I have been bitten by the “juicing bug.” I bought a juicer less than 12 hours after I finished watching the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead,” which is highly recommended to anyone looking to be inspired about health and natural foods. After a honeymoon where I juiced anything and everything, I have found out a few recipes that really work for my tastes and budget that I have shared in picture form below. I also wanted to share a few pearls with those who are new, or may be thinking of entering, the juicing game.
Tips for Using a Juicer
1) Experiment, experiment, experiment. There are plenty of sites that will provide recipes and accompanying shopping lists to have a certain kind of juicing experience. While following “the book” is ok at the start, accounting for personal taste and seasonal availability (and price) is not taken into account. Try a little of this, a little of that, combinations that seem like they would not complement each other. Remember (possibly write down) what worked and what didn’t. Don’t worry too much if something doesn’t work because…….
2) If a taste is not appealing, diluting the juice is an easy way to kill a lot of the taste and still get all the nutrients extracted.
3) Sticking with the gross theme, don’t juice a parsnip. It’s the one time I could not finish what I juiced. I hope this saves at least one person from making the same mistake.
4) Green apples save the day. When they are in season, I stock up, because I have learned, that no matter how funky the combo, if a green apple or two are in the mix, the taste will be manageable. Remember, juicing a lot of fruit leads to high concentrations of natural sugars, so save the sweet stuff as sort of an ace up the sleeve.
5) Try the juice before shutting off or taking apart the juicer. You’ll know before it’s too late whether that green apple or an extra carrot is needed, because, yes, putting everything back together while the new juice sits idly is sometimes more than I can handle.
Juicer Recipes
So without further ado, here are the recipes:
1 green apple, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 2 stalks Swiss chard
1 beet with leaves, ½ cucumber, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery
2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, ¼ of a butternut squash, 1 green apple
2 stalks purple Kale, 3 carrots, 1 stalk broccoli, 1 top half of a butternut squash, 2 stalks celery
2 stalks kale, 1 apple (any kind), 3-4 medium-sized strawberries, ½ large cucumber
Enjoy, and feel free to share a juice recipe in the comments section.
