Learn How to Juice!!!

Want to juice but can't figure out where to start?  Learn the process of juicing fruits and vegetables below!

Disclaimer.  This will be a pretty long blog/article, but it's nothing compared reading a whole book or watching and hour and a half documentary (which I will site at the bottom). I will be breaking it up over the week to cover more related topics. 

Later this week I will go over:                                
Juicing in our everyday lives
Why we decided to juice.
Inspirations, problems.
Veggie vs. the Meat - Proteins
Juicing facts

 Since Tommy and I have been doing this new lifestyle, people are seeing our results and wondering how they too can do what we did.  And it's funny how this blog and everything related kind of accidentally happened.  Once we started juicing, everyone notices the change in us and began asking questions upon questions and we became almost like a walking billboard for HEY I'M JUICING VEGGIES!  I mean, everywhere we went, people stopped us and talked about it.  Even our hockey locker room discussions, which were usually sarcastic and perverted, were all about vegetables and the like.  So all that, lead to this.

I am trying to answer, in easy terms, HOW DO I JUICE!? And no, for those of you unfamiliar with juicing it is not the "performance enhancing" juicing we are talking about, however, I would have to say it does enhance your performance...  Tommy and I have gotten dozens of questions on how, what, when and so on, so I am going to do my best to put it into blog form.


THE EASY STEPS TO JUICING.

What the heck is Juicing?
Juicing is the art of taking fruits and vegetables and extracting the juices by putting them through a juicing machine.  Not to be confused with blending (like you here with a vitamix), as blending you are eating the whole fruit or veggie, pulp and all.  Juicing extracts all the juice from any fruit or veggie (except a banana - tried that a FAILED miserably).




Where Do I Start!?
1.  Go veggie and fruit shopping and set up your juicer .  If you do not have a juicer yet - Go get one!  Here's our tips on juicers.  GET A BREVILLE.  If you go get the cheaper version, they will work for some time but will burn out fairly quick.  We had a Jack Lalane that lasted 3 weeks.  Now, unfortunately, the Breville does cost about $300 (we have the mid size one in stainless steel with 2 speeds H/L), but you'll get more juice and less pulp with this version and up.  Plus you won't have to keep buying one every other month.  We got ours on Amazon - Breville 800JXEL, 1000 Watts.  There is a smaller version of this,for less money,  but beware it is SMALLER and is not as strong.  If you are planning on being a "juicer" get this model or above.
2.  Go veggie a fruit shopping!  Make sure you get LOTS of dark greens.  Look at our juice recipe list below to get an idea of what to purchase.
Once we get our loot, we give everything a good wash and then jam it in the machine.  It's that simple really.  Some things we have to cut in half, like apples, but for the most part everything goes right in.  You can leave on stems and leave the seeds, no big deal.

TIPS:  

• Take the rind off of your fruits, you can leave it on, but the juice had a bitter rind taste afterwards.
• You can cut off dirty ends of things like celery or carrots
• Some people who have time like to peel their cucumbers etc. To us, it makes to taste difference, only do this is you are REALLY concerned about pesticides.
• BUY ORGANIC!  Buy organic when you can.  I know sometimes it's hard to pass up the .77 cent on sale bunch of celery, but buy it when you can.  In another blog - I will post about what fruits and vegetables are most effected by pesticides.
• Give everything a good wash before you start.  We have a big bowl in our sink filled with water and we dip and wash in there, and then rinse with running water
• I don't recommend those veggie washes, I never really trusted them.
• Don't juice a banana!  It just comes out as baby food through the pulp side.

JANUARY'S SUPER GREEN JUICE
For my juice, I like to make a gallon ahead of time and that lasts me 3 days.  I try not to let it go past 3 days, because like an apple, it can start to brown.  That in mind, I like to get plastic gallon pitchers that are air-tight.  BPA free is a good first choice.  Here I have the Walmart $2 cheapie pitcher. 

