It's a curious subject, juicing for health, so it's about time I did a new series on juicing! True, it's the middle of winter, but I can't stop dreaming about delicious, fresh-pressed, foam-capped juices.
Is Juicing for Me? Ever since my Fresh Apple Juice post, I have been receiving a slew of questions and comments about juicing. And most folks love the idea of juicing, but don't want to invest in a big counter-space taking machine if they aren't all that sure what they are getting themselves into. I understand completely! It took me about five years to decide that buying (and actually using) a high quality juicer was a good route for my kitchen life. I've been chugging fresh, real, cravable juice ever since...
Before you dive into this series. Check out my At-Home Juicing 101 - it's your complete guide to juicing from start to finish!
Kitchen Appliances: Valuable Counter Space. Someone asked me what my favorite kitchen appliances are. I said: My high-speed blender. My juicer. My food processor. And the devices that don't spend a lot of time on my counter, aka "cabinet-dwelling appliances" are: My bread maker. My Kitchen Aid. And my old coffee pot. We switched over to a N'espresso, although most days I stick with chai and tea. And my trinity of kitchen appliances has always been the same, juicer/blender/processor. Even when I had a rinky-dink $40 juicer, I still loved it. But as you'll learn in part one of this series, higher quality juices are gentler on your precious fresh juice.
Juicing for Health. Juicing is not only a delicious activity, but an incredibly healthy one. I call it an 'activity' because, yes, it does take some time. Juicing, in my opinion, is a bit more of a time commitment than smoothie-making. A smoothie can be blended and done with in about 3 minutes. Frozen fruit, juices and perhaps some fresh fruit are used. Less prep involved. Juicing takes a bit more work and time. Washing and chopping the produce, juicing, then proper clean up. But the rewards are plentiful....
Fresh juice is hard to find, unless you have a 24/7 juice bar in your very own kitchen!
Juicing for Fun. It's fun to juice! Juicing will be a new outlet for your foodie creativity. Yes, traditional apple-carrot or ginger-pear juices are delicious. But how about trying fuji apple/jicama/pineapple juice. Or ginger/tangerine/kumquat juice. What about apple/broccoli juice?? Intriguing right? Juicing is fun, and you can even get kids, husband, wife, friends and even pets involved. OK, not pets, but my kitty does like to watch me juice. I think she likes the whizzing whirling sound.
Here is the series schedule that will begin..tomorrow!
Juicing for Health Series
2/11/10 Meet My Juicer
Parts, tools, how-to, features and basics. Get a close-up look at my twin-gear, triturating juicer. I have a Super Angel, but there are plenty of slow-RPM juicers that are similar to mine.
2/12/10 Super Sinus Juice
This fruity juice is fabulous and stimulating! I make this juice for my friends and family when they are sick or having allergies. It helps stimulate your body and hopefully clear out those sinuses.
2/13/10 Tropical Juices: Papaya and Pineapple
Curious about what fresh papaya juice looks like? It's pink, sweet and succulent. But does it taste good? And what about fresh pressed pineapple juice? Find out...
2/15/10 Green Juice 101
Here it is, everything you wanted to know about the 'mysterious' 'hyped-up' Green Juice. I'll provide a few green juice recipes as well.
2/17/10 Morning Juice
This is my personal favorite recipe for juice in the AM.
2/19/10 Experimentation Day, aka Kooky Kombos
It's experimentation day! I'll show you just what happens when I juice some unlikely picks: broccoli, bell pepper, and a few other oddball juices may pop up here. Creativity brings juicing discoveries!
2/21/10 Diet Juices: Drink Up to Slim Down
Low calorie juices that will quench your thirst and provide you with enzyme-rich nutrients. Most all fresh-pressed juice is diet-friendly, but these are my faves for dieting success.
So tune in for lots of juicing fun over the next week...
Anonymous says
I love juicing! We have been juicing for over a year now. Most of the time it is carrot/apple, but we have ventured into adding celery, grapes and watermelon. I started off with the personal Waring juicer, but graduated to the Breville. I love it. Clean up time can be a bit consuming...It is worth it. The pulp...Goes right into my compost pile. Happy Juicing!
Jenna says
What a fabulous post. I look forward to the sinus recipe. I woke today with a sinus infection coming on and am craving juice. Perfect Combo!
Thank you so much for your fabulous blog. I love it!
Anonymous says
I'm excited about this series! I received a juicer for the holidays and only used it a few times before becoming completely overwhelmed by all the possibilities! Looking forward to hearing what you have to share!
newsie15 says
I am super excited! I got an old juicer from my mom recently, and I would love to get some tips and recipes!
Vegetarian Buckeye says
I have been juicing for a little over a month and I cannot beleive how great I feel! My skin is so clear and soft too. I agree with that it is so fun to create new juices each day. I look forward to it every morning. To add even more fun to it, I just received this funky Octopus Straw to drink my juice with! See it on my blog. It's so fun! I can't wait to read the rest of juicing series!http://vegetarianbuckeye.blogspot.com/
matt says
great to hear someone else juicing. I have made green juices for about three years now, and they have grown really addictive. I also have to say that my alertness has gone right up, and the days I spend sick are now practically 0. Can this be attributed to the green juice? who knows, but I reckon it sure does help.