So, what is juicing? Basically, it’s a process where you extract natural liquid along with vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. In other words, this process strips away solid matter from fruits and veggies, leaving with liquid only.
Juicing is a popular topic nowadays as many people use it to detox or add more nutrients to their diet. So, there are several reasons to try juicing vegetables or fruits. But many of you may just be entering the world of juicing. Therefore, it’s crucial to know what to juice and how to juice.
Juicing is an overall easy process. In fact, it’s one of the straightforward processes to get enough nutrients along with flavor. Many people don’t like the idea of adding raw veggies and less popular fruits to their daily diet menu. You can juice natural items that are not flavorful and get both health-beneficial elements and taste along with the process.
They’re a bunch of ways to juice veggies and fruits. You can use devices like a blender/juicer, or you can go with the customary juicing procedure. Besides, there’s some do\ ‘s and don\’t in juicing 101, as for you being an absolute beginner in this area.
So, how to juice?
Juicing is fun as it’s a combination of simple steps like picking up the ingredients, preparing your ingredients, and finally juicing. For beginners, sometimes it’s hard to start with all these procedures, but with some simple directions, you can also make your own preferred fresh juice for yourself or your family. Juicing 101 will help you to guide all the necessary steps to follow while juicing.
Pick what you like as an ingredient for juicing
When it comes to the ingredients for juicing, you have a lot of options. This section, which is the very first step in juicing, is all about you deciding what type of juice you want to make. However, in order to make your choice more effective in terms of flavor and health, you should consider the following points.
- Try to pick fruits and vegetables with high water content rather than those with less water content like avocados.
- Look for veggies that pair well with other ingredients in your juice. As for a beginner, you can consider choosing kale, cabbage, spinach, and parsley. The flavor of these vegetables complements other ingredients. They also add a light texture and a handful of nutrient values to your juice, making your drink a more effective one.
- For sweetening your juice, look for natural options. These ingredients help to add more nutrient-dense elements to your juice while also adding sweetness with a higher yield. You can add carrots, mangoes, pineapples, sweet potatoes, and apples. These are some great sources of vitamins and work well as sweetening agents too.
- Spices ingredients like ginger, cardamom, pepper, parsley, and turmeric can be introduced to fresh juices to provide them a kick. They not only add flavor to your drink, but they also add health advantages.
- Another thing to remember about juicing ingredients: no matter what type of vegetables or fruits you use, go for the healthier ones. You can combine green vegetables and sweet fruits to create a delicious combination of nutrition and flavor. In this case, citrus fruits also work well with green veggies.
Prep your ingredients
It’s obvious that you can’t just juice your ingredients without giving them a little prep time. After you pick your preferred ingredients for juicing –
- Give them a good scrub to remove any dirt or pesticides.
- Peel or remove the produce skin as needed before juicing, and remove the rind from all citrus fruits and large pits with seeds from stone fruits.
- Chop those food items to the “appropriate” size, which is just small enough to fit effortlessly through the juicer’s feed chute.
Note:
- To avoid unwanted bitterness to your juice, peel the skin of your ingredients where necessary. For example, cucumber’s skin is quite bitter. So, if you don’t peel it, your juice might introduce some bitterness in its flavor.
- In some cases, coring might be necessary for fruits like apples. Also, stemming is essential for some vegetables like kale.
Now, the most crucial part – juicing
After picking and preparing the ingredients, now you need to juice them. You can juice with or without any machine. However, if you use an apparatus such as a blender or a juicer, the process becomes much easier when compared to processes like extracting juice with your hands or any conventional juice extractor that requires physical power.
More about Juicing equipment
Most people nowadays own some sort of juicing equipment like a blender or a juicer. However, a juicer is a bit more expensive than a blender. Therefore, a juicer is more effective in juicing. Though, you can juice almost any ingredient with the help of blenders also.
However, if you like juicers as equipment for juicing, then there are three types of it you need to follow.
Cold-pressed
It is the best kind of juicer to get started with juicing. But what does it mean?
- Cold-pressed juice means that the juices of fruits and vegetables have been retrieved using a hydraulic pressing technique that generates not only the most juice but also the most nutrition.
- Quite an expensive option.
Centrifugal
Centrifugal juicers are common in the market. The nature of this kind of juicers are –
They spin really fast.
The fruits/vegetables you put down the chute, combined with the high spinning speed that helps to separate the liquid from the pulp, resulting in a bowl of juice and a container of pulp.
Sufficient heat is generated due to its high-speed nature.
Masticating
These masticating juicers work well with grinding fruits/veggies and squashing out the liquid from them.
- It works at very low speeds without any spinning action, so you preserve a little more nutrition than using a centrifugal one.
- Works well while processing leafy greens especially wheatgrass.
- However, cleaning takes more time compared to other juicer types. But in the end, it’s worth it.
The process
Despite what recipe you are following to make fresh juice, the overall process remains quite similar.
