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The Best Way to Eat Your Vegetables? Drink Them!

What can juicing do for your health?

Vegetable talk, again? I know, I know. Some of us can barely look at them without gagging, now you have to read about them, too?  

Yes, yes you do. 

But I swear, by the end of this article, you’ll be more than excited about vegetables and how you can steal all their nutrients without plugging your nose and choking them down.  

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I know I have said in the past that hiding your veggies in other foods is a great way to consume your necessary intake. If you don’t recall, examples were adding them to your egg scramble or loading your sandwiches and burgers, almost like eating a salad with meat and cheese.

All these are great, but sometimes us busy folks simply don’t have the time to throw a meal together and the rest of us are just plain lazy. I’m guilty of that myself. So I did some research and discovered that juicing is not only fast and efficient, it’s pretty dang tasty as well.

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I have always been skeptical of juicing vs. eating or even blending your fruits and veggies, assuming that you would be discarding the pulp—the nutrient supply—and also receiving an abundance of sugar.

Turns out that is not entirely true.

While you may be tossing the fiber content, you are consuming the water-soluble, fast-absorbing micronutrients that are readily available in the juice. The nutrients get into your bloodstream so fast, you get an instant energy boost.

I’m not saying that fiber isn’t needed in your diet—it is. But fiber fills you up pretty fast, and humans need to receive more phytochemicals, raw nutrients and minerals than 99 percent of us are currently ingesting.

Juicing makes that possible. While it’s nearly impossible to eat five heads of lettuce, four apples and six carrots, you can juice it up and drink it down no problem while still minimizing your calorie intake. 

Juicing vs. Store-Bought Juices

When we think of juice, we think of apple, cranberry, orange or some other sugary concoction found on aisle 12. Typical store-bought juices are a big no no, especially if you find them in an unrefrigerated section of the store. That means they are so processed, they will never spoil. Those juices are nothing more than soda pop with a dissolved multi-vitamin (and not a good one at that).

The juices you will be drinking are 100 percent fresh, pure, natural and taste nothing like a glass of Ocean Spray.  

Get Started With Juicing

1. Buy a juicer. Anything will do, but we bought the Jack LaLanne Juicer (about $100) and found it to be everything we need.  

2. Buy some fresh organic vegetables and fruits. The idea here is to take in more nutrients, so buy more than you think you could ever eat—it goes fast! The other day I drank an entire head of lettuce, two apples and two stalks of celery. It yielded one glass. If you are looking for weight loss, use little fruit to start with. If you work out a lot and are looking to maintain, you can have more fruit.  

Here is a basic list of things to buy:

  • Lettuce
  • Swiss chard
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Apples
  • Lemons
  • Fresh ginger
  • Celery
  • Cucumber

These things yield a lot of juice, so they’re more cost effective.

Think of some good drinks. Here are some pointers:

Use mostly green things and sweeten with a few sweet items like apples, beets and carrots. Personally, I like Swiss chard, carrot, apple and a touch of lemon and ginger. But play around, there is no right or wrong. If you need recipes, check these out.

Start juicing! I recommend a glass or two per day. Also, it is a bit of a task with the clean up and prep. I found getting a large container to fill up and keep in the fridge is best. But beware—this stuff is so fresh, it only lasts a couple days. Drink up!

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