juicing

the holiday season has arrived and with it comes lots of food.  it's no secret that we love to eat, but it's important to keep a good balance.  in addition to old fashioned exercise, we love juicing.  over the weekend we made a trip to the grocery store and loaded up on fresh fruits/veggies which we made into several different juices.

juicing is so easy and healthy.  the best part is that there pretty much aren't any rules and you can create any type of concoction that you can dream up.  you don't have to follow a recipe or exact measurements.  each juice is different.  we love hitting up the farmers markets in the warmer months and loading up on lots of fresh fruits and veggies to put through the juicer.  in the cooler months, we see what looks best at the grocery store and go from there.

the juicer that we use is a breville juice fountain plus and we absolutely love it.  our all-time favorite juice recipe is this carrot apple ginger juice.  we also really love this carrot, apple, ginger, cucumber, and kale juice too.

one staple that we always have on hand is a 5 lb. bag of carrots in our fridge.  we put carrots in almost every juice that we make because we love them so much.  they have a great color and are full of beta-carotene.  in addition to carrots, here are some other ingredients that we love to throw in our juicer . . .

apples - apples are great for naturally sweetening up juices that might otherwise be sour or bitter.

ginger - ginger is awesome.  it can alleviate gastrointestinal distress, it has anti-inflammatory effects, and it can help reduce cancer.

red and gold beets - no matter their color, beets are a good source of phytonutrients called betalains which are great for detoxing.

citrus - lemons and limes can help to strengthen your immune system, cleanse your stomach, and purify your blood!

leafy greens - spinach and kale are full of vitamins and minerals.  parsley is full of iron and has anti-inflammatory properties as well.

celery - celery stalks are full of antioxidants and celery is considered to be one of the world's healthiest foods!

cucumbers - cucumbers are full of both water and fiber, and they taste wonderfully fresh.

ps: need more proof that juicing is great?  here are two juicing documentaries that we really enjoyed: fat, sick, and nearly dead chronicles a man's personal mission to regain his health by vowing to only drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days.  in addition, fat, sick, and nearly dead 2 presents realistic solutions to make long-term sustainable improvements to eating behaviors and overall health.

happy juicing!
love, laurie