I try to go by the rule 70% veggie 30% fruit.  The darker it is in color THE BETTER it is for you.

• 2 bunches of spinach (dark concentrated juice)
• 1 bunch kale (Same as spinach)
• 1 romaine lettuce (you actually get a decent amount of juice out of romaine)
• 2 bunches celery (good filler, makes a lot of juice and mild tasting) 
• 2 cucumber (does the same as celery)
• 6-7 carrots (this adds some sweetness and you get a decent amount of juice)
• 6 roma tomatoes (lots of juice of course)
• 1 beet (this will sweeten up the taste too and turn your juice from dark green to brownish purple, do not be alarmed - be careful beets stain your hands!)
• 3 gala apples
• 3 peaches
• 1 red grapefruit (this really tones the green taste down for me, sometimes I add 2 if it's really greenie tasting.  You can substitute a few lemons or oranges here)
• 1 half pineapple (sometimes I do this again as sweet filler, this is more optional.  I also have used cantaloupe or watermelon here)  

*  Tommy likes to add Ginger to his.  I don't like it in mine.  If you like the zip that ginger has, then by all means add it.
Refrigerate your juice.

If you are using a Breville, the small pitcher that comes with it will catch the foam. I rinse after it catches it so I get more juice in my big pitcher. You'll always get some foam, so I scrape it off at the end with a ladle.

NOTE:  Keep an eye on your pulp bag!  If it fills up back to the machine, it will get into your juice and let me tell you, that is NOT fun to drink.  Usually I have to empty 3 times.  I also put the vegetable baggies inside the pulp disposal bin to make it easy. 

Substitutions:  Dark leafy greens - any.  Collard greens, Mustard greens etc. etc. The ones I listed are the mildest however.  You can even use red romaine etc.  For fruits, I have used granny smith apples (very good for beginners), plums, nectarines, and many times black grapes.  Berries!  Lots of berries!  They are great in the juice, especially when in season!  Feel free to change it up how you like, but I have found this mix to be super green, yet be pretty mild in taste.  You'll know what you need more or less of after you make this batch.  Also my produce section is different than your so you may get more or less juice per item and taste can vary, so make changes as you go.  By batch 3, we had it down pretty good. 


DO NOT USE CABBAGE OR ONIONS!  We learned the hard way.  The cabbage makes it taste like you are liking your trash can and an onion just screws it all up and makes it hard to palate.  

NOTE:  You juice will not taste like a McDonald's strawberry shake!  It tastes very green and natural and fresh, it may take some getting used to if you are used to drinking soda everyday.  The recipe above has strong fruits in it so it's a very mild taste - I even think it's pretty tasty now! 

Cost breakdown:
I was questioned about the "frugality" of this process (Thank you @DishNutrish for pointing that out!).  Minus the cost of the juicer, I made a gallon of juice for about $7-8 (more if you are trying to get everything organic).
Spinach $2, Kale $.88, lettuce $.88, Celery $.88, Cucumber $.50, Carrots $.25 (part of a 5 pound bag), Beet $.30, Apples $.50, Peaches $.50, Grapefruit $.33, Pineapple $1 (half).
I get what's on sale to keep the cost down.  Even this batch actually made more than a gallon, so I had 2 glasses of juice as I made it.



How often should I juice?
This depends.  If you are looking to do a DETOX then keep it in your daily routine do this:  for 3-5 days do nothing but juice.  DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!   <-------SUPER IMPORTANT.  You will completely nullify the whole meaning of this if you don't drink juice when you are hungry.  These days, you will pretty much bypass the normal breakfast lunch dinner thing and just drink when you are hungry.  If you can go 7 days, do it.
If you are trying to lose weight do it for at LEAST a week, 2 preferably.  The guy on Fat Sick and Nearly Dead did it for 61 days!  He lost a gazillon pounds, but was watched by a Dr. too.  If you do the 2 weeks juice then 2 weeks eating pure veggies (raw when you can) then 2 weeks juicing again you will see amazing results.  Tommy did this and lost about 38pounds in 5ish weeks and he wasn't even exercising.   
After you have completed any detox.  KEEP JUICING!  I eat vegan all day but I still always have juice.  I still drink my super green, but you can change it up.  Mornings can be fresh ginger, lemon, cucumber, celery and spinach, as a wake up energy drink.  I try to drink 2 glasses of juice a day when I am eating normal.


