Juicing ranks right at the top of happy, healthy things to do in life! It has changed my life so much that I can’t imagine being without it. I tend to juice about three times a week, although I’ll juice more if I am feeling under the weather. I almost always juice in the mornings before eating anything else, to allow maximum benefit. If I am doing a pilates workout (which is usually mid morning for me), I’ll make a juice and drink half it before and half after, without having anything else to eat beforehand. The combination of juice and workout makes me feel so energised that I am bouncing off the walls. I’ve also found it invaluable to counter-act jetlag and moontime challenges.

Here’s me passionately talking about juicing…

Do we really need to juice?

Yes! I would definitely say yes.

Let’s face it, the world out there is a bit messed up. We are bombarded with pollutants, electro-smog, WIFI and chemicals. The world is on full throttle, burning its candle at both ends and unless we live in a log cabin, off-grid in the remote hills (yes please!), then it’s hard to escape this ‘pollution’. We can certainly make optimal food choices, although there is so much going against us in this world, that we benefit from a little extra help to keep us fit and healthy. I know that I do, for sure. This is where I’ve found that juicing can really step in. Juicing has brought so many people with chronic health problems back from the brink of death or major debilitation. It has helped countless people to cleanse and heal. And above all, it helps keep ‘healthy’ people healthy too, working as a powerful preventative measure! It’s good for just about everyone.

What is so good about juicing?

Juicing extracts nearly all of the nutrients out of your veggies and delivers it as a vibrant nectar. We’re talking optimal amounts of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and phytonutrients. Being in juice form, means that the juicer has already broken the food down for you (which is what you would do yourself, when you ordinarily chew your food), meaning that it is readily infused into the cells of your body. In effect, you can benefit from a rapid absorption of the nutritional content from a A LOT of vegetables (many more than most people would be happy munching with their jaws in one sitting).

What I love about juicing…

• I love to way that I feel so vibrant, clear and alive immediately after drinking a fresh veggie juice.
• I love the vibrant aroma that fills the kitchen whenever I am juicing.
• I love the way I feel so nurtured and loved by Mother Nature’s bountiful harvest.
• I love the way it tastes so delectable when you get a good combination (and when you get used to making juice it is almost impossible not to create a delicious combination).

Which foods should we be juicing?

Always juice organic vegetables.  This means you’ll make the most of your juice. If you don’t use organic, then you’ll be giving yourself a concentrated dose of pesticides and herbicides (along with you beneficial nutrients) – and no one wants that!

Beetroot – top choice for juicing

Juice hard vegetables such as:

• celery
• fennel
• beetroot
• cucumber
• broccoli
• sweet potato
• carrot

I always include hard veggies in my juices. They are nutrient rich and offer a lot of substance. Most often I’ll start off with celery as a base and then build it from there. Hard veggies also help the softer, leafier thing to go through, so I always mix them up.

Kale growing in my garden – perfect for juicing

Juice leaves and greens like:

• kale
• collard greens
• bok choi
• dandelion greens
• nettles

They will pack your juice with an almighty feast of iron, calcium and loads of other powerful  healing properties.
They are easy to juice with a single or twin geared juicer.

“Ginger gives juice a delicious kick”

Add herbs or warming spices like:

• ginger
• parsley
• coriander leaves (cilantro)
• mint
• lemon balm
• fennel

Not only do these all have unique and beneficial health benefits, they also add a gorgeous culinary magic.

Keep sweet fruits to a minimum to avoid high sugar spikes. I usually add an apple to my vegetable juices, occasionally a pear, which seem fine. Lemons and limes work really well in juice to slow down the oxidation process and provide extraordinary health benefits.

 

Which Juicer do I recommend?

Whatever you have available or have access to to start with! The important thing is that you just check out and explore. You might like to track down your nearest organic juice bar (or cafe that sells juice) too. That’s a great way to start. When I travel, I find them in the most unexpected of places these days (but be warned, not everyone selling fresh veggie juice knows how to make a great blend – I’ve tasted some amazing juices as well as so rather odd combinations).

If you are serious about juicing then you will definitely want to buy a single or twin geared masticating juicer. They vary a lot in price (and the price has come down a lot in recent years). Bear in mind that this is YOU we are talking about here and juicing is an investment in your health. You can find out more about which juicer I recommend for health here:
Which Juicer Do I Recommend For Health

 

What are my favourite juice recipes?

I definitely go through phases with juice. I listen to my body and it’s guides me towards what it needs at a given period of time (although my ability to ‘hear’ clear signals from my body comes from years of clean eating). I adore celery, beetroot, ginger, dandelion greens, lemon and apple – so they tend to make a bit of a regular appearance in my juice creations. Here are some of my favourite blends:

1. Beetiful Mint Juice

2. Ginger Power Detox Juice

3. Dandelion & Apple Juice

I do hope that you found this helpful. Please feel free to comment below, ask questions or share your experiences and own tips.

with love
Trinity