We bought a juicer about a week ago (a reasonably priced one from Wal-Mart, not a major investment), and I have been obsessed with it since we got it, making juice 2-3 times a day. It tastes good, but the way it makes my stomach feel is what keeps me doing it over and over again. When I feel the juice hit my stomach it instantly feels better. It’s like I had a stomach ache that I didn’t even know about, but then I drink the juice and it feels better. (That’s probably weird, but that’s just how it feels!) I’m not doing a juice fast or cleanse, just adding it into my day when I can. I feel like the more gently and subtly I can add in healthy choices, the more likely I am to stick with them over time. I didn’t really even want a juicer to be “healthy”, just to be able to have some fresh juice! But I can certainly see the benefits of consuming about a million times more nutrients than I was before.
I’m not doing the scary GREEN juice yet (well there were a couple…), but I have tried adding several different veggies to my fruit juice. So far, I have only made a couple of varieties that I really didn’t like, but my husband liked those so I’m going to include all the different recipes we’ve made this week. I’ve come to find that I really, REALLY don’t like cucumber, which is too bad because they’re cheap and they make a lot of juice! I’ve also come to find that I can add a carrot to almost any variety without a negative taste factor. Sometimes I even miss it if it’s not there!
You should also know that I did not feel one way or another about juice this time last week. “Juicing” was not even on my radar as something that I would adopt into my daily habits. I thought it would be a fun way to get a few more veggies and fruits into my body, and it definitely is. But it makes me feel good too, which I did not expect at all!
So here they are, 9 recipes for a first-time juicer:
The Cherry Limeade (My VERY FAVORITE!)
2 limes , 2 apples , + a couple handfuls of cherries
The Rise and Shine
1 grapefruit , 1 lime , 1 orange , 1 carrot , 1 apple , a few strawberries
The Gross Green One
½ a cucumber , handful spinach , ½ pineapple (peeled) , 1 banana
The Cuckoo Cuke-oo
½ cucumber , 1 orange , 5-ish strawberries
The Tolerable Liquid
½ cucumber , 1 lemon (peeled) , 7-10 strawberries , 2 apples
The Strawberry Lemonade
1 lemon (peeled) , 1 apple , 5-ish strawberries , ½ a carrot
The Almost-Smoothie
1 grapefruit , ½ a carrot , a few strawberries , 1 nectarine , 1 banana
The Grape Fusion
1 cup red grapes , 1 apple , about ¼ cup green grapes
The Liquid Lettuce (It really tastes pretty good!)
1 apple , 2 oranges , 1 lemon , 1 carrot , 2 handfuls romaine lettuce
The Big Orange
1 grapefruit , 2 oranges , 1 carrot , 1 nectarine , 1 apricot
All the juices are much tastier served with lots of ice and a straw.
Do you make your own juice? What’s your favorite combination?
