Juicing!!

Juicing; Why I juice daily and reasons why you should too!

It takes a strong, health conscious person to decide to juice everyday and reap the benefits that juicing can provide. It all relates back to the idea that you don’t need to pop pills everyday to be healthy or to cure a certain illness. Juicing, in fact, has been shown to help prevent and reverse many types of problems such as hair loss, obesity, arthritis, acne, and sooooooooooo much more. I know this is true from experience. A while ago I was suffering from some serious hard core acne. I know now that I was going through some hormonal changes that affected my skin in a negative way. Anyways, with a few changes to my diet and a determination to juice all that I can, my acne disappeared…. Like WHOOOOSH!! All gone. I now have radiant, clear skin that continues to amaze me every morning when I look in the mirror. Juicing takes all the essential vitamins from whatever you have chosen to juice, and injects them straight into your blood steam infusing you with energy and life!! I realize some say that juicing wastes all the fiber from the ingredients but honestly I get plenty of fiber in my diet and I compost so what’s being wasted? Some of my favorite vegetables and fruits to juice are:

Oranges: chock full with vitamin C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C helps boost your immune system to ward off illnesses and beta-carotene is a vitamin that helps your body produce vitamin A, which is great for hair and skin. (Isn’t it funny how many articles tell you what vitamins each vegetable has but doesn’t explain what those vitamins do for you? Lol)
Grapefruit: also a great source of vitamin C, significantly more tart than oranges.
Apples: used in many green juices due to the neural flavor of the juice. You can juice apples along with practically anything!!
Sweet potatoes: Now this is an interesting vegetable, many people didn’t know you can juice it raw. When I tell some people I juice raw sweet potatoes they get this suspicious look in their eyes like “is that safe?” I assure you it is and its sooooooooo healthy. Actually I read somewhere that sweet potatoes are almost as good to juice as carrots!! Now that’s something.
Carrots: my absolute fav!! Drinking fresh carrot juice everyday gives you more than enough beta-carotene as well as vitamin C and potassium. The potassium is great for cramps and muscle movement. Not only is carrot juice super nutritious, it’s also DELICIOS!
Swiss chard: I am so lucky to be able to go in my backyard and choose whatever greens I want from my mother’s organic garden. Of everything she grows, Swiss chard is one of my favorite greens. Swiss chard has an abundance of micronutrients and contains lots of precious iron. Swiss chard is so amazing that it’s been labeled a “super-food.” Yeah, it’s that awesome. Swiss chard works hard to regulate your blood sugar and supplies you with antioxidants.
Spinach: also rich in iron. Since everyone’s pretty familiar with spinach, you commonly see it being used in green juices.
Cabbage: even though cabbage juice may cause temporary gas, its benefits blow any concerns out of the water. Cabbage juice is full of vitamin D which helps clear your skin and iodine which is necessary for proper muscle development.
Beets: fresh, raw beets really pack a punch. They have an extreme benefit of detoxifying the blood and are great for those with anemia and high blood pressure. It’s important to use very little in your juice due to its potent properties.
Now that I’ve given you the run-down of nutritious, popular ingredients, let’s get to juicing!! Here are some of my favorite recipes. Feel free to throw in anything else you would like. The key here is to experiment and be creative. *juice is best taken on an empty stomach, preferably in the morning when your body wants it most*

The Orange Canary

½ medium sized sweet potato
2 small oranges
4 medium sized carrots
1 small apple

The Raving Lunatic (you’ll understand the name once you’ve tried it:p)

¼ small cabbage
2 handfuls of fresh kale
2 medium sized apples, any kind.
2 handfuls spinach
2 handfuls beet greens

The Pink Heartbeat

1 very small raw beet
3 oranges
1 grapefruit
4 carrots

I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have, simply comment down below or email me. In fact emailing me might result in a quicker response but whatever. Oh and if you have any new and exciting juice recipes I’d love to try them!! Viva la juice!

-Gloria W.