which breaks down the nutrients in the juice, leaving a tasty but empty drink that won’t provide you with the healthy benefits you were looking for in the first place.
Choose a juicer which is simple to take apart and clean. You don’t want to waste a lot of time putting together and cleaning a juicer, you want to just get the job done and get to juicing. Your juicer is much simpler to clean while the fruit pulp is moist, so clean up right after juicing.
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.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is that when you are dealing with greens such as lettuce, it is best to stack it up in a dense pile before putting it in your juicer. This is important because you will get the most amount of juice and nutrients this way.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is the fact that certain juicers can be extremely loud. This is important to consider if you make your juice at odd times or if you live in apartment style housing. Be sure to read reviews to see which juicers are quieter.
The juicing movement is on the rise but it hasn’t come far enough. The undeniable benefits of the raw juice of fruit and vegetables are essential to improving the overall health of the American public. With the increase of home juicers and the information coming out from National Cancer Institute’s about the benefits to long-term health from fruit and vegetables we will start to see more people join the juicing movement.
