Juicing
My amazing assistant teacher has been generously bringing me fresh-squeezed juice. I'm starting to wonder if home-juicing might be the best way for me to get some more vitamins and minerals into my diet.
Lord knows I do not need another appliance. We already have a crock pot, George Foreman grill, bread maker, KitchenAid mixer, waffle iron, blender, quesadilla maker, Cuisinart, ice cream maker, fondue pot, and orange juicer (and I'm sure I'm forgetting to name something). Crazy overboard, I know.
Hmm...maybe one of those appliances can be used to juice? Like maybe my Cuisinart?
I have a lot of trouble fitting enough vegetables into my diet. I don't eat any for breakfast, and lunch is just leftover dinner. At dinner, we usually put some vegetables into our meal and have a side salad with some nice greens, but we don't usually cook any additional vegetables.
My assistant teacher recently made me a juice with kale (which I never eat on its own!), a whole beet, ginger, parsley, and some other wholesome goodness. I know it's better to eat whole vegetables rather than juice them in order to get the fiber, but I imagine drinking the juice is better than nothing at all.
Do any of you have experience with juicing? Any recommendations about where to start?
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4 comments:
We have been doing green smoothies for a few weeks now. I usually toss 4 pieces of fruit(I always make one of them a banana to give it a better texture) and half a head of either kale or romain in the blender with some juice or water or both. It makes enough for both me and Dave to drink for breakfast and we take the rest to work to sip on during the day. Sometimes I have it as my lunch. I don't have the 2:30 crash anymore and by doing the smoothie instead of juicing (tried that too) I get the benefit of the fiber too.
I've tried one with beet, kale, ginger etc and those are good too.
I agree with Sharpiegirl, green smoothies are the way to go to get the nutrients and fiber in one easy, tasty drink. I usually add fruit, plain yogurt, flax, protein and green leafy veggies (baby spinach is my favorite). I think the key is to get a high powered blender (vitamix and blendtec are both great) to make it smooth without having chunks of veggies floating in your drink - no one wants that. The blenders are pricey, but last forever. My parents have had their vitamix for 10+ years.
I would start off slowly....especially if you're not used to some of the more veggie flavors. I really recommend the Breville juicer brand...I LOOOOVE mine and the one with the wide mouth makes it so you don't have to cut things into small pieces. My favorite is beet, carrot, apple and an orange.(don't drink beet juice on its own!) and sometimes I'll throw in handfuls of spinach (not a fan of kale, personally) and cucumber....I need to get more creative.
I'll have to try more smoothies...I made a smoothie with orange juice and carrots one morning and it was DELISH! with the benefit of the fiber. It's a GREAT way to get those vitamins from the veggies. I LOVE my juicer and don't mind the footprint it takes up in our very tiny kitchen.
I would just test it out. I juice and do green smoothies and I LOVE them both. I actually think the vitamins in the juice are the easiest and quickest for your body to absorb, I love the energy that comes from juicing. I do smoothies when I don't want to clean the juicer but still want the veggies. The one appliance we don't have is a dish washer! I agree that you need a good blender for the smoothie, it makes all the difference. Back to juice, my favorite is green lemonade; it is kale or green chard, romaine, cucumber, lemon, apple and sometimes ginger and if I want it a little sweeter I'll add agave or honey. The Breville juicer is the best and I am so grateful I got one (got a different brand on craigslist, it broke, so gave in and got one on sale at macy's). For the smoothie I usually do some combo of frozen mango or pineapple, kale or spinach, sprouts or pea shoots, water and a touch of agave...frozen berries can be good too. I even add some frozen broccoli if I see it in the freezer, you can get creative! I love knowing that I have had lots of veggies before lunch. My husband will drink either one and request that any extra be left in the fridge for him. Once we have kids I know they'll like both too b/c they are yummy!! I hope that helps!!
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