Last week, in need of an immediate health boost (long story) we finally got into juicing as we’ve been planning for awhile. Why?
Vegetables are good
Obviously. Let’s shift the balance. Fruit too.
Raw is good
Spinning Carrots in Juicer, copyright Spinning Cook
Sometimes the best cooking is no cooking at all. Keeping foods uncooked preserves nutrients, especially enzymes which are completely destroyed by heat.
One criticism is that juiced fruits and veggies are not as healthy as the same foods kept whole. But the point is that we don’t typically munch on whole raw vegetables, and when we cook them they’re not what they used to be, so it’s not a fair comparison. Without a doubt fresh juice beats pasteurized (read: cooked) store-bought juice. Sorry, Welch’s.
Easy is good
Throwing a scrubbed carrot, rinsed greens, or a quartered apple down the chute is about as easy as it gets. The only hang-up is clean-up, which isn’t as bad as you’d think despite the thousands of parts you have to take apart.
Journeying
I’m planning to run a series of short posts here. Since I’m brand new to juice please excuse the mess, the puddles on the counter, the splatter on the ceiling, as we figure it out. But some of you have been juicing for years (kudos), and you have your favorite machines and recipes, maybe even high-end blenders that pulverize anything unfortunate enough to fall in there.
Do you juice? Why or why not?
We’ve been juicing for years. Paul and I received an Omega juicer as a wedding gift (nearly ten year ago!) and we’ve been juicing ever since. We still the same Omega and it’s plugging along, just like new. We’ve been fairly adventurous juicers, but the kids have their favorites. Apple and carrot (and a little pear if in season) is Chelsea’s favorite. I sneak in a cup or so of fresh spinach and she never knows. A fresh juice is an awesome after school or before gymnastics snack. Chelsea often says she would rather drink her veggies than eat them. We are hoping for a balance of both at some point.
I say keep juicing. You won’t be sorry. You’ll feel better, be healthier, and at some point even enjoy the process. If you are really adventurous you can get organic fruit and veggie boxes delivered weekly (Organics to You is a great one). Whatever fruits and veggies you don’t eat can get thrown in the juicer!
Happy juicing 🙂
My husband and I started juicing in August of this year and we love it. We actually did a juice fast and really enjoyed it (after the first couple of days). Our juicer is a Breville which we chose after doing quite a bit of research and it’s been terrific. Organic produce is fairly easy to come by here in California and we also get a weekly delivery. If you go that route be sure to use a place that will let you set your preferences and be diligent about updating them.
Our son (3 years old) will drink any fresh fruit juices that we make but if we try to slip any spinach or kale in he calls it ‘salad juice’ and won’t drink it. Fresh salad fine – salad juice no way. My husband and I try to get spinach &/or kale in every time we juice for ourselves.
Best of luck!
Thanks Tracy! We got a Breville too, great product. I plan to do a recap of the shopping process and our experience. Our kids have had the same hang-up, kale is a no-go. But we’ll keep trying on the ‘salad juice’!