Juicing 101

I started juicing back in 2010 after I had my daughter. I’ve always been a relatively healthy person, but wanted to kick it up a notch. I found a book by the author Kris Carr; who I absolutely love, for more than one reason! She is why I decided to start my juice journey and dabble with veganism, which isn’t my thing; however, my family has settled with and will eat a lot of vegetarian dishes. Her book is called Crazy Sexy Diet … and this book opened a whole new world of health for me. She has several (easy) recipes for meals, smoothie recipes, and juice recipes. I tried the smoothie thing, but found that I really loved all the fruit, which can pack in the sugar and fiber if you aren’t careful… SO, I made the switch to juicing and cut out a lot of the fruits. Her book teaches you how to combine fruit and veggies, so you aren’t doing too many fruits and canceling out some of the health benefits of the vegetables.

Over my years of juicing, I’ve managed to get a handful or more of my friends and family to join in. There were so many questions asked in the beginning, so I thought I would make it easy and list a few of the most asked questions with my answers below. I hope you find this helpful!

Most asked questions:

Can I juice with my blender? No, but the blender is great for smoothies though. I love the Breville brand for my juicing, and I always recommend THIS juicer for newbies.

Don’t invest a lot in a juicer until you know it’s something you will stick with. This was my first juicer, and I loved it.

Doesn’t juicing strip away all the healthy fiber? Nope! It will strip some, but you are still left with a healthy amount of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber will lower cholesterol and help with digestion.

Should I juice in place of a meal? I personally don’t…but some people do. I’m not for depriving myself of real food. Talk with your doctor and come up with a plan that is good for you.

When is the best time to juice? I prefer in the morning. I like to give my body all that alkaline goodness right off the bat and boost my energy before I chug my morning coffee (or two!)

Why should I juice? Chances are you’re not getting all of the vitamins & minerals you need from our westernized diets. Juicing gives you a lot of what we lack. How often do you sit and eat an entire cucumber? Or a handful of kale? Probably never. I prefer green juice; it’s like pure oxygen to the blood.

Low on energy? Juicing can help
Suffer from acne? Juicing can help
Allergies? Juice
Depression? Juice
Weight loss? Yep, juice can help with that!
Insomnia? Juice, try it!

It’s time to rid your body of all those harmful toxins. Get some leafy goodness in there and do your brain and muscles a favor. By juicing and removing some fiber, your body will get the benefits of all those nutrients much faster than if you were to eat all of this or turn it into a smoothie. (Because solids take longer to digest, of course.)

The recipe below will be green, unless you add the beet. Green is alkaline and will help detoxify your body and raise your pH.

Try this green juice recipe…it’s the one that is always made in my kitchen!

Green Juice Goodness
Green Juice Goodness

Green juice

1 romaine heart
1 cucumber
A handful of kale
2 carrots
1 green apple
1 lemon
A knuckle of ginger
**Sometimes I will add a beet… Stem and all.

Enjoy!

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Lauren
I’m a local Okie, wife, and mom of two. I work full time and teach yoga a few nights a week. I am very passionate about family and healthy living. I love to play with my babies & I cherish every moment I get with them. I love to bake, play in the garden, and stay active. My house is never clean, my family is (usually) always happy, and I drink way too much coffee.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Does all juicing require ginger? I feel like all the recipes I’ve tried call for it and I understand it has health benefits but it always overpowers the taste to me?

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