Juicing is a fast, great-tasting way to consume essential vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started and to get you into the routine of juicing regularly!
1. Buy the Right Juicer
Simply put, a juicer separates nutrient-rich juice from the fibers of fruit and vegetables so your digestive system doesn’t have to. In a centrifugal juicer, produce is pushed down a chute into a spinning basket that grinds the fruit or vegetable into a soft mush. Alternatively, masticating juicers use slow-moving auger that mimics hand-squeezing, allowing for greater concentration in nutrients. Plus, unlike the centrifugal juicers, the masticating type can do more than juice; it makes raw nut butters, baby food, frozen smoothies, and soup purees. Check out our all star H400 Easy Clean Slow Juicer.
2. Integrate Juicing Into Your Meal Planning
Whether you want to start juicing daily or once a week, you’ll have to plan. Juicing takes time due to the preparation required of certain fruits (peeling, coring, etc.), but one way to cut out prep time is to think ahead. Decide how many juices you want to incorporate into your meal planning, what those juices will be and what ingredients you’ll need.
3. Add Ingredients to Your Grocery List
When you create your shopping list, you should make it a habit to include all the ingredients that you will need for your juices. Organic stores or farmers’ markets are usually where you can get the freshest produce available, although fresh fruits and vegetables are also generally easy to obtain in most grocery stores. Also, consider buying fruit in bulk. Any leftover fruit can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, preserving it for later usage and saving you money on juicing ingredients.
4. Prepare the Night Before
Fresh juice is always best consumed within 20 minutes of making it. However, if you are short on time, prepare your juice the night before. A slow juicer, like Hurom’s Slow Juicer, or a hydraulic press will allow you to store your juice for up to 72 hours. Store juice immediately after preparation in a glass airtight container in order to reduce possible nutrient degradation. To reduce oxidation, fill your juice up to the top and add a piece of citrus, such as a lemon.
5. Replace Juice for Your Coffee
The best time to drink fresh juice is in the morning. Fresh juice gives your body a huge nutrition boost while using up very little digestive energy to do so, which is important since your digestive energy is the lowest in the early mornings. This is one of the easiest, healthiest ways to ramp up your energy levels in the mornings – it’s even better than coffee. The following morning juice recipes will give you a boost of energy that will keep you going throughout the day.
6. Throw in Your Leftovers
It may not seem like it makes a difference, but saving leftover scraps – the half an apple you didn’t eat or those celery stalks that weren’t used for your soup – can add both volume and fantastic flavor to your juices. For instance, using the remainder of the apple is a great way to add extra flavor to your recipe, plus apples are extremely rich in important antioxidants and dietary fiber. Just throw any leftover scraps into a freezer bag to stockpile ingredients, which will help you cut back on the bulk ingredients you use in your juice while adding a twist to each recipe.
7. Switch Up Your Meals
Routines can become mundane without variety. Thankfully, there are plenty of fresh juice recipes available to switch up your meals. Some are great appetizers before dinner, while others may substitute a dish. For instance, instead of a side salad, your vegetable juice can be your side dish during lunch.
8. Reward Yourself After a Tough Workout
Whether your goal is to lose weight or build muscle, a nutrient-rich drink can help you reach your body goals. Cold press juices are a delicious, low-calorie, healthy way to recover after a challenging sweat session. For hydrating, try a post-workout juice with carrots, sweet potatoes, and oranges. Here are three muscle-building post-workout smoothies, and three cleansing juice recipes to add to your juicing library.
9. Make It Social
Health and fitness initiatives such as juicing become much more fun and enriching when done with a group. If you normally are the one who prepares breakfast for everyone in the morning, include your juicing schedule in the mix. Instead of just juicing for yourself, make some for your family. Once everyone’s on it, it’s easier to maintain the routine. At the same time, you are passing along a healthy lifestyle choice to your children, something which will be valuable to them as they grow older and hopefully continue the activity.
10. Rotate Between Fruit and Vegetable Juices
Each fruit and vegetable contains a myriad of unique nutrients, like vitamins and minerals. Your body needs all of these to perform at its best. To ensure you get access to all the nutrients and phytochemicals Mother Nature has to offer, eat a diverse array of fruits and veggies. An easy route to nutritional diversity is to simply juice the rainbow, i.e. make sure you're including a huge variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to your juicing routine.
11. Line Your Juice Pulp Collector for Easy Clean-Up
Properly cleaning your machine is the most time consuming part of juicing. Let’s make this process seamless, easy and quick so that you’re more likely to get those vital micronutrients. Line your juice pulp collector with a plastic bag. You can also use a biodegradable bag like this one. If you plan to save your pulp, use a gallon sized freezer bag, and store in the freezer for a smoothie or your next veggie soup.
12. Choose the Right Containers
Mason jars are cheap and some even have a special vacuum seal in the lid so that your juice lasts even longer. For a portable solution, try glass bottles. With the exception of the vacuum-sealing lid, glass bottles have many of the same benefits as mason jars. Some come with a silicone sleeve you can place over the bottle to prevent condensation and reduce light exposure. If you entertain guests often or need to store large amounts of juice, a stainless steel jug is the best option. Stainless steel is lighter than glass and blocks out all light the moment you put the lid on the container.
Inspired to start juicing? Check out Hurom's versatile slow juicers!
Sources
- How to Choose The Right Juicer
- Breakfast Juicing? Why it’s Awesome and How to Do it Right
- Money & Time Saving Tips For Juicing
- 6 Summer Post-Workout Smoothies and Juices
- The Fastest Way to Clean Your Juicer
- Juicing Tips: Why You Should Rotate Your Fruits and Vegetables
- How To Store Freshly-Pressed Juices For Maximum Nutrient Retention
- 2 Super-Easy Green Juice Recipes to Boost Your Immunity