Bring On the Juice

photo credit: anahelencampbell.com

Have you ever tried juicing? It is a great way to incorporate many nutrients into your diet and besides a little chopping and the clean-up, it's pretty fun and easy.

I want to answer some questions about juicing and then leave you with some recipes to try.

1. Why should I juice?

In our culture, we are very bent on quick and easy. We have been duped into believing 30 minute meals or drive-thru's are our friends. We need live enzymes in our foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are the only way to get these life-giving enzymes. Juicing is just a great way to get them in your system. Raw vegetables are also shown to lower the ph levels in our bodies. Diets high in sugar, processed foods, meat and dairy products often lead to acidic blood (higher ph), according to Dr. Alejandro Junger, author of the book Clean. Raw foods are very alkalizing and are shown to lower the body's ph.

2. Why should I juice over just eating the fruit/vegetable in it's natural state?

Digestion is one of the most energy-involved processes in the body. It starts once the food enters the mouth and doesn't end until it reaches the toilet (sorry for the visual)... about 18 hours later. When you juice, you are giving your body a break from this labor-intensive workout in essence. The juice is absorbed very quickly and the nutrients go immediately where the body needs them.

3. When is the best time to juice?

To me, it doesn't really matter. If you are doing a fast you will be replacing your meals with it. If you are juicing to help add more fruits/vegetables into your diet, make sure to do it alongside a healthy meal. If you use a lot of high sugar fruits and/or vegetables like apples, carrots, oranges, melons, etc. in your juice without a meal, it will spike your insulin levels and the sugars will go to your small intestines and be stored as fat. BAD.

4. Drinking juices from vegetables sounds really gross, right?

Well, it can be... that's why you add the things you like first then experiment. If you don't like kale, don't start with it. I love carrots, gala apples, English cucumber, celery, red grapes and oranges. So that's what I juiced with first. Also, as a rule of thumb, the green vegetables should only make up 1/4 of your juice. Beyond that and the taste may be bitter.

6. Which fruits/vegetables are best to juice?

Go for color. Orange, red, dark green ~ brightly colored foods come to mind and are abundant in phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are nutrients that protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals. These chemicals have been shown to help prevent diseases that are associated with cancer and heart disease. Also, if you want the maximum nutrients, go for organic (less pesticide content) and opt for in-season fruits and vegetables.

5. Can I store the juice for later?

Yes, but you need to do it properly. Use a glass canning container with a lid. Fill the juice to the top so there's not much air. Secure the lid and store in the fridge for only 24 hours. After that the juice will begin to oxidize like apples or avocados do when left out. You may add a couple drops of lemon juice to it as well.

As far as recipes go, go with the fruits and vegetables you like first. Make sure you are not making them with ingredients that are too high in sugar (here's a list of the sugar content/calories in fruits).

Juice Recipe #1 (my favorite)
2 apples (with skin on)
2 carrots
1/4 English cucumber
1 orange

Juice Recipe #2
3-4 carrots
equal amount of celery (with stems on)
1/2 red bell pepper

Juice Recipe #3
1 apple
2 carrots
1 small beet (peeled)
1/2 lemon

Juice Recipe #4 ~ Mean Green Juice Recipe *
4 stalks of celery
1 cucumber (peel off skin)
1 ginger root (thumb size – peel off skin)
1/2 lemon (skins off)
2 green apples
6 kale leaves

Juice Recipe #5 ~ Kidney Tonic **
1 cucumber (peeled)
1 small handful parsley
1 celery stalk
1/4 lemon
mint
1/2 inch gingerroot

The internet is a great place to scour for more juicing recipes. Here are some sites with additional juicing recipes...

Happy Healthy Life

Juiceman

I Am Well Now!

Reboot Your Life

* recipe taken from Joe Cross's documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.

** recipe taken from the book, Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life by Cherie Calbom

5 Benefits of Eating with the Seasons

"If you could do just one thing for your health it would be to make seasonal, farm-fresh produce the center of your diet." --- Preston Maring, M.D.

Eating in season may not be a new concept for you. It is for me. At my local grocer, I see strawberries in the winter and winter squash in the summer and think, "cool", but instead I should be asking "how?". It wasn't until recently as I've learned more about clean and healthy eating that when we decide to eat with the seasons there are many facets to it's benefits.

Seasonal eating is based on purchasing foods during their natural growing times. If you've never thought about choosing foods based on the seasons, I encourage you to start now. Here are a few thoughts on why eating seasonally is right for you and your family.

1. Fresh is just best.
Have you ever looked on the label of that pint of strawberries you just bought? Many times those foods are traveling thousands of miles to get to you. What exactly does that mean for the quality of the food? A lot! First of all, they are generally picked early before they ripen and therefore, their nutritional content is much, much lower. According to Brian Halweil, author of Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, “If you harvest something early so that it can endure a long distance shipping experience, it’s not going to have the full complement of nutrients it might have had.” Second, if they are not organic, they are covered in preservatives and pesticides to get where they're going and still look good to you the consumer. If you are able, purchase in season foods when they are abundant and freeze them for later which also does not significantly diminish the nutritional value of produce.

2. In season = better health.
Seasonal foods also pack the biggest nutritional punch. When you purposefully choose foods that are in season for your particular region, you will be healthier. Since produce starts to lose nutrients shortly after being picked, out of season options will have lower nutritional values. Preston Maring, M.D., the associate physician-in-chief at Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland hospital says, "If we can just get people to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, we can really impact people’s health."

3. It helps you know your neighbor.
Buying locally when foods are in season is the ideal way to shop for produce. You begin to know who is growing the food you are eating and have a sense of supporting those working hard in your community. The authors of Simply in Season remind us that "before the advent of modern transportation and storage systems, eating locally grown food was the norm - as it still is in many parts of the world." They also go on to say that "we have become distant in our food and not just in terms of geography. Who grows our food? What are their lives like? Each food purchase we make is like a vote for the way we want food to be produced - and for the world in which we live." So buy locally when you can so that your area farmers can continue their great work.

4. Buying in season makes your wallet happy.
This is just the basic law of supply and demand. When there is more of something it will cost less, when there is less you will usually pay the price. Author Judi Gerber of the website care2 says, "If you buy items that are not in season, you pay a premium for them. How so? That basket of peaches you buy during winter can cost twice as much as it would if you buy it when peaches are in season locally. Having those South American peaches transported halfway around the world shows up in your food bill, not to mention it is very environmentally unfriendly." Keep this in mind as you shop during the peak harvesting seasons.

5. It strengthens our palates.
The plain fact is when you buy food that is in season plus purchased as close to your front door as possible, it is going to taste fresher and better. Professional chef Kurt Michael Friese states, "When we eat out of season -- gobbling shipped-in strawberries in January, for instance -- the taste degrades: 'Our palate weakens just as our eyesight would if left in the dark for too long.'" Be choosy with your food. Don't eat whatever, whenever... chose the best.

Here is a list of foods that are in season in your region, just skip over to this Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) site and plug in your state and the month you'd like.

For more information on eating in season, here is a list of links you might be interested in:
The Locavore app :: find what is in season in a snap with your smartphone.
Simply in Season cookbook :: get inspired to eat in season and locally by these amazing stories along with healthy recipes. Also available for purchase on Amazon here.
Local Harvest :: for a list of farmer's markets and organic food near to you.
Eating Well in Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook
Perpetual Produce Calendar :: gives a list of produce in season for your particular region.
Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket

Do you eat with the seasons?