A beginners guide to juicing

Our diets are well and truly changing, people now reply on protein shakes and juice drinks as an important part of their daily routines.  What about doing a spot of juicing of your own, have you ever tried it?  On first glance it sounds like a lot of effort (and mess) but it is one way to keep a handle of exactly what you are actually getting.  How much can we trust the labels on many of the health drinks after all?

The Juicer

With the burst in popularity of juicing there has been a huge increase in the number of products on the market.  Many high street stores now have a huge range of juicers to choose from in fact.  The two main types of juicer are the Centrifugal  which is generally the cheaper option or the Masticating juicer which is more expensive but maintains more nutrients in the juice.  The second type is often easier to clean and quieter too.

The difference between Smoothies & Juicing

Juice is a pure product, whereas a smoothie is often blended with milk or supplements.  Taking that into account there is of course far more fruit or veg content on a juice so you would need a lot more to make a drink of the same size for example.

Prepare

Chop or slice your fruit and vegetables to make them easier and quicker to juice.  You can often buy pre-prepared packs in the supermarkets however if you can prepping your own is always best to ensure you get the best from the ingredients.  Buying in bulk is the best and cheapest way forward.  You will be amazed to start with at just how much goes into ones drink.  Getting your 5 a day just became far too easy.

Experiment

This is the fun part to juicing.  You will find some things you never imagined will actually go perfectly together (pear, lime and ginger for example).  Others that you think would be a match made in heaven may have the opposite effect.  You can of course get plenty of recipes online but I think it is more fun and rewarding to try some concoctions of your own!

Keep it fresh

Don’t be tempted to juice batches at a time.  The key and main aim to juicing is to providing yourself with a fresh ‘meal’ that maintains all of the natural goodness of the fruit and veg, so if possible juice as and when you need it.