Why I started green juicing?
I first started juicing and making green smoothies in 2007. One day, I realized just how much I missed my fabulous shape and refused to believe that too much work, stress or age is good enough excuse to sit on the extra pounds any more. In my early 30s, I looked good, but I wanted to look and feel fantastic again. After reading several books on juicing and raw food diets, I was anxious to get started. For the first year, I was juicing vegetables several times a week. These days I have found a better balance with the intense juicing periods built-in. Juicing is still a foundation of my diet.
I was surprised how much I learned by this simple act of juicing vegetables: Developing a new interest in raw foods, realizing the massive number of vegetables I never knew about, and learning which combination produces a recipe suiting the mood, the occasion, the purpose of the juice at that time. As soon as I realized how quickly I forget the yummy and not-so-yummy combination for my tastes, I wanted to document and share the Best Juice Recipes from my fun juicing journey.
Today, I have lost (and kept off) over 20 pounds since my first green juice in 2007, my body has never felt stronger and better. I love my Omega juicer, the only juicer with lifetime warranty. To create the green juices, you need a masticating juicer, whatever brand you find most suitable for your needs. With mine, we have made best friends while finding my way back to super health. Here are some of my favorite creations along the way.
Your Digital Green Juicing Step-by-Step Guide and the ONLY 10 Recipes You Need
This is a comprehensive digital step-by-step guide, for both beginners and advanced juicers, that teaches you everything you need to know and understand to start and maintain a healthy, happy green juicing journey, with common mistakes to avoid. It comes packed with the ONLY 10 juicing recipes you will ever need.
PLUS A FIRST BONUS: A Motivation Track for Your Juicing Journey: An audio recording where I share my green juicing story, the awful setbacks in my weight and my bouts with a poor self-image, and how I turned it around with green juicing, my top secrets on how you can do the same plus compelling reasons and inspiration for you to start your own green juicing.
PLUS A SECOND BONUS: Your Juice Fast Guide that tells you all you need to know about juice fasting, be it for a few hours or a few days. The pros, the cons, and the things you must consider before embarking on a juice fast.
Entire digital package yours for JUST $47 $27 during this winter 2011-2012 launch! (Price to go to $47 in the spring!)
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Energy and Vitality
One of the main benefits of green juicing is the extra energy and vitality you get from drinking freshly-made vegetable juices, with heaps of enzymes, vitamins and minerals. The Number One feedback on the Green Juicing Guide continues to be: “I have so much extra energy!” So remember that as you commit to your juicing journey.
If you want to do even more, and be more active in naturally invigorating and energizing your mind and body, this 10 Minute Invigoration Video Program is an absolute match made in health heaven to go along with your green juicing habit.
There are videos of unique 10-minute invigoration routines that guide you step-by-step through these body movements and breathing techniques that anyone can do. The routines are designed to give you invigoration and a jolt of natural energy by awakening your mind, your lungues, your muscles and your nervous system from fatigue, exhaustion, stress, and even jet lag!
Also, I give you Day 1 video completely free, so head over and do it with me!
