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Over 90 percent of all nutrients in fruits and vegetables are locked away in the juice. Any healthy diet should include the juice of raw fruits and vegetables. When fruits and vegetables are juiced and immediately consumed the losses in vitamins, minerals and enzymes are minimized and the nutrients are rapidly digested and absorbed into the blood stream. With the help of a mid-range quality juicer, anyone can easily benefit from these stored away nutrients. Let's look at a few easy steps to juice your way to better health.
Step 1 - Shopping for fruits and vegetables
It goes without saying, but always try to find the freshest looking fruits and vegetables. Buying in season fruits and vegetables is always a good idea and may stretch purchasing dollars, as these fruits tend to last longer and there is less waste. Always wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly and use a vegetable brush where necessary. Washing before storing can shorten preparation times. Many fruits and vegetables will store well at room temperature, whereas berries, cucumbers, celery and leafy greens are better stored in the refrigerator. -
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Step 2 - Preparing fruits and vegetables for juicing
When preparing to juice fruit with a hard or inedible skin, carefully peel before juicing. Some examples of fruits that should be peeled include pineapple, mangoes, melons and oranges. Fruit with hard seeds or pits should be carefully pitted before use. Some examples of fruits that should be pitted include plums, cherries, mangos and peaches. -
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Step 3 - Using the best techniques for optimum juicing
When juicing several fruits or vegetables of varying texture, start with the softer items and progress to the harder items. When juicing leafy items, sprouts or herbs, twist them into a bundle and then feed into the juicer using the vegetable pusher that came with the juicer. Never use hands or fingers to feed fruits or vegetables into a juicer. Also, it is good to push items into the juicer with the vegetable pusher slowly to gain maximum juice from each item. -
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Step 4 - Making the perfect juicer drink
Over time it becomes easier to gauge how much of each fruit or vegetable is needed to get the best tasting flavor from a particular juicer recipe. Get creative with juice recipes, it's fun, so go ahead an experiment with recipes and find the perfect combination of fruits and vegetables. Finding the best texture, taste and color juice may take a little time, but eventually you will be an expert juicer. When deciding what fruits and vegetables to mix when coming up with your own raw juice recipes, try to think how some of your favorite foods and flavors go together. One good rule of thumb is to combine the higher moisture fruits and vegetables with the more starchy types. MyRawFoodRecipes.com has several great raw food juicer recipes to get you started on a long and healthy juicing lifestyle. -
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Step 5 - Wrapping things up and what to do with pulp
You're not done yet, now that you've made the perfect juice, you are left with an ample supply of high quality pulp. The last thing you should do is throw away this pulp. The remaining pulp from juicing is primarily cellulose and fiber, and is also very rich in nutrients. Fruit and vegetable pulp is excellent for making soups, casseroles and various desserts like pineapple slushies. The pulp also makes a great dog food replacement, and is wonderful for use in the garden as a nutrient rich compost.
A good way to get started is simply by replacing one meal a day with a raw juice drink. As you begin to see your body weight stabilizing at a more natural weight, start to sleep better and start looking better you will likely continue to juice your way to excellent health. Juicing will take some planning and preparation, but the health benefits are well worth the effort and once you've adjusted to drinking delicious freshly processed juices you may never go back to drinking juice out of a carton or can.
