Are you looking for the best fruits and vegetables to use in your next juice recipe? You've come to the right place. There are plenty of options on what you want to include in your juices so that it is healthy, delicious, and packs a punch of vitamins and minerals. Check out some of these health benefits with these fruits and vegetables.
What to use for a juice:
Fruits:
Apples (juiceapple, apple, applepear) Kiwi Berries (blackberry, blueberry) Pomegranate Grapefruit (red, white) Citrus (grapefruit, orange) Coconut Water Lime Kefir Pineapple Avocado Berry Blend Broccoli Carrot Ginger Mango Banana Papaya Strawberry Watermelon Cucumber
Vegetables:
Strawberries Spinach Kale Bok Choy Lobster Mushrooms.
How to choose ingredients for a juice:
When purchasing fruit and vegetables for juicing, try to purchase organic whenever possible. Since the ingredients of your juices will be washed and processed, it is best to keep out all the pesticides that may be present in unprocessed foods. If you do not have organic produce available at your supermarket, at least wash the produce thoroughly with water and pat down with paper towels to remove as much dirt as possible.
You can create an entire juice mixture from only fruits or vegetables, but it is best to balance the two in your juices. So, you can include both fruits and vegetables in each juice that you make.
Juicing fruits alone is a good way to get a lot of vitamins and minerals since all the fibers have already been removed by a juicer. Vegetable juices also give you a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals, but they also keep some of their natural fiber content with them when they are extracted in a juicer. This is why vegetable juices are the ones that should be consumed mostly as a meal replacement or highly nutritious snack instead of a dessert juice.
When selecting juice ingredients, try to purchase organic produce whenever possible. Sometimes it may be difficult to find organic produce in your local supermarkets, so if this is the case, try looking for local farmers markets in your area. Buying fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers markets can give you peace of mind that you're getting your produce straight from the source without any added chemicals or pesticides.
You can often find a good deal when purchasing fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, so it can be very beneficial to buy in bulk. Buying in bulk also allows you to use your produce as soon as you get home, instead of having to store them for about a week, which is what most fruits and vegetables need before they lose most of their nutritional value.
It is best to consume your fruits and vegetable juices within a couple of hours after you make it as the fresh produce that is used in the juice will lose their vitamins and minerals when you store them for any length of time.
Vegetable Juices:
Cucumber Juice: If you're new to juicing and want to start out with something basic. Then cucumber juice is a good place to start. Cucumber juice is good as a light snack, especially if you're trying to eliminate excess water that is being stored in your body. It's a great way to hydrate, and it's also full of water. Cucumber juice has no fat or cholesterol, so it's a healthy drink on the go.
Tomato Juice: Tomato juice is another popular juice for beginners who are just starting out with juicing because of its high acidic content. It is a good liquid to drink if you feel like your body is bogged down and you need something to lift the spirits. Also, chances are that if you're juicing for juicing tomatoes, you're probably looking for a health boost. Tomato juice will give your body much of what it needs if you don't want to eat tomatoes so much as drink them.
Strawberry Juice: You can't go wrong with strawberry juice when it comes to drinking up your nutrients. Strawberry juice is actually a fruit, but the vitamin C, folate and potassium content makes it like a vegetable. Its high level of antioxidants can be especially good for the body during the winter months when you're fighting off all those colds. Strawberry juice is also full of fiber and can act as an appetite suppressant.
Lemon Juice: A couple of shots of lemon juice can give your immune system a shot in the arm. Lemon juice can help strengthen your immune system and kill off some of the harmful bacteria that may be causing you to feel ill. It also helps kill off free radicals in your body which can damage cells in your body. Lemon juice is often used to cleanse the liver so if you're battling an illness and need something to help get you back on track, lemon juice can be just what the doctor ordered.
Blueberry Juice: Blueberries are one of the best fruits to juice and use in baking. These blue berries help with eye health, and they also help with brain health and memory. Blueberries are also full of antioxidants because they're full of flavonoids which help repair damage caused by free radicals in your body. Flavonoids also help to prevent cancer by speeding up the production of anti-oxidants in your body.
Grapefruit Juice: Grapefruit juice is often used to help treat high cholesterol levels and prevent heart attacks. It helps you to burn fat, lowers bad cholesterol levels, prevents gallstones and also lowers blood pressure. If you're looking for a juicing recipe that's going to help with your health and make you feel better overall, then grapefruit juice can be just what the doctor ordered.
Juicing for Weight Loss:
Juicing to lose weight is similar to juicing for health. You can use juices to replace full meals or simply add in a juice as a snack or dessert. Many people find that when they start juicing, they no longer have the desire to eat meals because of the large amounts of nutrients that their body gets from drinking fruit and vegetable juice instead. Juicing also helps you consume less calories since the fiber from fruits and vegetables are removed from their juices. Drinking fresh juices can also be a great way for you to get your recommended daily intake of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The challenge when juicing for weight loss is to keep yourself from overindulging by drinking too much juice. It's simple to become addicted to the energy and vitality that is produced by the nutrients in fresh juices. Juicing can also be a bit pricier than eating regular foods but the money you save on meals can offset some of the costs associated with juicing.
Read more: Vegetables good for juicing