YOU MAY FEEL WORSE DAYS 3-5!  As you are releasing toxins and breaking up all the bad crap in you and your body starts to release it (soda drinkers I am pointing at you!) you may hit a wall around day 3-4-5.  It's different for everybody.  You may feel really crappy and want to give up but push past it!  It is just your body trying to get rid of all the crap in your body!
DO consult your Dr. before doing this if you feel it's necessary.

But I eat meat to get protein! 
Yes, yes.  I know you do.  But not anymore.  This is somewhat of a myth.  Later this week I will post some interesting fasts on meat protein vs. veggie protein - like how there is more protein in 100 cals of spinach than there is in 100 cals of chicken!  YES!  And that's why we juice to get all that in one sitting.  Plus all the harm animal fats and proteins do to you including keeping you from losing weight.  Just stop eating meat and dairy products.  This will change you mind quickly --->  Forks Over Knives. 


Complications:
There really aren't any.  Sometimes we miss chewing (if we are doing a 7 day detox), but you feel so amazing that it doesn't matter.  Do remember you may have a bad day or 2 when you don't feel as great from the detox process.  Also, sometimes we hear people have trouble going number 2.  If you are finding that to be a problem we suggest getting some probiotics or Smooth Move tea.  Drinking lots of water also helps.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER WHILE JUICING!  Flush out the toxins!

What about all this pulp!?
First thing if you are going to save your pulp - is to batch up your fruits and veggies.  Keep them separate.  With the veggie pulp, we make veggie burgers!  With either pulp you can add them to a smoothie.  You can also use it as mulch (it did wonders for our basil).  But most of the time we throw it away. 

Some facts about juicing:
 I will actually blog about this later and more in depth because you could really write a book here, but for now here are some of the most powerful facts:

• Weight loss - a safe and super HEALTHY way to lose weight.  If you keep the lifestyle, you won't rebound.
• Reduces and repairs illness.  
• I can reverse diabetes - as seen in my Mom's boyfriend!  He was on Actose and started juicing then went vegan and now does not take his medicine anymore.
• Rebuilds cells!  This is so important for anti-aging, fighting off disease, sleeping well and so much more.
• Reverses aging (I aged a lot from soda drinking - I will keep you posted on how I look and feel from this, with any luck I'll be 21 again ;) )
•  You get your nutrients quickly and easily.  In juice form, your intestines can soak all the good stuff right up and all of it too, making it a simple process for your overworked gut!
• You are drinking RAW juice, the veggies and fruits in their purest form, so all of their good nutrients and enzymes stay intact with out having to eat piles and piles of veggies.

ADDITIONS:
We also add into our juice -
Amazing Wheatgrass 2-3 scoops adds an even more powerful green punch.
Earthrise powder Spirulina, tons os protein and good stuff in Spirulina!
Ground Flax seed
-  I then put the lid on and give it a good shake!  (notice I put the powders on top in the picture below before I shook).

Now it's ready to drink!

Books and Articles:

These are must see and reads if you are serious about juicing.
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead - video documentary on juicing and it's effects.  Excellent.
Forks Over Knives - video documentary on meats and dairy and how it's linked to everything that is wrong with you!  Another excellent watch.
Eat to Live - a book by Dr. Joel Fuhrman - All the stats and fact about why eating vegetables and fruit is much better for you than meat and dairy.  Very, very detailed and informative.
The Pleasure Trap - A book by Douglas J. Lisle and Alan Goldhamer - A look into what makes us susceptible to dietary and lifestyle excesses and how we can restore our biological processes.  Very informative and enlightening.