Juicing 101

I wanted to write a post about juicing 101 because juicing is one of the first wellness world things I got really into when I started my health journey. I like to describe juicing kind of like taking a shot of tequila and feeling tipsy- but instead of alcohol, juicing is flooding your bloodstream as quickly as a shot with vitamins and minerals! Since the fiber is removed, the body does not have to process and break down the vegetables and fruits. So the nutrients are absorbed asap. Let’s chat about the benefits of juicing and tips for the perfect juice recipe.

Juicing 101

Benefits of Juicing:

For one, juicing allows you to get much larger amounts of fruits and vegetables into your diet- especially leafy greens! Think about how large of a bowl you would need if you were to sit down and eat all the vegetables versus how quickly you can consume these when they are added to a juice. For example, a whole head of kale makes just about ⅕ cup of juice- if that! 

Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, juicing is like taking a shot of instant nutrition. All the fiber has been removed during the juicing process, so it’s much easier for the body to digest. Drinking juice let’s the body more easily absorb the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. It’s like taking a liquid multivitamin. 

Tips for the perfect juice:

Juices can be full of anti-inflammatory superfoods, hydrating, high in antioxidants, detoxifying, and so much more. Here are a few tips for the perfect juice recipe.

-Watch out for too much fruit. While fruit is super healthy and full of nutrients, it does contain natural sugar which can cause blood sugar to spike. My general rule of thumb is to include no more than 1 apple in your juice per serving if you need to keep it sweet.

-Pack in the greens. If you don’t mind it, nix the fruit altogether and focus on vegetables. My goal for clients with adding juices into their diet is to help them easily and quickly get in 6-8 cups of leafy greens a day. Go for kale, celery, romaine, watercress, swiss chard, etc!

-Add unique veggies and herbs. For example, things like ginger or turmeric root, cucumber, carrots, beets, parsley, and dandelion are not usually a weekly household staple for me. However, I love to pick them up when I plan on juicing that week because they are amazing for detoxifying and can easily be thrown in the juicer.

How to incorporate juices into your diet:

-I always tell my clients that something they can do to dramatically improve their health that requires very little time, money, and effort is to try and squeeze in one big green juice per week. 

-You can also make juicing really easy on yourself and just buy one at your local health food store or juice bar. I won’t lie to you- juicing is a pain, mainly because the clean up is annoying. So on days when I am feeling a little lazy, I’ll ask Whole Foods to do the work for me. I’ll have them make me a fresh juice to sip on while I do my grocery shopping for the week.

-Focus on fresh juice and consume it within 24-48 hours. This is because it really starts to lose its nutritional value the longer it sits in the fridge. If you’re buying your juice from a store shelf versus making it at home, look at the date the juice was made. I’d recommend opting for the freshest option possible and avoiding juices that have 30+ days shelf life that undergo HPP (high pressure processing). 

Should you do a juice cleanse? 

I get a ton of questions from people wanting to do juice cleanses. This could be a whole other post, but I wanted to be sure to quickly cover it in this juicing 101 guide. There are pros and cons to a juice cleanse. You will definitely reap the benefits of a huge increase in nutrients and enhanced, natural detoxification. However, it’s not sustainable to keep weight off and I personally think they can be extremely hard to stick to. In my experience, to reset and detox, exploring a plant-based diet is much more manageable. Be sure to book a free consultation with me here to learn more and we can come up with a custom plan to reach your health goals.

Juicer Recommendations:

I’d recommend the Omega brand or the Nama brand cold press juicers. 

My Go-To Green Juice Recipe

And there you have it! Juicing 101. Are you going to try this recipe? What other questions do you have about juicing?

XO, Dani