Top Delicious Green Juice Recipes:
- Perfect Morning Essential: 4-6 Carrots, 4 stalks of Celery, 1 Lemon , 1 Macintosh or Yellow Apple
- Hot Afternoon Boost: Up 4-6 Carrots, 4-6 stalks Celery, 1/2 bunch Cilantro, 2 Roma Tomatoes, 1 Lemon
- Power After-Workout Drink: 1/2 Romaine lettuce, 3-4 leaves of Kale, 3-4 Carrots, 1/2 bunch Carrot top, 1 Apple, 1 Lime
- Serious Detox: 1/2 sour green Apple, 1 Lime, 1 large Beet, 3-4 leaves Beet tops, 3-4 Carrots, 3-4 Celery stalks, small piece of Ginger
- Excellent Craving Response: 3-4 large leaves of Kale, 1 whole stalk of Leek, 1 Lime, 1 large Tomato, 1/2 bunch Cilantro, 3-4 Carrots, small piece of Ginger
- Delightful Green Snack: 1/2 of red Cabbage, 3-4 stalks of Celery, 4-5 leaves of Kale, 1 Lemon, 1 Lime, 1 Apple, small piece of fresh Ginger
- Sweet Filling Delight: 3 cups fresh baby Spinach, 1 Lime, 1 large Tomato, 2-3 Carrots and 1/2 Carrot top bunch, 1/2 bunch Parsley, 1 stalk Celery
- Quick Cleansing Drink: 2-3 Carrots, 4 Cucumbers, small piece of fresh Ginger, 1 Lemon, 1 whole Beet
- Variety Vitamin Drink: 1 Lemon, 2 cups of Alfa Alfa Sprouts, small piece of fresh Ginger, 2 Carrots, 3 Cucumbers, 1/2 bunch Parsley
- Exquisite Green Goodness: 3-4 leaves of Kale, 5 large Romaine Lettuce leaves, 1 Beet, 1/2 bunch of Cilantro, 1 Lime, 2 cups fresh Spinach, 1/2 Apple
Note 1: These recipes make roughly 24-28 oz. This depends the efficiency of your masticating juicer works dryness of the pulp.
Note 2: Leeks and Cabbage are challenging on some juicers so check your juicer’s instructions.
Note 3: You may taste some bitterness in these juices. If you do, add an Apple or a Tomato for taste.
Yummy Fruit Juice Recipes:
I wanted to add a few pure fruit juice recipes. Please be ware of the sugar intake with fructose in fruit juices. In general, try to limit your fruit juices to 1-2 cups a day.
- Refreshment in a Cup: 1 whole Cantaloupe, Frozen Trader Joe’s Strawberries – My favorite!
- Sweet & Tart: 1 Orange, 1 Grapefruit, 1 Macintosh Apple, 1 Lemon
- Citrus Essential: 2 Oranges, 1 Macintosh Apple, 1 Lemon
- For the Love of Watermelon: An entire watermelon, all by itself, not mixed with anything else – Excellent for hot summer days!
Always peel your oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits before juicing. You do not need to peel limes or lemons. They add a mildly bitter taste to the juice unpeeled.
Join the Insider’s Exclusive Guide to Green Juicing:
If you love green juicing and the journey to health through juicing, join my Insider’s Exclusive Guide by signing up below. I will send you my favorite fresh new recipes, share with you my tips and mistakes to avoid on your juicing path – these are the valuable stuff I have learned as I go through up and downs of life and my insanely busy work schedule and my travels.
Because juicing must go on, baby! Now hurry up and join me and let’s go on the journey together!
Please remember: You *must* accept the confirmation email sent to you in order to get on the list!!!
September 2011 is my 4-year anniversary since my first green juice, and I wanted to celebrate the occasion and what better way to celebrate than to share the gift of green juicing and all its benefits with my darling readers, you?
My Suggestions for the Juicing Enthusiast in You:
- Plan well in advance (3-to-5 days) for the vegetables and fruits. As a general rule, do not keep fresh vegetables longer than 7-9 days after purchase.
- Buy organic when you can especially for the dark leafy vegetables, carrots with tops, beets with tops, and celery.
- Shop at Trader Joe’s when possible – they carry best cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, and apples. Subsidize the rest at your local Whole Foods.
- Juice only on an empty stomach, early AM and/or after workout is best.
- Wash & cut up the vegetables to size that will fit your juicer’s food chute.
- Juice your lemon or lime last so that it cleans out the juicer much as possible as it runs through it. Juice between 32 to 48 ounces each time. You can work up to 64 oz. 5-7 times a week, if your aim is to lose weight. Note this is very intense: Listen to your body.
- Drink all of it within the hour, do not store or refrigerate if possible.
- Clean up your juicer immediately after juicing.