Step-1: First, set up your juicer and ensure all the parts are assembled as well as fitted correctly.
Step-2: As we mentioned earlier, choose the ingredients you like for juicing. Always try to get fresh, organic, and healthy fruits/veggies for juicing.
Step-3: Prep your ingredients as mentioned earlier.
Step-4: After preparing your ingredients, turn the juicer on and start juicing by inserting items into the feeding chute. Most models include reliable safety features, but it’s important to remain careful while inserting your ingredients through the juicer’s feeding tube.
Step-5: Remember to change the speed setting on your juicer if it has one to accommodate for varied produce densities. Consult your customer’s handbook.
Step-6: If your model allows it, use the offered “pushing device” like a tamper to gently push the object down into the juicer.
Step-7: Varying the density of vegetables as you go may be beneficial. Following a softer fruit, such as a kiwi or peach, with a firmer item, such as a carrot, tangerines may often help drive the produce through the juicer.
Step-8: After you achieve the preferred consistency of your juice, give the mixture a bit of stir to blend the different flavors altogether and increase the intensity of your juice.
Step-9: Serve your juice with some ice cubes if you like it in a chill condition. Also, you can garnish your juice with cucumber stripes or an orange slice to brighten up your presentation.
Step-10: To get the most nutritional value out of your delicious juice, consume it as soon as possible! You may also keep it in your refrigerator for up to 48 hours in an airtight glass jar to retain optimum freshness.
Two simple juicing recipes for newbies
To get you started with juicing, go for easy recipes that contain both flavor and nutrition values in the same glass. Try these two juicing 101 recipes that are both simple and easy to follow.
Beet carrot pineapple orange juice
This juice is ideal for beginners because it is sweet and tasty. A delicious and fresh juice loaded with vitamins A and C for glowing skin and a healthy immune system.
Ingredients | Quantity |
Small beets (peeled) | Two |
Large carrots | 4 |
Fresh pineapple | 1/2 |
Medium oranges (peeled and seed removed) | Two |
Instructions
- Juice all these ingredients according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Juice until smooth.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes: Consider adding some water as it’s a very sweet juice. Moreover, water helps to dilute the mixture. You can include ginger for an extra kick. Also, to increase the nutrition value, add beet greens to your juice.
Minty cucumber melon juice
This recipe features cucumber and melon that go really well together. Also, spinach adds some extra nutrition to this juice. We love the addition of mint and lime, making it taste like a healthy cocktail. So, in other words, it’s a refreshing drink packed with vitamins and minerals, featuring a hint of mint.
Ingredients | Quantity |
Medium cantaloupe (rind and seeds removed) | 1/2 |
Large English cucumber (peeled if waxed) | One |
Large bunch of fresh spinach (stems included) | One |
Small bunch of fresh mint (leaves and tender stems) | One |
Fresh limes (rind removed) | Two |
Instructions
- Same procedure. All of your components should be juiced according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Juice until you get the preferred consistency. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Note: It’s good not to waste stems. Trim them and include them in your juice. Remove the rinds as it adds bitterness to your juice.
FAQ
What are the differences between juice and smoothie?
Juices | Smoothies |
Lack of fiber | Contains a great amount of fiber |
Juicing only features liquid that is extracted from fruits and veggies | Smoothies deliver whole pieces of fruit and vegetables in the blender. Therefore, none of the fiber gets lost. |
Juice is extremely easy and quick for your body to digest | Smoothies are also easy to digest but not as quick as juice |
Juice only lasts about 48 hours after making. Therefore, it’s best to consume the juice immediately | Smoothies last a bit longer than juices which is up to four days maximum |
You get a more pronounced and strong flavor of fruits and vegetables with juices | In smoothies, you can easily hide the flavors by adding other fruits and ingredients. |
Juice is lighter than smoothies | Smoothies are much denser than juices |
As you can see, juices are low in fiber, but smoothies are high in fiber. However, the absence of fiber is beneficial in certain ways. Essentially, a juice with reduced fiber content aids the body’s digestion and absorption of the nutrients present in the juice.
Should I avoid any time while juicing?
You can juice almost anything you like. However, there are some parts that you need to avoid before juicing. Like –
- Apple seeds
- Papaya peels
- Carrot tops
- Citrus rinds
- Wild parsnips
Sometimes these items are toxic and may destroy the flavor of your juice.
How to remove the pulp from juice?
Separate the leftover pulp from the juice using a strainer/screen. If your juicer did not come with one, go to your local market and get one. Any sort of will suffice.
Is juicing effective for weight loss?
Juicing can assist you in reaching your weight reduction objectives, but it is not a miracle worker. You’ll need to provide a workout program.
According to anecdotal evidence, juice diets can result in rapid weight loss in the short term, especially when the diet is low in calories.
Juicing may be a rapid method to reduce weight, but it appears that its possible health risks exceed its advantages.
You’re better off sticking to a more stable diet that contains entire meals and enough calories to keep your body running smoothly.