Fresh fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods around, and one great way to unlock their nutritional bounty is through juicing. Converting vegetables and fruits into liquid form preserves all of their great benefits and makes them more palatable and easier to consume. Here are just a few of the ways that juicing can contribute to a healthier diet:
If you are diabetes or otherwise sensitive to sugar in your diet, be careful with juicing. Many fruit juices will be very high in sugar, resulting in a spike in your blood sugar levels, especially if you drink juice on an empty stomach. Try diluting your juices with water to reduce this issue.
Look into juicers that use the masticating process instead of the centrifuge process for extraction. The masticating way of juicing preserves many more nutrients than the centrifuge, the reduction of heat produced during the process. A centrifuge juicer can still be a great value just do your homework first.
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.
Use a variety of fruits and vegetables in your juices. Not only will this keep the tastes exciting, but you will be able to get a wider range of vitamins and minerals from your juices. Try one new ingredient a week and if you have an allergic reaction, you’ll know which ingredient caused it.
Pay close attention to which vegetables and fruits your juicer recommends. There are some fruits and vegetables that do not lend themselves well to juicing. Bananas are a great example of this, as they tend to thicken a mixture when added, which is why they are used in smoothies regularly. Blend these types of produce, as opposed to juicing, for best results.
Juicing for the fridge is a great idea, however, you will want to prevent color change in the juice. Understandably, brown or grey colored juice isn’t appetizing to most people. All you have to do to prevent this color change is to squeeze a few drops from a fresh lemon into your juice. This amount of lemon juice will keep the juice mixture looking fresh and colorful without overpowering the taste.
One of the best ways to increase your nutrient intake is to make your own juice. Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables can not only be healthy, but quite tasty. Start with your favorite vegetables and then make the move to fruits. You will never want bottled juice again.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is that you want to do your homework when it comes to buying a juicer. This is important to make sure that you are getting a quality product that will last you for a long time and suit all of your juicing needs.
Fresh juice might taste a bit bitter, but this can be masked by adding in sweet fruits and veggies. Oranges, strawberries and carrots impart sweet and unique flavors. One of the tastiest cranberry blends is a mixture of cherries, blueberries and strawberries. Mix different fruits together to find a taste that you love!
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.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is to use a variety of ingredients, not only to keep yourself interested, but also so that your body gets the best variety of nutrients. This is important because your body needs many different types of nutrients from many sources in order to function properly.
The pith on citrus fruit, the white part between the skin and the pulp, is full of nutrients that are fabulous for you, so make sure to pull it out of the fruit with the pulp when you’re juicing. It has bio-flavonoids and tons of vitamin C, so bulk up on it during flu season!
There is no harm in juicing more than once a day as long as you’re not just filling up on fruit juices. Fruit can be full of calories and sugar, so stick to vegetables as much as possible instead. If you want to add some sweetness to your veggie juice, try beets!
A great juicing tip is to make sure you store your juice in a way so that it doesn’t lose any of its nutritional value. A good way to do this is to be absolutely sure that there is no extra air space in your juice container.
The sooner you drink fresh juice, the better. Ideally, you should serve your juice shortly after you make it.
A great juicing tip is to combine different fruits and vegetables so that you’ll end up with a balanced juice. Soft fruits and vegetables will typically produce very thick juice. In order to balance this out you should add any fruits or vegetables that will make a thinner juice.
Purchase older fruit and vegetables in order to save money on juicing. Grocery stores discount fruits and vegetables that are older because they are no longer attractive to customers. These foods have the same level of nutrition and are perfect for using to make juice. It is possible to save as much as 90% or more off the regular price of these items once they start to show age.
Juicing is a great nutritional process that can be just as simple or as complex as a juicer wants to make it. Quick, cheap techniques can offer dramatic health benefits, and a greater investment of time and money can provide even bigger results. Hopefully, the tips presented above can be of use in starting or improving a great juicing routine.