- Balance out the dark leafy vegetables If you are starting out, keep the dark green leafy vegetables balanced with an apple or few carrots to add some natural sweetness. This will offset the mildly bitter taste of dark vegetables.
- Use very small quantities of ginger, until you get used to the sharp taste.
- Keep your carrot and beet pulp for salad topping. I have only cared to consume these 2 types of pulps.
- Do not eat anything for at least an hour after juicing.
- Drink water or tea following a juice for up to 2-3 hours. Let your body enjoy the freshness and work through the delicious fresh juices before eating solid foods.
- Find a routine to follow from start to finish – I would listen to my French podcasts which run 20 minutes long, the length of time it takes me from start to finish (all cleaned up!). Whatever works to keep your habits going strong!
- Keep a journal for first 3-6 months on your favorite juices. You won’t regret it!
Finding Juice Bars when Traveling:
In the photo below, I am sipping the first taste of ginger in my carrot juice in my travels to Hong Kong at a Mix Juice Bar in 2007. I introduced Ginger thereafter in all my green juices. Now I look for a juice bar wherever I travel. So when you travel, search juice bars and locate them in advance. Make it a goal to have at least one meal at a juice bar and let your body and mind rest and rejuvenate from all the travel chaos and food. Always think and live with your health in mind!
Share your Thoughts, Questions, Comments:
Juicing is a very powerful journey. It can have enormous benefits and it can test and try our patience and help us get to know ourselves better. It can also be very confusing at the beginning. I love to learn from you, hear your experience, and your thoughts on juicing vegetables so don’t be shy! Leave a comment, start a conversation, and always live with your health in mind! Don’t forget to join the newsletter if you want more goodies on green juicing journey, the tips, the how-to, the fun, the experience!
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{ 73 brilliant comments, Care to add another? }
Hi, thanks for the useful information on juicing. I’ve recently started to juice and am even contemplating on going 100%. Apart from losing weight, has juicing you helped in terms of good skin, complexion etc? Am struggling with pimples and am wondering whether i can have the complexion of my dreams if I try out juicing and raw food.
Hi Jo, glad you enjoyed the info here. I think 100% juicing is fine so long as you folow guidelines. Look at the related posts here on my 5-day juice fast/kundalini yoga for guidelines. It helped amazingly with my skin and I did not notice any problems with skin breakouts during the juice at all (sometimes this happens before things clear up) but I encourage you to do a thorough Google search too before doing any kind of fast. Good luck! It can be highly beneficial too!!
Thanks so much for sharing your juicing knowledge! I have been considering juicing for some time now, but with all the information out there, it can be pretty overwhelming and confusing. Your tips and info make it seem so much more simple and less frightening. I do have a few questions, though:
1. How often should a beginner juice in a day?
2. Are there any recipes you would recommend for a beginner juicer?
3. Why should one juice only on an empty stomach?
And lastly…
4. When is it safe to transition from beginner juicing to a serious green detox recipe? ( I don’t want to shock my system – does that make sense? Haha)
Again, thanks for the info and your time! You’ve already been a great help.
Somer, lots of questions but nothing frightening here. Let me tell you my most important findings: Take it SLOW. Adjust your body to juicing. The more fruits (apple) and simple vegetables (carrot, celery) you add at the beginning, the easier. Start very slowly with adding ginger (sharp taste, takes some getting used to) and dark leafy vegetables (bitter but most beneficial for your body). Start juicing 3 times a week then if you do well for a couple of weeks, build up to 5. Make sure you don’t have strenuous days when you juice, try not to exercise right after juicing, do not eat right away (if you are nauseous, try to relax, drink some water or just bite on a little cracker to settle stomach but let the juice work on your body for at least 2-3 hours). It is absolutely best for you to juice on empty stomach (at least 3 hrs after a good meal) – just the way it is
! You won’t feel good drinking it on a full stomach, I promise you! Carrot/Apple/Celery most popular for beginners but my fave: Carrot/beets. You can add an apple and later you must add ginger. Good luck to you! Keep me posted.
