Juicing

As you all may have known, I got my juicer on Mother’s Day.  It’s something I have been wanting for a long time.  Now to get a bit personal.  I had a head injury at age 5 that caused me to become epileptic.  I was playing tag in the house with my friend and ran smack into a door frame.  I have been seizure free for over 20 years, thanks to some medication.  I have tried to come off the meds, but the seizures always return.  Why am I telling you this?  Well, because, the medication I take causes me to have a lower white blood cell count.  In other words, I get sick a lot.  I thought juicing would be a fantastic way to boost my immunity.

Green Juice watermark

When you juice vegetables and fruits, the resulting liquid contains most of the nutrients and vitamins without the fiber.  Because of the absence of fiber, your body can more readily absorb the nutrients, while it gives the digestive system a break.  The remaining pulp, contains some nutrients and all of the fiber.  You can use the pulp to make vegetable stock, as a filler in baking and I have even heard of drying it out to make crackers.  I have been putting some of it in my daughter’s homemade blended formula.

I have heard it’s good to juice on an empty stomach, so I have been juicing first thing every morning and also in the afternoon as a pick me up.  It gives me so much energy.  Even after a week, I can feel a difference in my body for sure.  My skin looks better, my hair is shiny and I am sleeping more soundly.

Time Saving Tips

Since I have young kids it can be hard to find time to juice in the morning.  These are a few things I do to make it easier.

1.  Prep my veggies the night before.  I clean and cut all the veggies and put them in a container in my fridge.  That way, it’s all ready in the morning.

3.  Line the pulp catcher with a plastic bag.  Makes cleanup easy!  (I re-use the reuse the same bag over and over)

These two steps save a ton of time.  Since I have been juicing, I find I drink less coffee.  I feel the juice helps to energize me.  Here is a typical recipe I make.

Energizing Green Juice

2 big bunches kale
1 bunch swiss chard
3-4 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 large carrot
1 apple (cored)
1 orange peeled with as much white still on as possible
1/2 inch piece ginger (peeled)

Wash all vegetables and fruits before juicing. I try to juice the greens first, and pretty much go in the same order as the ingredients. Once the juice is done, drink it within the first 20 minutes.  You don’t want any of the nutrients to be lost. Let’s just be real, It will have a vegetable taste. You can add more fruit, but I tend to just take it as is. Just drink it like a shot. It will make you feel amazing!  Clean juicer once you are done. This will make clean up much faster.Green Juice watermark

48 thoughts to “Juicing”

