Juice This!

Did you know that juicing isn’t just for health nuts?  It can be a wonderful way to supplement our normal healthy diets to ensure we’re receiving all the benefits that live veggies and fruits have to offer.  You may have heard someone juicing to lose weight or to cleanse.  Truth is, juicing is an easy way for our bodies to assimilate enzymes, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals.  Juicing is the process of squeezing fruits or vegetables using a machine in order to separate the liquid from solids.  Solids, or pulp, should be composted or recycled into soups or stews.  Fresh raw juices are easily digested within 15 minutes in our guts, compared to eating the entire fruit or vegetable which contains fiber in it’s pulp taking up 2 hours or longer to digest.  Because we need that wonderful fiber, it is not suggested to juice rather than eat the actual fruits and veggies.  But if it is difficult to get all the daily servings of fruits and vegetables you need, juicing is a great way to conveniently work those foods into your diet.  Please keep in mind that juices from the store most often are heated (pasteurized).  Juice is best when fresh.  Whenever possible, we should juice organic foods which are farmed without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents.  Do your research on which fruits and veggies are worth buying organic, like apples are worth it but sweet potatoes aren’t!

Through my personal experience juicing has helped our family’s health in so many ways.  You don’t have to diet or count calories when you’re eating healthy.  Balance your meals out with plenty of vegetables and fruits and when you know you haven’t gotten all your greens in for the day, just throw some kale, watercress, beets, and an apple into the juicer!  Add juicing to your healthy diet and reap it’s digestive and regenerative benefits!  Here are a few of my favorite juicing recipes to help get you started:

Pear and Sweet Potato

-1 large peeled sweet potato

-1 pear

-Dash of Cinnamon (on top and optional)

I use a Bosc pear and add some of the pulp to my gluten free pancakes and the kids love them!  This is a wonderful Fall treat.

Apple and Carrot

-6 carrots

-1 sweet tart apple (golden delicious or granny smith)

I personally use 6 large carrots and just one apple to make one cup.  To make this sweeter just add more apples!  We use a lot of apples and carrots so I make sure I buy organic if our budget allows!  This juice has cured skin issues for us at home!  Curious?  Shoot me an email or leave a comment!

 

 

Orange and Grapefruit

1 navel orange

1 pink grapefruit

Makes over one 1 cup depending on where you get your fruit!

 

Liver Mover*

10 carrots

1 beet with greens

2 golden delicious apples, cored and quartered

*Recipe shared from Live Foods Live Bodies! by Jay and Linda Kordich

 

Some notes if you're a beginner juicer:

-Buy a cheap juicer from Target or Wal-Mart to get started...it may only last 6 months, but that's long enough to know if you'll like it.  When you get ready to spring for the expensive ones you'll know which veggies or fruits you prefer juicing and then it will be easier to pick one out.  I personally use the Omega Juicer but it's awful at juicing anything mushy like grapes.  I have to alternate juicy fruits with firm to make it flow.  We would still be using our Juiceman from Target ($75) if the motor hadn't stopped working.  The juice output is about the same!

-Make a healthy habit!  We made it a point to make us and the kids freshly squeezed OJ every morning.  The kids will ask if we miss a day, and I believe this has helped our kids stave off some colds this year!  Check out http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list  for how many nutrients this raw juice has.

 

 

There are several juicing recipes online.  Some books with wonderful recipes are Live Foods Live Bodies and The Juicing Bible.  If you have other resources please comment below!  I would rather try something I've heard is good than take a chance that my kids might not drink what I make. :)



 

Authored by Kim Usry, fitness chair of Healthy Kids Initiative at Ocean Palms Elementary. 

For sources or more great juicing recipes please contact Kim at kbusry@gmail.com.