Thanks so much for the tips! I think I’m ready to give it a shot; can’t wait! I’m already planning out my grocery list. Haha
Thank you, darling , for another inspiring post. It’s decided, Cecil’s juicing machine that lives in his attic is moving into my kitchen! Wish me luck:)
Have fun with it – and remember to watch the blog for the juicing video for beginner juicers. And good luck and to good health, Iryna!
This is wonderful to stumble upon!
I look forward to returning here for more ideas. I have been considering green juicing for awhile 
.. this might be the booster for it! thanks again, Sharmila
Sharmila, I am delighted you found this on Stumble Upon. Do return. I plan to do a green smoothie post after my green juicing video!
wouldn’t you lose out on the fiber if you just rely on juicing? thanks.
Yes you do not eat the fiber when you juice but it does not mean it is missing from the rest of your diet. The idea with juicing – at least in my opinion – is that you give your body a quick way to digest tons of nutrients and minerals from the juice rather than having to break down the vegetables and fruits. You can always add some of the fiber to salads or get fiber from the rest of your diet.
I see. thanks for explaining.
Hi, I was looking for juicing recipe and found your great site. I’m a newbie vegan from Hong Kong. Glad you enjoyed your trip here. Are you a vegan? Did you have trouble finding vegan food while in HK? It’s certainly a challenge for me! Did you visit the MX juice bar in IFC? Sadly that outlet closed down recently… Anyway, have a great day!
Hi Henry, glad to see you here. Hong Kong was a fun place indeed and yes I am vegan and stay vegan when I am not traveling – that’s the killer part, especially in Europe! I did visit the MX at IFC and so sad to hear they are closed. I thought there were more of them there though. Stick to your vegan diet but don’t kill yourself if you have a relapse here and there…..thank you for your comment!
Last Fabulous Post by Farnoosh was A New Mindset on Passions and Professions
Juice bars seem to have got really popular. I went to Dublin a couple of years ago and they were everywhere, at the airport and all over the city. Shame they are so expensive though. When my in-laws visited from Brazil they could not believe how much fruit is here.
Last Fabulous Post by Jon was How to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach
Juice bars are wonderful when I stumble upon them on vacation. I am surprised to hear Dublin has such a lot of them though…..They are expensive some places. For instance, in Singapore, the fast food places have juice bars and they were very very cheap!!! Great to hear more on juicing and thanks so much for your comment, Jon!
Yeah, I was surprised when I saw them all in Dublin. Maybe some sort of government incentive to get more healthy food places? I really fancy fresh orange juice right now (got a cold).
Last Fabulous Post by Jon was Gavin Henson Training and Diet – Welsh Rugby Player
Hi Jon, I must check out Dublin one of these days – that sounds like a wonderful incentive. Oh don’t get me thinking about fresh juices right now please… !!! Hey thanks for coming back here to comment.
Thanks for the recipes. I just prepared the Equisite Green Goodness. I was wondering how much juice you typically get out of the recipe. Mine made 20 oz. which means I would have to almost double it to get in the range of 34-48 oz. Do you think that this is because I am not using a masticating juicer? Mine is a Breville. Secondly, although the taste was wonderful, I’m surprised how hard it is to finish 20 oz. when I used to drink 64 oz soda (years ago) without even taking a breath. It seems so strange. Have you ever noticed that?
Thanks for sharing your recipes. I am looking forward to your response and to trying more of the recipes!
Hello Sandra, you are welcome. Dear Sandra, I went back to these recipes and I think I had over-estimated on the 34-48 ounces. I think the truer measure is indeed between 24-28 so slightly more than the 20 ounces. You MUST use a masticating juicer, and also check your pulp – is it really dry? If not, it means your juicer is leaving out some juice. Breville, however, is a great brand. Is it the juicer for Breville you are using? I have the smoothie/mixer which is great. Sodas, argh tell me about it – luckily I gave that up at 18! But juices are very dense….drink slowly. I think on an empty stomach, you can get used to consuming up to 20 oz. over time – say a few weeks – but you can also store it for 24 hours (no more)! I hope this helps!!! I will update the post with a note on the 34-48 ounces! Thanks!