  1. I am sorry to hear of your seizures. I have to recommend a MaximizedLiving chiropractor as I have personally seen amazing changes in my health and the health of my family. A blow at such a young age could have pinched nerves at the very base of your brain which sends signals to your entire body. Anyway, the juice looks fantastic!
  2. After a while you'll develop a taste for leafy greens and use less fruit. Now I only use ginger and lime/lemon. Hardly use fruit anymore. I heart juicing
    1. The bullet is supposed to pulverize everything. It doesn't separate the fiber. This is the kind I would prefer because you get the micronutrients in the seeds and peel, it also doesn't take as much ingredients. I think it will be more like a smoothy than juice though.
    2. I have a magic bullet and make green smoothies! with pretty much the same ingredients. Delicious! Add unsweetened coconut milk if you want to thin it down.
  3. I am 46 yrs old and have started incorporating veggies into my life. I know, I know better late than never. I don't like the texture of veggies and was told to juice. I was wondering why you would want to remove the fiber? I have been looking into juicing vs blended veggies w/ fruit which would include fiber.
    1. It's never to late to start. I am 37 and only switched to a whole food way of life a year ago. Removing the fiber allows your body to easily absorb the nutrients. I still get many high fiber foods into my diet as well. In addition to juicing, I also make green smoothies. In the smoothies, you are getting both the fiber and the nutrients.
      1. You can use the pulp in recipes! I have the Jack Lelane(sp) juicer and the book has great recipes so nothing goes to waste
        1. My Breville juicer came with recipes for the pulp as well. We also put the pulp in my daughter's homemade blended formula.
    2. By removing the fiber, you give your digestive system a break. The energy once used for the tideous task of digestion (which can be a 24/7 process) is now available for other things. Your body gets the chance to heal itself instead of just operating on maintenance mode.
  4. I don't juice as I have a vitamix (circa 1960's) and I love my total veggie smoothies. As I am diabetic the only fruit I add is lemon .... they are pretty strong but they taste so refreshing and give so many good benefits! I use cabbage, red bell pepper, celery, parsley, kale or a young salad mix, lemon, chia seed, cukes, and sometimes tomatoes. Delish!
    1. Just an FYI, If you use lemons that are riper they won't be as strong (sour). When the rind turns darker and looks dried up the lemons will taste more salty than sour, but don't use them if they are molded of course. I keep mine in the fridge and they last for a few weeks till I get them used up.
  5. You are amazing, Melissa! I find it so impressive that you have done so much in just a year! I have been gradually eating/becoming healthier since I was 17, getting excited about going to college for dietetics! I'm 35...half my life I suppose! You make a nice argument for juicing. I can see it's benefits to someone like you who east so healthy. Unfortunately, most people don't eat like you, and get very little fiber, so again, on a whole I say smoothies over juicing, but for avid whole-food eaters, juicing sounds great! As for smoothies: we've been having this Dr Oz Green Drink for the last almost 6 years (daily sometimes, then not at all sometimes for weeks)! http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2011/10/dr-ozs-tangy-green-drink.html Have a great night, Melissa!
    1. Thank you Colleen! I do think eating vegetables is important and I love my green smoothies as well. I just feel the juicing has given me such a nice boost of energy late in the day when I need it. I have even got my husband hooked on the feeling too! :)
      1. That's great -- feeling all that energy! I actually gave up coffee for Lent, which has been over for a while, and I have hardly had any in the last few months, and I feel so much more energy from that change. Coffee is great, health-wise, as long as it's not filled with sugar/saturated fat, but for me, it seems a lower dosage of caffeine works better, like one to several cups of tea throughout the day. Plus, with less caffeine, I think I sleep better. I am excited for you and your juicing, and the energy it gives you! If I were you, I would probably have trouble staying calm, being so excited about all your blog traffic! So happy you're spreading such wonderful, healthy recipes through the world! Thanks again!! Colleen :)
        1. Good for you giving up coffee! I am not so sure I could give it up for good. It's my one vice. lol. Yeah, things are getting pretty crazy lately with the blog. I am trying to keep up with it all, but I know it's a good thing. :)
  6. Do you think it would be ok to juice the night before and have it in the morning? I get up so early to go to work I don't think I would have the time and I honestly don't think I could get up earlier. lol
    1. I don't think so because some of the enzymes will be lost. I just set everything up the night before, including my girls cups of milk. I hand them the milk when we get downstairs and then I juice.
    2. Most of the info I have read on juicing says you get the most benefit from drinking juice fresh. However, you can put it in a container with a tight fitting lid and keep it in the fridge for 24-48 hours without it spoiling.
  7. Why bother removing the ends of the cucumber and carrots? Or coring the apple? Is there a benefit to this? I can understand removing the stems of the greens as they are bitter.
    1. I actually keep them on now. When I wrote this post, every juice recipe I had seen called for that step. As soon as I learned it's okay, I keep them on. I do remove the apple seeds though.
    2. I also remove the apple seeds. Apparently, apple seeds -whether organic or not-- contain a very small amount of natural arsenic (meaning that they just come that way). I don't know if it is true, but why take a chance? I just remove them and then i juice.
      1. Yes I have heard that as well and remove the seeds. I heard they were toxic, but didn't know why. I guess the arsenic levels in the seeds.
  8. I really like your blog, I found it through pintrest. I would like to start the whole foods thing too but do not know where to start. Do you have any meal plans to follow?
    1. Thank you! I don't have any currently, but I did write this post about small changes you can make to eat healthy. https://mywholefoodlife.com/baby-steps-to-a-healthier-life/
  9. I LOVE juicing but don't do it nearly often enough because of the cleanup. I prefer to make smoothies. But tell mw somehing, most recipes I have seen tell you to remove as much of the white stuff from oranges as possible because it is what makes juice sour. Why do you recommend keeping it on?
    1. There are lots of good nutrients in the white part. Some hard core juicing enthusiasts recommend even keeping the rind on. I tried that once and it was way to bitter. Tasted like soap.
  10. I have a Vitamix. I juice and make smoothies. However, due to the nutritious content of the peels and skins, especially of apples and grapes, I use the whole fruit. A Vitamix breaks down all parts of the fruit/veggies to a cellular level and are readily absorbed. Apples seeds do indeed contain arsenic and is toxic if it builds up in the body.
  11. I also have a juice or smoothie in the morning, and I definitely feel it has helped reduce my coffee intake. I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions for keeping a juice/smoothie nice and fresh for an afternoon boost in place of my coffee. Is it ok to prepare it in the morning and keep it in the fridge for a few hours?
    1. You can make a juice ahead of time for sure. It is good for 24 hours as long as you keep it refrigerated. Not sure about smoothies though

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