Juicing is an incredibly effective way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. One glass of juice can easily provide the nutrients from a head of celery, a carrot, and half a bag of spinach.
The key is to choose the right produce and blend them with other ingredients that mask certain flavors. For example, kale tastes better if it’s blended with pineapple and apple.
What is Juicing?
Juicing is the process of extracting juice from fruits and vegetables to create a drinkable source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants — something we learned from the Juice Guru Institute. It involves a special appliance called a juicer that separates the pulp (fiber) from the liquid, leaving behind a drinkable substance that is easy to digest and rich in nutrients. The benefits of juicing are numerous. It can help you achieve a healthy weight, improve your complexion, boost immunity, and increase energy levels. It also allows you to add variety to your diet by incorporating foods that you may not otherwise eat or would find hard to digest, like kale and spinach.
It can be used to supplement your daily hydration requirements, which is especially important if you are on restricted fluid intake for a medical condition like pregnancy or chronic kidney disease. It can also be used to help you meet recommended dietary guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption. According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adults should consume two cups of fruit and four to five cups of vegetables per day.
Many people also struggle to get enough fiber, which can be obtained by consuming a high-fiber diet. Juicing can help you obtain this nutrient, as it eliminates the need for straining during the juicing process. However, if you suffer from an existing medical condition or a digestive disorder, it is always best to consult your physician before adding juicing to your lifestyle.
When juicing, it is important to use only high-quality produce. Make sure that you wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly to remove any bacteria or pesticide residue. It is also helpful to rinse the juicer after juicing to ensure that all parts of the machine are free from any remaining residue.
When making your juice, it is a good idea to start with small or harder ingredients, such as ginger, bananas, and berries. This will allow the juicer to work at its most efficient by removing any excess bulk. You can also run higher water content foods, such as melon and carrots, through after the smaller, harder to juice ingredients to push them through and help clean out the machine.
Juice Recipes for Beginners
Juicing is a great way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. However, if you’re just starting out, it can be difficult to know what juice recipes to try. Fortunately, there are plenty of options to choose from. There are green smoothies, colorful fruit juices, and even energizing drinks. The key is to experiment and find the ones that work best for you.
The beauty of juicing is that you can get all the nutrients from a wide variety of foods without having to eat them all at once. A glass of juice can contain the equivalent of a head of lettuce, a carrot, an apple, and four cucumbers all at one time. While you could eat all of those ingredients, it would take a lot of time and effort, not to mention your stomach might not appreciate the shock.
When you’re first experimenting with different juice recipes, start with ones that are easy to prepare and don’t require too much prep. It’s also helpful to use a blender that is easy to clean. This will save you a lot of time when it comes to cleaning. You should also note that some fruits and veggies yield more juice than others, so it’s important to prioritize them. For example, berries and peaches yield more juice than bananas, so you should reserve them for smoothies or banana ice cream instead of juicing.
A good rule of thumb is to always add some kind of sweetener to your juices. This will help to keep the sugar content low, especially if you’re juicing mostly vegetables. Aside from adding some sweetness, it will also make the juice more drinkable for people who aren’t used to the strong vegetable flavor. Incorporate fruits like apples and pears into your vegetable juices to add sweetness and mask the taste of more earthy vegetables like beets and spinach.
Another great thing about juicing is that you can also re-purpose the leftover pulp. This nutrient-rich byproduct is a fiber goldmine that can be used in all sorts of ways. You can add it to your smoothies, stew it into soup, use it as a base for dips, or even bake into cookies and muffins. Just be sure to wash your produce well and store any unused portion in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it again.
Juice Combinations
Juicing is one of the simplest ways to eat more fruits and vegetables. It can also fill in some nutrient gaps for people who may not be able to eat as much produce as they should, such as toddlers with picky eating habits, older adults who have difficulty chewing, or those with health conditions like diabetes that limit fiber intake.
Adding fruit and veggies to your daily diet provides a wide range of nutrients, from protein to vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B9, vitamin K, folate, dietary fibre, and more. A general guideline is to aim for two parts vegetables to one part fruit in juice recipes. This helps keep sugar levels low and the taste palatable.
The tastiest produce to juice are citrus fruits, leafy greens, carrots, beets, and berries. They blend beautifully into sweet-tart combinations that are satisfying and easy to digest. Avoid overdoing starchy fruits like bananas and avocados and strong-flavored vegetables, such as onions and garlic, as they can overpower other ingredients.
You can make a juice with almost any vegetable or fruit, although it is best to prioritize those that yield the most liquid. Some produce, such as berries, kiwis, and peaches, are more difficult to juice because they yield less liquid than other produce. This is not a problem, however, because a good blender or juicer will be able to puree any produce.
If you’re a beginner to juicing, try starting with the most common fruits and vegetables and work your way up from there. Once you have those down, experiment with other fruits and vegetables to discover your favorites.
Be sure to use a high-quality juicer, such as the NutriBullet or a masticating juicer, which will break down larger pieces of fruit for easier digestion. You can also find affordable reusable glass juice bottles and thermoses that will help you take your juice to go, such as those made by Klean Kanteen.
Juice Variations
Although technically you can juice just about anything (except bananas, which are better left for smoothies), there are certain foods that are better suited to juicing than others. Fruits and vegetables that yield a lot of juice are ideal, such as citrus fruits, apples, carrots, and kale. Some produce less juice, such as berries and peaches, and some, like avocados, are not suited for juicing at all.
If you’re just starting out on your juicing journey, it’s helpful to learn which ingredients juice well together and experiment with different combinations until you find ones that you enjoy. You’ll also want to prioritize fruits and vegetables that are high in nutrients, such as kale, berries, and cucumbers. These fruits and vegetables have powerful antioxidants that can help fight free radicals, support the immune system, and promote healthy skin.
While juicing is one of the best ways to introduce more fruits and veggies into your diet, it is important to remember that juicing alone won’t provide you with enough energy or protein for the long term. Instead, juicing should be a tool used in conjunction with a balanced whole food diet that includes plenty of fiber.
Another good juicing tip for beginners is to start by prepping all of the ingredients you’ll need ahead of time. This will save you a ton of time once it comes time to actually start juicing, and will help ensure that no important ingredient is forgotten. It’s also helpful to invest in a juicer that has good storage capacity for the pulp, so that you can keep juicing going without having to stop to clean out your machine.
Aside from being delicious, this refreshing green juice is a great way to ease into juicing. It is a great mix of those leafy greens that most people are afraid to eat, but is balanced out by sweet fruits. And it’s also a great reminder that kale, while being a superfood, can definitely taste like a four-letter word if it’s not paired properly. Lemon and cilantro are kale’s best friends, and they will help to make this earthy green juice recipe a bit more approachable.