In a previous post I talked about doing a detox which included a juice fast. (If you haven’t already read the article I would suggest you do that before reading this one.) After doing this type of a detox, I experienced an amazing change in my health and I decided to make juicing a part of my lifestyle. It continues to give me energy and mental alertness. The 2 questions I get asked most often in my seminars are:
- What juicing appliance do I use?
- What recipes do I like the best?
Before I answer those questions, I want you to be able to make an informed decision as to whether or not juicing should be made part of your lifestyle for maintaining or improving your health. But don’t take my word for it. Read what the health and nutrition experts that I follow have to say on the subject:
According to Dr Josh Axe 3 Pros to juicing include:
- Enjoy your daily dose of fruits and veggies easily — and try new ones!
- Your body can easily absorb the nutrients
- It’s a great way to reduce produce waste
He also lists 5 cons: (parentheses mine)
- You probably won’t lose weight (it’s not a weight loss program)
- Too much sugar can lead to blood sugar swings (if you do a juice only cleanse and use too many fruits)
- Your body doesn’t need a juice cleanse or detox (if you’re eating healthy and juicing regularly)
- It can get expensive (if you don’t purchase vegetables and fruit according to what’s on sale)
- You miss out on fiber (unless you use the juicer I use every morning)
That doesn’t mean he recommends that you not drink fresh squeezed juice on a regular basis. On the contrary, he has numerous juice recipes on his site which are all listed according to their health benefits. But he does caution against doing a juice only detox.
But before you decide, here’s the Health Benefits of Juicing according to Dr. Mercola:
- Juicing helps you absorb the nutrients from all of the vegetables.
- Juicing allows you to consume an optimal amount of vegetables in an efficient manner.
- You can add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet.
The Juicing Appliances I Have Used:
Selecting a juicer can be overwhelming. In my post about The 12 Benefits of Detoxing the Body I included several examples of juicing appliances I have used over time, along with the juicer I currently use and recommend.
Recipes I Like:
I began with one simple recipe for the detox: 6 carrots, 2 apples, and a handful of spinach. That was when I was using a juice extractor that separates the juice from the fiber. However, I am now using a juicer (NutribulletRX) which keeps the fiber in the drink but breaks it down to make it easily digestible. And to make things even easier I have a “go to” recipe for which I place in the juicing container the following ingredients:
- 50% fruit and or vegetable (a variety of colors), and 50% kale or spinach (a green food)
- 1/2 to 1 Tbsp grounds seeds or nuts per serving (I use mainly chia seeds, flax seeds or walnuts)
- Then I add coconut water or distilled water to cover everything in the juicing container.
Including a variety of seeds or nuts supplies your body with the fat needed to absorb the fat soluble nutrients in the juice. I keep all of these ingredients on hand all of the time. If I am using a vegetable instead of the fruit, I include an apple or two for sweetness (or I use Stevia).
In the image for this post you will see 4 varieties of the simple recipe above:
Cilantro Lime Fiesta: Fill half of the juicing container with pineapple. Fill the other half with kale (or spinach) and a small handful of cilantro. Add the juice of one lime along with your choice of seeds or nuts. Cover the ingredients with coconut water or filtered water.
Carrot and Apple Bliss: Fill half of the container with carrots and the other half with apples. Fill the remainder with apples. Add your choice of seeds or nuts. Cover with coconut water or filtered water.
Berry Blast: Fill the container with a berry medley of your choice. Add seeds or nuts. Cover with coconut water or filtered water. (I rarely make a juice without a vegetable but I wanted to show you the vibrant color without the kale or spinach. And every now and then I like a simple fruit juice. I usually sweeten it with Stevia.
Mango Delight: Fill container half full with Mango and the other half with Kale or spinach. Add nuts or seeds of your choice. Cover with coconut water or filtered water.
All of the above can be sweetened with Stevia if you choose.
One of the things I like about the juicer I chose is because they have a recipe book that categorizes recipes according to their health benefits. He agrees with what I have said before on my site: “The easiest way to identify the nutrition locked within a given food is by looking at it’s color:
- Red: Anti-Aging
- Orange: Immune-Boosting
- Yellow: Inflammation Regulation
- Green: Detoxifying
- Blue: Brain-Boosting
For these health benefits, the author of the recipe book gives credit to nature. But I firmly believe these health benefits are come from the goodness of God who created such wonderful colors to attract us to their healthy ingredients!
That doesn’t mean the health benefits of an individual plant are limited to their color. In fact, many plants include numerous health benefits. The above list simply gives an indication of their number one health benefit. So, to keep it simple I choose to make juices with a variety of colors for the week (following the above recipe). And I don’t get hung up if I miss a color. That’s because the rest of my diet consists of 50% colorful vegetables and I consume a variety of fruits for snacks.
In addition to the above recipes, I simply search the internet and try about one new recipe a week. You can also find some great healthy recipes in the following articles:
Recipes by Dr. Josh Axe listed by their health benefits
Detox and Cleanse Smoothie by Dr Colbert
Please leave a comment below if you have a recipe you have enjoyed or if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you!
