Drinking my Greens

After hearing so much buzz about juicing, I knew I had to try it for myself… so a few months ago I bought a Breville’s Juice Fountain Compact. 

 I must admit that I love juicing.  Fresh juice from fruits and vegetables are full of cancer fighting phytochemicals and vitamins that are quickly absorbed into our bodies.  My juicer can process whole, uncut fruits with the exception of hard peels (orange peels, melon rinds) and fruit pits (peaches, nectarines) that are inedible.  It might be a placebo effect but I do feel more energized after juicing.  I usually don’t follow any specific juicing recipes but I always try to include spinach and whatever else is in the refrigerator.

The downfalls to juicing:

1) Cleaning the juicer after use (several parts to clean)… The parts to my juicer are dishwasher safe which helps with the cleaning.

2) The loss of fiber from the “juiced” fruits and vegetables…  I eat lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables regularly so I’m not concerned from the lack of fiber.

My favorite juicing combo includes:

• 3 Handfuls of Spinach(provides carotenoids*, vitamin C, folate, potassium, calcium, & iron)
• 1 Handful of Strawberries(provides vitamin C, folate, potassium)
• Piece of Ginger (provides antioxidants and aids in digestion and provides anti-inflammatory effects)
• 1 Orange(provides carotenoids*, vitamin C, folate, potassium)
• 2 Granny Smith Apples (provides vitamin C, potassium)

*Carotenoids are a precursor to vitamin A.

I always put the less juicy fruits and vegetables in first such as the spinach and ginger followed by juicy fruits such as apples and oranges.  This help to extract more juice from the less juicy fruits and vegetables.

I usually juice after breakfast… so my juice goes into a to-go cup and I drink on my way to work.

The juice above made about 15 ounces of juice and it was delicious. The ginger gives such a fresh taste!

Have a great Friday