Got Juice?

As I write this post I'm drinking a delicious juice made with celery, apple, carrot, a slice of lemon, a piece of ginger, parsley and cucumber...I have been drinking this kind of juice every day for almost 90 days now, and I feel amazing, with boundless energy and great health! A very exciting result has been losing a few 'pesky pounds' I've been meaning to for some time now, and I've been told my skin feels softer and is glowing...

If you have a juicer and are not using it, take it out, dust it off, and get ready to rock!...I promise you it will be worth your while...most people get excited about juicing and do it for a little while, and then they get lazy, especially about cleaning the juicer afterwards. (You know who you are!) It only takes a few minutes, and if you 'whistle while you work' and know that if you take the time to treat yourself to this magical and healthful drink, it will become a habit, second nature, and your body will actually begin to crave the juice on a daily basis and you will start realizing all kinds of amazing results!

I was inspired by a documentary I saw several months ago called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross. It's an amazing documentary (reserved it at my local library) about a man's journey through JUICE FASTING, and how he and other people along the way achieve a healthy lifestyle using the power of fruits and vegetables. Its primary focus is on shedding weight, but even for people who have no weight issues but perhaps some health issues, it's well worth watching and being inspired...it's a great way to change up your lifestyle and get some great extra energy!

No doubt, the healthiest juices are the ones that contain greens.  Green leafy vegetables contain the most vitamins and nutrients, and you'll feel almost instantly better after drinking a green juice. Typically, the guidelines for making Green Juice is 60% green and leafy vegetables and 40% other vegetables/fruits.

The juice floods your body with enzymes, vitamins and minerals for quick absorption and greatly benefits your immune system.

If you are making a whole day's worth of juice at one time, keep the juice in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for later.

A basic recipe to get you started...
Cucumber, celery, green leaves (lettuce, kale, collard greens), 1 apple.

You can add carrots, beets, red and green peppers, broccoli, zucchini, pineapple, add spice with some fresh ginger, add a zesty tang with a slice of lemon or lime (skin is okay to include), give your juice a fresh taste with a few sprigs of mint.

There are many dozens of wonderful recipes on the internet so google away and find the best and tastiest juice that works for you, and start today!

Obviously fresh vegetable juice is much more concentrated than the amount of vegetables you can possibly eat in one sitting, so the nutritional benefits of the vegetables are made available to the body much faster, helping your body to remove the step required to extract the juice from the vegetable. But in doing so, you also lose the all important fiber which helps maintain regularity, so make sure to continue eating plenty of fresh veggies as well!

Happy Juicing...