Juicing Tips and Delicious Juicing NewB Receipes By Bailey from Green-ish.com

The juicing trend has been growing for quite a while, but is it really worth the hype? I’m going to give it a yes.

I began green juicing a week ago, and it has definitely become a legitimate part of my morning routine. Here’s why:

it motivates me to eat healthy for the rest of the day
it fills me up with some lovely vitamins
it tastes awesome
it pumps me up with the antioxidants that are found in dark leafy greens
Drinking your greens is a great way to add some extra goodness to your diet. A store bought juice, according to TIME, can provide you with 36% of your daily recommended potassium, 20% of your vitamin A, and 4 grams of protein… and making your own will only increase those numbers. A small study even suggested that it may help improve cholesterol too, I’ll take that!

But just because green juice is an awesome addition to an already balanced diet, it does not mean that it should be used as a meal replacement and should not be taking place of real fruits and veggies (seriously, listen to your mother on this one). You also don’t want to be mixing too many fruits into your juices. I get it, liquid broccoli is not for all of us, and if spicing it up with a few apple slices will get it in you, go for it. Just try to cut back as you get used to it. While some fruit in a smoothie is a good thing, it is not a good idea in juice. The fiber in a smoothie will slow down the sugar’s absorption into the bloodstream, whereas the sugar in juice will flood your body. Don’t worry, your veggies have very little sugar, so if your juices are mostly green, you’re in the clear

My juicing tips:

Go organic If you are going to juice, you want to juice organic. Leafy greens are often covered it pesticides and absorb them readily. When you are concentrating them in a juice, you are also concentrating these toxic nasties. Aim for organic!

Buy your juices If you are on the run and need your green fix, there are plenty of options to choose from (again, you want organic, look for the USDA label!). Be aware that green drinks can be a little pricy, but one of my favorite brands is Suja. They have a variety of green options, are organic, and donate to a variety of epic causes. Love them. Oh, P.S. you can get them at TARGET!

No juicer, blend it I won’t lie to you, sometimes I’m lazy. Which means that I do not want to get out my juicer, push everything through, freeze the pulp, and clean up the mess and machine. Some days, it is just not happening, but that doesn’t stop me from drinking my greens! Feel free to throw your greens into the blender with some filtered water. The extra fiber won’t kill you and, if it really bothers you, you can just pour it through a nut milk bag or scrape off the foam. You now have green juice in under five minutes!

Add some citrus Some lemon or lime will not only spice up any green juice in the flavor department, it will also give it a nutritional edge. Studies have shown that Vitamin C increases iron absorption (which leafy greens are loaded in!), so squeeze away!

Recipes

For the juice newb:

8 cups spinach
2 lemons
2 apples

For the green goddess

1 cucumber
several kale leaves (to taste)
2 cups spinach
half of a lemon
small piece of ginger (seriously small, this little guy will pack a serious punch!)

My go-to concoction

as many mixed organic greens (that I grabbed from the nearest food story or co-op) that I can fit into my blender
two sprigs of mint
serve over ice
Have any more juice faves?? Let me know in the comments!

xo, Bailey from (Green-ish.com)

Bailey is a self-proclaimed organic food and product junkie. When not drinking green juice in her local co-op, she is trying to survive graduate school. She started green-ish.com as a way to teach her peers that living sustainably is not only healthy for their bodies and the planet, but is also freakishly easy... and stylish.

If you have enjoyed Bailey's tips you may check out and subscribe to her blog at: http://www.green-ish.com At Teadora, we are literally in love with her site, her insights, her images (she does all her own photography!). Congrats Bailey!