Juicing

When I say juice.. I don't mean fruit juice! I mean veggie juice! RAW veggie/fruit juice. Truth is, we shouldn't really drink store bought pasteurized fruit juice. It is a dead food source full of fructose and artificially added nutrients that are not easily absorbed. Fructose is very hard on the liver and is one of the causes of fatty liver diseases. One 6 oz glass of orange juice is equivalent to eating 6 oranges at one time!

There are many varieties of juicers on the market... Dr. Gerson's therapy (watch The Gerson Miracle)  recommends a food press. As we researched food presses, we came across the Angel masticator... it actually tested better than the press the Gerson Institute recommends. This decision was based on sturdiness of the juicer (all stainless steel), the oxidation of the food (how fast the nutrition is lost) and the ease of use and cleanup. Joe Cross of 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' (watch movie) uses a Breville and they seem to be fine for the average juicer.

The goal of juicing is to get as much RAW nutrition in your body as you can! If you can eat a cucumber, then eat it and add it to your juice, but don't just drink cucumber juice... add a zucchini and a bunch of greens, then add an apple.

Also there is a lot of talk about the difference in juicing vs. smoothies... with the introduction of the nutribullet. The difference as I see it is.. if you are sick or overweight and need emergency care... JUICE.. it is the fastest way to get the most amount of nutrition in your body at one time. But beware of too much fruit... to much fruit without the pulp can raise blood sugar... so if you are diabetic be aware of this! If you are simply wanting a quick healthy cold snack... by all means through some frozen berries and a handful of spinach in your blender and have a smoothie! I will do a separate post on smoothies :)

I have researched food groups and colors and have found that juicing by color works the best. It creates less separation in the juice... which says to me, a more symbiotic relationship!

So If I am juicing green, I would use the color spectrum of green, yellow and white.

Red would be red, orange, yellow and white...

Purple would be purple, blue, red and white...

Orange would be yellow, orange and white...

See the pattern? Maybe from my artist side using the color wheel  :D

Here is a chart I use for basic color nutrition.

This has been a hard post for me to do because I don't use a recipe... my friends and mother beg me for recipes of all kinds of things.. but I truly don't use them and find it stifling to try to create one from what I cook! It is instinct and that is hard to measure! LOL All fruits and veggies are different size, so the taste is always going to be different from one day to the next!

The beauty of juicing is... you can NOT mess it up! If it is too strong, add another piece of fruit, if it is too sweet add more veggies... VOILA... fixed... to YOUR taste!

Also, I juice according to what I have on hand... what I have from my garden or what is seasonal. Now somethings are so important I will buy them all year, like kale... but when it is from my garden... I will use what I can, when I can!

I tested out Joe Cross's juice recipe for my BFF and scaled it to a quart...

1 lime (peeled)

2 small carrots (they separated, not sure except to add sweet)

1 green apple

1 green pear

3 stalks of celery

stems of 1 broccoli crown (leaving florets for dinner)

2 broccoli florets

1 cucumber

1 bunch of kale (or 2 handfuls of power greens)

This made 1 quart with a smidgen left over. It was tasty.

The main reason we bought the Angel juicer is because the juice is good for 3 days with no oxidation...  oxidation is when you cut an apple and it turns brown, or you peel a potato or carrot and it turns brown.

But what do we know, I have read a study that every cut on a carrot that creates oxidation releases nutrients that would not be there otherwise... so I take what I learn with a grain of salt and hope and pray I learn more tomorrow and adjust to my new knowledge! :D

My typical green is (anything green, yellow or white)

1-2 buches of kale (different varieties)

2 medium zucchini (very neutral flavor)

2 large cucumbers (very neutral flavor)

1/4 to 1/3 head of green cabbage (very neutral flavor)

1/4 to 1 /3 head of cauliflower (very neutral flavor)

1large turnip

1 pineapple

1 mango

2 kiwi

The goal is 3/4 veggie ratio to 1/4 or less fruit. This makes 3-4 quarts depending on the size of stuff. My family of 3 drinks this much juice in 2 days usually very easy. 

The beauty of juicing is.. if you don't like pineapple, change it to a green apple and a lime.. easy fix!

Last fall, I ordered 3 varieties of apples to can apple sauce for the winter (it was awesome, btw)...

I had a lot of apple cores and peels left over, so I made a light green juice to use them up.

I juiced the apples 1st and got about 4 cups of apple juice, which is nothing like store bought! It is a powerhouse of LIVING RAW nutrients.. and I do give my child raw fruit juice often.

To 1 cup of apple juice I added...

3 zucchini

1/3 head green cabbage

1/3 head cauliflower

1/2 bunch of celery *(I forgot that)

A typical 'orange' juice would be (anything orange, yellow or white)

6 large carrots

2 sweet potato

2 yellow squash

1/3 head cauliflower

1 parsnip

1 orange

1 red plum

1 peach

if you like peppers.. a yellow or orange peeper is good

also spaghetti squash, butternut and pumpkin are great adds!

A typical purple would be (anything purple, blue, red or white)

1 eggplant

1/3 head purple cabbage

purple carrots (if I could find)

purple kohlrabi (kind of strong, so beware) 

1/3 head cauliflower

2 red plums

a handful of blueberries 

a handfull of blackberries

1 beet *(I forgot that)

maybe a apple if not sweet enough

My typical red is strawberry banana... not all juicers do banana puree (I do it 1st and catch under where the pulp comes out.

2 bananas pureed

1 quart of strawberries

2 roma tomatoes

3 large carrots

1 sweet potato

1 red apple

2 yellow squash

1 beet *(I forgot that)

1/3 head of cauliflower

NEVER USE CITRIS PEEL or just a tiny bit for zest, but the inside white layer is bitter.

My philosophy on juicing is... juice things you would not normally eat RAW... like kale or turnips or parsnips... think outside the box! Get creative and see what RAW veggie you can add for it's benefits and hide with fruit... then as you go... nibble on it raw while you are juicing... you will be amazed how your tastebuds come alive! In no time, your palette will completely change! 

As for the kids... start a little fruitier and see what you can get away with! If they are open, get them involved... if they are not and run from the thought of veggies... hide what you can and let them in on it slowly :D they will be amazed when they find out! It starts with an open mind!

If you need it a little fruitier to get started, do it! Then as your tastebuds get adjusted, cut the fruit back a little each time until you get a 3/4:1 ratio!

Spicy/strong veggies would be greens, peppers, jicama, turnip, parsnip, kohlrabi

Neutral veggies are eggplant, squash, zucchini, green cabbage, cauliflower.

Smell, taste, be adventurous! Happy juicing!