Kerry McClure – Practical Wellness
January 16, 2015
I am often asked which do you prefer, juicing or smoothies? My answer: YES! I love them both for different reasons. There’s much discussion out there about the health benefits of juicing and whether you should/shouldn’t juice.
As a holistic nutritionist working with my clients, I look at the big picture – individual needs/goals, their overall diet, lifestyle habits, overall health, medications they might be on, etc. Then I work with them on how juicing may/may not fit into their life. There is no one size fits all answer.
The other part to this discussion is quality of ingredients being used, which ingredients you are using to make your juice, and quantity of ingredients. So, organic where possible, more vegetables than fruit, and 6-8 ounces in a serving.
I believe both juicing and smoothies have their gifts to our health. Today I’ll focus on juicing…
Here are a few tips when juicing and my family’s latest juice concoction we’re drinking in the mornings these days…
A Few Tips When Juicing:
1. Drink juice as soon as possible after juiced (within 24 hours best)
2. Store juice in air-tight glass containers and fill to the rim to help slow oxidation process a bit.
3. Prepare your produce for juicing ahead of time
4. Cut produce before juicing
5. Make a habit of cleaning your juicer as soon as your done with it
6. Line your juicer’s pulp basket so it’s easier to clean
7. Compost your juice pulp, or
8. Use juice pulp in smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes, etc
9. Ginger has great anti-inflammatory properties but it is strong. Start small – less than 1 inch
10. Turmeric has great anti-inflammatory properties but it is strong. Start small – less than 1 inch
11. Add lemon or lime. Lemon is rich in vitamin C which helps boost your immune system, helps remove toxins from your body and also helps keep your body’s ph in an alkaline state. It also helps the juice to taste better!
12. Choose organic produce when possible
On of our favorite concoctions…
Makes 2 8-ounce (1 cup) servings:
1 large celery stalk
2-3 inch piece of English cucumber (scrubbed, we don’t peel ours)
1 medium carrot (scrubbed, peel if non-organic)
1 small beet (scrubbed and both ends cut off, we don’t peel ours)
2-3 big handfuls of baby spinach
4 stalks of dinosaur kale
1 1/4 – 1/2-inch slice of red cabbage
1 lemon (peeled)
1/4 – 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1/4 – 1/2 inch piece of turmeric, peeled
Juice all ingredients and enjoy! Amazing and highly nutrient-dense!
You can change ingredients and amounts depending upon taste.
Use organic ingredients as much as possible.
Here’s to your health and well-being!
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