When I first started hearing about “juicing,” I honestly didn’t know people were referring to vegetables. I think at the time, Barry Bonds had recently been accused of lying about taking steroids. I couldn’t figure out why all these yogis were “juicing” until I literally saw the juicer and a bag of kale at one of the studios I taught at.
During my introduction to juicing (vegetables, let’s just be clear now), many of the people making and drinking the juice would drink it in place of a meal. Yes, instead of eating food. Like, they would drink juice for lunch and that’s it. I know, I get that there are about 10 carrots and four cucumbers and eight stalks of celery and five beets and basically a ton of different vegetables in one glass of juice, but mealtime is about chewing. Mastication is a must. I’m not being fresh. I was that yogi who instead of juicing would drive straight to the grocery store after yoga class because my stomach would be growling at me to feed it a chicken finger sub. (As a side-note, if you’ve never eaten a Wegman’s chicken finger sub do yourself a favor and treat yourself to one)! Needless to say, skipping the whole chewing thing turned me off from juicing.
As time went on, however, I did ask for a very inexpensive, beginner-style juicer one Christmas because I thought I should at least see what the craze was all about. Somewhat begrudgingly, I actually enjoyed the juice I made, and I felt incredibly healthy consuming a beverage so chock-full of nutrients. And years later, wouldn’t you know, my trusty juicer is still going strong today! Sometimes when I realize I haven’t been eating enough vegetables, I’ll whip out the juicer and make a few day’s worth. (I don’t think you’re supposed to store freshly made juice for more than two days, so that’s about all I make).
Why all the above information? I was so intimidated to try juicing because I thought the whole thing had to be all or nothing as in juice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That is so not the case. Heck, you can even juice your favorite fruits if you’re not sure about the veggies to start. Below is a quick combo of veggies I recently juiced which was a hit in my family. I hope you enjoy!
You’ll Need:
- 8-10 carrots
- 3 beets plus greens
- half a lemon
- quarter-size chunk of fresh ginger
Make sure you wash all of the ingredients really well. You don’t need to chop or peel anything but everything should be very clean.
Instructions
Assemble the juicer according to its instructions and juice away!
All joking aside, drinking freshly made vegetable juice really does make you feel great. It gives a good burst of energy and delivers so many nutrients. You don’t have to go crazy with the whole juicing lifestyle to enjoy some fresh veggie juice.
