Vegetables? Made into juice? You mean stuff like broccoli and cabbage and cauliflower? Yuck!
You know, when speaking of vegetable juice recipes, the first thing people think of is the taste – they think they’re not going to like it one bit. And in some cases, they may be right but folks, I promise you that there is a remedy. Just add a couple of apples or a handful of seedless grapes to your juicer along with the cut up vegetables – makes a world of difference.
Raw foods are essential to good health – the vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and digestible fiber is critical and using vegetable juice recipes for fruits and vegetables is a sure-fire way to consume larger amounts of these essential elements. Drinking freshly juiced vegetables will quickly add visible benefits to your life and health, such as increased energy, clearer skin, thicker, shiny hair, stronger nails and it does wonders for your metabolism and digestion. All those good elements are absorbed by the body within an hour when they’re in juice form – you just drink it and you’re on your way.
If you have diabetes, vegetable juice recipes are definitely the way to go as unlike fruit juices, veggie juice will not cause your sugar levels to spike – other than carrots and beets which do contain sugar. Commercial vegetable juice is generally 100% blended juices but there are other things in there too – unpronounceable chemicals which, if you’re looking to improve your overall health, you’d prefer to avoid. Also, the manufacturer heats the juices to a high temperature in order to preserve it and to extend the shelf life. Juicing your own veggies ensures that you know exactly what’s going into it and the only problem you may run into is the reaction of your family – see the first line of this article.
And we can fix that too. But let’s start at the beginning. Consider buying organically grown vegetables – or if that’s not possible, buy the freshest you can get at your supermarket and wash them very well to remove pesticides, dirt and other contaminants. Other than removing the seeds from peppers, don’t peel them, just leave them on the kitchen counter so that you can juice them at room temperature – cold vegetable juice can slow down your enzyme reactions while room-temperature juice can be absorbed straight away. Cut them into manageable chunks and toss them in the juicer – put in the softer chunks first, followed by the harder pieces. Add an apple or seedless grapes for a little sweetness and you have a glass of healthful, refreshing vegetable juice, which is instant energy!
Try this combination – bell pepper (seeded), cucumber, tomato and half a clove of peeled garlic. Or this one – a combination of vegetables to make a dark green drink; spinach, parsley celery, cucumber, lettuce (romaine) mint, alfalfa, mint and you could also add spirulina powder, a green dietary supplement made from cyanobacteria and which is often used with green juice blends.
One more. Beet juice. Cut up washed beets and juice them with cucumbers, rutabagas, radishes and a turnip. Dark purple, it’s pretty to look at, very healthy and full of flavor!