Juicing in general is a hot topic with some health practitioners touting it as a detox strategy, cancer preventer and nutrient-booster while others denounce it as a harmful, high-sugar trend.
You might already know that the main difference between juices and smoothies is in the fiber or pulp. Juicers separate the pulp from the juice leaving just the juice behind, while smoothies blend it all up together. This is both its best feature and its downfall.
Juice proponents say the lack of fiber gives the drinker a direct hit of nutrients while naysayers complain that a lack of pulp (fiber) causes potentially harmful spikes in blood sugar (since there is no fiber to slow down the digestive process).
We think there’s a right and a wrong way to juice, and that’s what this Tweak & Eat is all about. Stick to these 3 juicing commandments and your juicing-in-moderation habit should be good to go:
1. Juice only organic produce
2. Juice only (or mostly) green produce (avoid juicing carrots and beets – their leafy green tops are ok though!)
3. Juice lower-sugar fruits and try to stick with one per juice (like lemon, lime and apples for fruits)
Tip: Juicing is a great option to use up only ‘fridge dregs’ that you wouldn’t otherwise use – like kale spines, beet tops, etc. Choose 2-3+ veggies and 1 fruit for your juice mix.
Green Juice Recipes
Makes one serving each. Mix and match ingredients within these.
1. Green Pineapple Ginger Juice
- 7 stalks celery
- 7 leaves of kale (ribs in – or just use ribs if they’re leftover)
- 1/3 cup pineapple (or about ¼ of a small pineapple)
- thumb of ginger
- optional booster: handful of parsley
2. Frisky Fennel Juice
- ½ fennel bulb
- ½ head romaine lettuce
- 1 green apple
- 1 lemon
3. Cucumber Lime Juice
- 1½ cucumbers
- 2 sprigs basil
- 1 green pear
- 1 lime
optional booster: carrot or beet greens
