As concerns about health and nutrition continue to rise, so has the custom of making fresh-squeezed juice at home. Juicing offers a convenient and healthy way to lose weight, stay fit and avoid artificial additives and preservatives. Homemade juices can include both fruits and vegetables. From apples and oranges to tomatoes and celery, the following article provides you with all the information you need on juicers, juicing and juices.
When you’re making a juice from dark, leafy greens, try adding in a little cucumber. Leafy greens tend to be quite strong and not taste all that great. Cucumber will put a nice twist on your drink, as well as masking the taste of unpleasant veggies. Cucumber also contains important nutrients; include the peel for maximum benefit.
If you must store your juice in the fridge, add a tablespoon of lemon juice. This small amount of lemon juice shouldn’t have a major effect on the flavor, but it will keep this juice from becoming discolored as it sits, creating a more appetizing effect. Always try to make your juice just before you drink it, for maximum health benefits.
Don’t buy too many fruits and vegetables at a time if you’re juicing. You might end up buying much more than you will use, and the extra food will decay and go to waste. Experiment with different amounts to see how much juice you drink a day, so you know how much produce you have to buy in advance.
Beware of too much oxalic acid. If you have a history of kidney stones, gout, osteoporosis or rheumatoid arthritis you will aggravate your symptoms. Foods to avoid are spinach, chard, beets and rhubarb. You also have to remember not to combine them, or follow them with foods high in calcium, such as broccoli.
Juicing your vegetables is a great way to get the vitamins and minerals that are in them without having to actually take the time to prepare them. Many people simply do not have the time to prepare a gourmet meal each and every night. Juicing vegetables allows you to quickly and easily get the most nutrients out of them that you possibly can without spending a ton of time on them.
If you can’t afford to juice with organic fruit and vegetables, don’t worry about it. It’s nice to have pesticide-free items, but you can only work with what you have available. Wash your produce in a mixture of 8 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and 3 tablespoons of baking soda to get all the nasty stuff off. Rinse your produce well before using.
Using wheat-grass in your juice is an excellent way to add a ton of tasty nutrients to the final product. Start with a little bit and increase how much you push through the machine until it’s all fed into the juicer. Follow with a hard fruit or vegetable to clean out the machine.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is the fact that the type of juicer that you will want to avoid are the centrifugal juicers. Usually these are cheaper but end up either not being able to extract certain juices or not being able to retain nutrients from other ingredients.
To make great juice takes great fruits and vegetables. Make sure you use the freshest produce possible. Wash the vegetables and fruits, and prepare the items according to the instructions that are in your juicer manual. Different machines may or may not require peeling or skinning prior to juicing.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is the fact that you may wish to invest in an expensive set of knives. This can be very beneficial because with nicer tools, your juicing experience will become that much easier to do and you will find that you are much more efficient.
When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is that when you are dealing with greens such as lettuce, it is best to stack it up in a dense pile before putting it in your juicer. This is important because you will get the most amount of juice and nutrients this way.
It’s best to avoid mixing fruits and vegetables in the same juice. Your body uses different enzymes to break them down, and so mixing them together makes your body have to work harder to get the nutrients it needs. Apples are an exception that can be mixed with almost anything, so you can toss an apple in with whatever you are juicing.
When you are making your own juice, the best vegetables to use are organic vegetables. By using organic vegetables, you are maximizing the benefits of juicing. When non-organic vegetables are used, you are adding unhealthy pesticides and chemicals into an otherwise healthy drink, which depletes the benefits of creating your own juice.
If your fruits and vegetables are organic, go ahead and juice the peels as well. The skins of produce are loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients, so peeling them will remove a lot of the nutritional content. The only exception is citrus fruits like oranges or grapefruits, where the rinds are not very digestible.
If you’d like to put low-water fruits like avocado or bananas in your juice, put them in a blender first. It’s difficult for your juicer to process these types of produce and it can actually damage the expensive juicer or burn out the motor. Blenders are built to deal with thicker items, so give them a whirl and then pour them into your juicer.
Homemade fruit juices, vegetable juices and mixed juices are nutritious, delicious and, best of all, completely natural. Juicing gives you the freedom to make your own unique blends, as well as all of your family’s traditional favorites. As the above article has illustrated, juicing is limited only by your imagination. Bottom’s up!