Thanks for your reply. I replenished my groceries last night so I am so looking forward to trying another one of your juices. My Breville is a juicer. The pulp is not dry. In fact, sometimes it is wet. I can’t buy anything else, because this is my second juicer. My first one was the Jack Lalane juicer. When the pulp was wet with that one, I sold it and bought this Breville. Now, I think I’m stuck. It works pretty well, but I think I would get more out of a masticating juicer. Maybe someday, I will invest in one. In the meantime, I was wondering how you estimate how much nutrition you are getting in a day. How would someone know if they were meeting their nutritional needs? If I am having fruit for breakfast, drinking 20 oz of green juice a few hours later and having a salad a few hours after that, how would I estimate the quantities to do a rough nutritional calculation? Do you just go by how you feel? Thanks again for being a great resource. By the way, you look great! I’m looking forward to looking and feeling great soon. This diet is already making a huge difference. I am on day 33 of raw! Take care.
Hi Sandra, thank you for continuing the conversation. I think you are definitely on the right track but juicing alone is not – as I am sure you know – a comprehensive health plan. The raw food diet is excellent and you are way ahead of me in trying it for such a long time. I eat a lot of raw foods – especially when not traveling – probably 60-70% but I do eat cooked foods as well. I do a lot of yoga and also cycling/spinning- you can search the blog for many posts on both of those topics or just go through the For the Body category. I am sorry to hear that you had no luck with Jack L. and Breville and that the pulp is NOT dry – I am very surprised – I’d try contacting them. Breville has good tech support from my experience. Hope to see you read the other posts about overall health and I am happy to share my thoughts with you on the rest too. Keep it up and stay strong!
Thanks for the article! I tried Hot Afternoon Boost and it was delicious. May have to make it part of my regular diet.
Tom
Thank you Tom for telling me I am so glad -now I am craving some! I don’t juice as much as I should during the winter…..but now you are inspiring me to pick it up more again.
Hi Farnoosh.
I am glad I found your site. You have tremendous green juice recipes in your list. But also I appreciate all your tips related to juicing and how to get the most out of the experience. I run a raw food website and juicing is a large part of this healthy lifestyle, so much thanks!
Have a great day!
Last Fabulous Post by James was Dec 9- Saved my life!!!!
Thank you dear James. I have really found a lot of benefit to juicing. I am also looking at your site and have no doubt will find some great recipes and combinations I’d love to try. Thanks for leaving a comment here!
Thanks so much for this great article! I just had my first green drink this morning and am very excited at discovering new concoctions! Your article has given me many new recipes to try! GREAT READ and information
Dear Shenoa, thank you for your great feedback. I am so happy you enjoyed the first green juice. It is so important to have a good FIRST experience in things and excited for you. Happy Juicing!
Hi my name is Rick and I was diagnosed with having food allergies from dairy, whey, soy, wheat, and eggs. I’ve been healthy most of my life at least I thought I was. I started working out in the 9th grade and meet a guy who was into nutrition and taught me alot so I’ve been doing the egg whites, non fat milk and yogurt, whey protien and so forth. I’ve been having alot of inflamation and stiff joints through out my body and feel I’m a healthy 43 year old and couldn’t figure out why I was getting weaker and stiffer and losing my motivation and energy. I just started juicing again and am hoping it relieves some if not all of my symptoms. Any thoughts?
