THE QUESTIONS…
How many of you think of incorporating healthy eating habits into your lifestyle? Do you think – “Oh, I’ll start eating healthy from tomorrow!” But that day never comes because life just gets in the way?
How many of you like to read-up on health benefits of foods, or look-up wholesome recipes? And then you look at the list of ingredients and think – “NO WAY!!! I can’t make that. I don’t even like the taste of it!”
THE THOUGHTS…
If that sounds like you, then you are not alone. Most us have good intentions, but are too busy to look-up healthy recipes and spend time preparing them. For those of us who you are able to make the time, we may not even end up liking the taste of some of it’s ingredients.
And if you’ve done your research, then you already know that in order to receive the maximum nutritional benefit from any food, it should be consumed fresh and in its raw form. That is because any kind of processing or cooking will destroy most of its nutritional content.
SO HOW DO WE GET AROUND ALL THESE HICCUPS?
The answer is simple – JUICING!!!
It targets all of the points made above, and many more. Here are just a few of the BENEFITS OF JUICING:
- You get to consume the foods in their raw and unprocessed form. Hence ensuring that you are receiving their maximum nutritional value. The liquid extracted from fresh fruits and vegetables contains most of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
- You can consume more quantity of fruits and vegetables in one sitting (when juicing), than if you were eating them raw. That is because juicing eliminates the fiber, so it doesn’t fill you up quickly. Hence allowing your body to consume more at one time.
- Yes, there is some healthy fiber lost in the process of juicing. But on the flip side, your body is better able to absorb the nutrients without the accompanying fiber, and it gives your digestive system some rest from digesting fiber.
- You do not need to spend your precious time researching recipes and preparing them. With just a few juicing tips (mentioned below) and your own imagination, you can whip-up a powerhouse of nutrition that is enjoyable to drink at the same time.
- You can ALWAYS make any juice taste good. That’s the beauty of it! The key is to juice with it fruits/vegetables that you actually like the taste of. This will overpower the taste of the foods that you don’t like, hence making them consumable for you.
RED RUBY RECIPE:
Here’s MY EXAMPLE from today: I like to call her – “RED RUBY!”
My absolute hiccups are – beetroot, celery, & grapefruit. So here’s how I made them enjoyable for myself.
I juiced together: Red Apple, Celery, Beetroot, Lemon, Orange, & Grapefruit
And there – You have yourself a Nutritionally Refreshing Drink!
TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE ANY JUICE TASTE GOOD…
- Adding freshly squeezed orange juice will instantly change the taste (for the better) of any other fruit/vegetable that you are juicing it with.
- Always try to add something tangy/tart when juicing sweet fruits/vegetables. For example: Green apples would be a great addition when juicing carrots, beetroots etc.
- Adding a combination of some sweet and some tangy fruits/vegetables can help cut the bitterness of some other fruits/vegetables. It can also help cut the spicy taste of ingredients like ginger. For example: Oranges would be a great addition to kale, spinach, ginger etc.
- Apples have a pleasant taste too, and can help disguise the taste of other fruits/vegetables that you don’t like. But choose your apples wisely as some are sweet, and others sour/tangy/tart. Example 1: If adding lemon to your juice, then opt for sweet red apples over green apples. You do not want your juice tasting overly tangy. Example 2: Green apples would be a better option when juicing something roughly sweet like beetroots. It helps smooth the taste. Exception: Note above that for “Red Ruby” I used red apples with the beets. That is because I chose to add some lemon to the juice. The green apple just would have made it too tangy.
- Lastly, just let your imagination flow. Trust me on this one. Once you’ve tired juicing a couple times, your pallets will tell you what mixes well with what. It’s really that easy. And at the end of the day, you are whipping-up something really good for your body!!!