Sounds appealing, a healthy juice cocktail with all the essential nutrients your body needs. But you don’t even know the basics of juicing. What do you need? How long does it take? What vegetables can you use? Is it expensive and so on! Don’t get discouraged because it’s simple and you can learn the basics right here on this page and get started today!
Why juice anyway?
Why would anyone want to juice fruits and vegetables? First of all, raw fruits and vegetables are nature’s Super Foods and are packed with essential nutrients. Cooking the vegetables destroys some of these nutrients, but squeezing them helps us get even more than the 5 a day! A simple juice can provide the nutrients for a bowl full of raw spinach or a large salad. But there’s an even better reason, especially if you’re older or haven’t been feeling well. As we age, our body loses the ability to absorb nutrients in solid form, but the juices can be absorbed immediately, providing all the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes for immediate use. Also, the fresh juices taste fantastic!
What juicer?
You need a juicer and you’ll be happy to know that it doesn’t have to be expensive. There are two kinds.
- centrifugal juicers and
- masticating juicers
The centrifugal juicer with a wide chute is the one you will probably choose to start juicing with. A wide chute allows you to add a whole apple or large pieces of fruit or vegetables without cutting too much. It is much less expensive and works for all fruits and vegetables. There is said to be minor loss of nutrition due to the heat caused by the juicing process. It is probably also true that this type produces a little less juice. However, any inconvenience is offset by the speed with which you can juice. That’s prep, juice and clean again.
If you really enjoy juicing every day and want to juice your own wheatgrass or want to ensure that none of the nutrients are damaged during the juicing process and achieve the highest juice yield for your fruits and vegetables, then a chewy juicer is for you. Before you make this investment, you’ll already have mastered the basics of juicing and know exactly what you want.
What can we make juice?
Any vegetables you like and any fruit in any combination you think will taste good to you. Of course, there are many recipes in books and on my website, but you can take some apples as a base and add leaves, carrots, celery, cucumber, or whatever you fancy. It’s also possible to sneak in something good you don’t normally eat, like spinach, and mix it in with other flavors you won’t even notice. You can experiment with adding fruits and ginger or herbs to enhance the flavor. To turn a juice into a smoothie, simply blend a banana or half an avocado in your blender… yummy!
Anything else?
It is important to drink your healthy juices as soon as possible because vitamins and other essential nutrients are short-lived. If you need to save a juice for later, make sure your container is dark and airtight. Always clean your juicer as soon as you finish, otherwise the juices stick firmly to the parts of the machine and make cleaning difficult. First the cleaning, then the juice! Complete Simple Juicing Basics! Start juicing! It’s the best thing you can do for yourself, your children, your grandchildren, and anyone else whose health and well-being are valuable to you! Give juice to your life!