Hi Rick, so I have to do the disclaimer, right? I am neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, just a food enthusiast if you will. Having said that, I have strong aversions toward milk. I have not had any since I was 16, except for some heavy cream which is based on milk when I used to drink coffee years ago. I think milk – the way it is produced here in the US anyway – is cause for more problems than any health benefits. You can get just as much calcium from spinach! I am trying a vegan diet and love it and I am a cycling and yoga addict so I need a strong diet. I would say try to change things up. Go vegan for a month and see what happens. Eat raw foods for a week and see what happens. You are VERY young and sound health. And do the juicing too. Also, don’t combine different categories of food, for instance, try to have your carbs with salad and your proteins with salad but not everything together because the body has to work so much harder to digest multiple categories than if you were to eat only one. Good luck and hope this gives you some of my ideas? All the best!
Hi! Do you know how many calories are in your juices? I am counting my calories. Thanks!
Hmmm. I would say I don’t know but that I never concern myself with calories in GREEN juices. The fruit juices have sugar – fructose – so you have more calories than green juices. I would not think it is a lot but you would need to Google it. I honestly don’t subscribe to counting calorie diets but so glad you are doing the juicing!
Hi Farnoosh. First of all, Thank You very much for taking the time to put all of this useful information out here. It’s always wonderful to find like minded people who share the same life’s passions that I do. Healthy doesn’t have to be bland and boring! And this brings me to my (probably quite strange) question: I am a vegan who happens to love very spicy plant based food. Have you ever juiced a jalapeno, habanero, or any other hot pepper into a green juice drink? I think it would be fabulous, but wonder if anyone has any first hand experience with it? Would the capsaicin hinder any of the healthful benefits from the veggies enzymes? Am I nuts for even wanting to do this? LOL!
Chris, hi and you are very welcome. I will argue with anyone who says healthy is boring. It is the most adventureous path I have taken and I am on Day 37 of being vegan and happy. So as I eat spicy salsa with my chips (cheat night after cycling tonight
) and type this, I have to say that no, I have only added ginger as far as sharp taste to my juices. Never one of those peppers and I have had sweet juices but not hot juices….you might just be the first my dear and you are far from nuts. What’s the worst thing that can happen? You don’t like it. You juice again. Life is good. Have fun 
!
I’m so delighted to see my favorite juice recipes. Green vegetable is good for health. A great deal of thanks for making a delicious juice.
Hi Robert, great and thanks for enjoying. Glad to hear from another healthy soul out there.
Hi Farnoosh,
Thank you for having this site and posting all of this info. I will start juicing this week, but I do not have a juicer. I will be trying to juice by using my blender and then pouring and squeezing it out of nut milk bags. Do you think this will be OK? Will it still provide the benefits that of a juicer? Thank you again for the recipes. Im so exited! YIPPIE TO BEING HEALTHY!
Dear Stacy, yippie to being healthy indeed but I’m afraid there’s no shortcut to juicing. If you want to have a JUICE, with all the pulp (fibers) removed, you *NEED* a masticating juicer. A blender just blends. It does not extract the juice and leave pulp behind. Blending has plenty of benefits but for juicing, you need a juicer, my dear. And it’s well worth the investment. I just juiced tangerines-orange-apples and some cilantro. It was delicious and I bet it will beat the onset of this cold by noon!
Good luck.
greetings,
Hi I am a raw foodie since may 22 2010 and I have lost over 60 pounds.
I did it with green smoothies.
But after some reasearch I found out that green juicing is better ?
Can you help me please ?
Hi Jose, that’s a very tough discipline, I am very amazed. Green smoothies are definitely very good for you. Green juicing has different benefits. It is absorbed much easier and faster by your body but you will be getting only the juice and not the fiber from the fruits and vegetables. It is better if you are trying to detox or even lose weight in my experience – I have done both green smoothies and green juices. And it is really easy to get lots of nutrients and vitamins because it’s lesser volume than if you were to make the smoothie – so you can absorb tons of nutrients instantly. Both are good. Green juicing better for losing weight and detoxing.
I was wondering why do people use a strainer of some sort instead of drinking or eating their juices? I’m confused to why they wouldn’t what to get all the fiber and nutrients from the fruit or vegetables they’re juicing. Do you need to or is it a preference for most people?
Thank You,
Rick
Hi Rick, when you juice vegetables, it removes the pulp and the juice itself has all the vitamins and nutrients but the fiber in the pulp is also good for you. Your body tends to absorb the juice instantly and the only way to get a true juice is by using a juicer, not using a smoothie or blender or manual juice devices. I think juicing is amazing for the body and a great compliment if you exercise, or if you want to stay very healthy and have a very good digestive system as well as staying on top of all of your vitamins especially in the darker and leafier vegetables. Hope this helps!!
Yeah that’s it! I always say that exercises without healthy food is nothing. I tell people who going on my fitness training that better is eating fresh fruits and vegetables, than eating that chemical stuff. Farnoosh is it true that carrot is good for the eyes?? Thanks for your reply
Yes, healthy food is super important. Of course it’s the obvious advice to eat fresh fruits and vegetables but it’s harder in practice for some people. Good luck with your training programs.
!
My mom and all Iranians believe that to be true as far as carrots go. It’s the Vitamin A in them. I’d say yes
Juicing vs. Blending
Juicing gained huge popularity through the 80′s and 90′s. But blending green smoothies has now been generally adopted as the better value proposition. Leading figures in the health and wellness like the late Ann Wigmore and Victoria Boutenko have led this movement in thinking.
Case for Blending over Juicing:
* Body is not designed to quickly assimilate nutrients. Large amounts of nutrients end up in your urine, similar to Vitamins.
* Colon health is bolstered by bacteria feeding on non-soluble fiber
* Colon is cleansed by non-soluble fiber
* Glycemic load is reduced by soluble fiber especially blending carrots, beets and fruit
* Fiber also fills you up and holds off hunger. Blended drinks are a more complete foods. For weight loss add a scoop of protein to your blend for a complete meal.
* High performance blenders release phytochemicals from cell walls
* Waste from juicing still has substantial nutrition besides fiber. Our intestines have trained for over a million years to extract nutrition from food. Job made easier by micronized particles produced by performance blenders.
* Costly because so much waste. There is only so much soup stock
* Time consuming because of prep and cleaning
This is not to say that juicing has no value, but the value impact of blending generally has greater potential as a daily regimen. Note: Blending without a performance blender (Vitamix, Blendtec) and sound recipe/formula you can end up with unpalatable sludge
Whether you are blending or juicing you are doing your body good. Here is a guide to choosing nutrient dense greens- the key ingredient.
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for all your insights here on green smoothies which are actually my current addiction and also on the downsides of juicing. Indeed, I do feel bad about wasting the pulp but I recycle it back to nature and sometimes use the carrot/beet pulp in salads. I have reviewed Boutenko’s book here on the blog and have learned a lot from her – although she and her family *live* on green smoothies, not sure about that!
Thanks for all the insights here.
Hello Farnoosh, Wanted to thank you for all the helpful information I found on your website. It’s the first site I chose and I think answers all my questions and concerns on juicing. I need to lose 25 – 30 lbs. So I hope this healthy way is my answer. Can you put green beans and brocolli or edamame in your juice?
Reply when convenient. Thanks, Lizbeth
Dear Lizbeth, so glad this was helpful to you. So glad!!!
but never the 3 vegetables you talk about. I do not believe brocolli is particularly juicy. I have read a lot of books and ordered juice a lot of places and never seen these 3 items on the menu. Is there a reason you want to specifically juice them? I think your options for juicing vegetables is incredibly wide and varied so I would focus on dark leafy vegetables, mixed with apples, maybe pineapple, and some fruit to take off the bitterness, lemons and limes to add some citrus flavor, and carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes for more flavor. I hope this helps and I am excited for your journey. Take it easy but be steady in your juicing and you shall see results. Best of luck!
As to your questions, I have juiced A LOT Of things
I was wondering what make and model of juicer you recommend.
Hi Maura, I like the Omega Juicer because it has a lifetime warranty and those guys have already swapped out a part for me but I am in the market for a Breville soon. Sorry for the delayed reply. Hope this helps!!!
I’m new to juicing and the pulp waste really got to me so… I’m definitely going to try carrots and beets for salad
2 Ideas for pulp:
I try and juice veggies first and then put all the pulp in my pressure cooker for a few minutes and strain in a nut milkbag or fine sieve for veggie stock .
Gee the carrot pulp before I add anything else and make muffins
My question for you is what do I use to wash my fruits and veggies? I have heard of vinegar , veggie wash or just plain water.
Dear Sascha, you know, wasting the pulp was no fun for me either so what you are suggesting here to use it as veggie stock is brilliant. I have read in a few books that they also recommend this, now that I am reminded, thanks to you!!
Wash fruits? I use warm water for just fruits and vegetables that are whole – and for all leafy vegetables, I soak them in water a good few minutes and then really rinse them well with just water to get all the soil out of them. So plain water here. Never heard of washing with vinegar. Have never had any issues with just water. Happy juicing!
Tried green juicing as I always like to eat healthy. Trouble is, it promote lots of gas and somach bloating. Do you have such problems? If so, how did you overcome it ? Thousand thanks !
It can be a problem if: You already had a really bad diet so your body is going through a huge shift with adding juices and hopefully, eliminating the poor diet, so I think drinking slower and in lesser quantities is key. Also, try different vegetables. Some are notorious for the bloating feeling and others not so much. You can just google them and see and then make milder juices until your body adjusts. Thanks for your comment and hope this helps.
Thousand thanks for the tip ! Will try it out.
Do you drink all 32oz at one time as one meal? And then can you eat other solid healthy meals the rest of the day?
Tabbss, hi! Thank you for your question, and the answer is “it depends.” Usually, I would drink it over 4-5 hour period, along with some water and some tea in between or I don’t drink it all the same day. Last few months, I have been drinking in the 8-16oz range when I make the juice. And yes, you can eat solid meals after but give it a few hours between your juice and your food. Hope this helps? Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get more tips!
Hi , I just stumbled across your website when I became curious about green juicing after hearing it on the radio this morning. I purchased a Jack La Lane juicer last year (which is now collecting dust in my cupboard), and I read one of your comments above that said to have a masticating juicer. Do you know if my juicer is not sufficient enough to begin using the veggies? I tried googling it but did not have much luck.
Dear Susan, hi! Welcome here; your Jack LaLane juicer should be JUST fine. There are either a masticating juicers or centrifugal juicers and both work just fine; so you should just use it. Start with first any simple vegetables such as carrots, celery, cucumber, apple and then see how it does with leafy vegetables. Clean it well before using it, and start with a simple juice if not used to juicing…. and be sure to join the free newsletter which has tons of content I created for my juicing fans
Thanks for stopping by!
Sorry, but one more question. I am reading your recipes and it says 1/2 carrot top bunch, wouldn’t it be the same as not cutting the tops off and putting them in the juicer?
Dear Susan, hi!! Yes, it’s the same thing
I was just trying to be specific! Enjoy and keep me posted.
Aha! I tried making green juice at the suggestion of a friend. Over a year ago, and couldn’t stand it, though I forced myself for weeks because it benefits my friend so much.
Now I see:
error #1 = using a blender instead of a masticating hmm juicer…
error #2 = I used heavy duty green veggies from Costco like spinach and whatever they had…
error #3 = forcing myself to drink it rather than lightening it…
And more:-)
Thanks for all the specific suggestions. Over the years, and a lot more this year, I’m down 50 pounds and aiming now to get the other 50 off.
This will help! Back to juicing…
Thanks!
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Dear Cynthia Ann, yes those were mistakes but they are now behind you. Sign up for my newsletter, if you haven’t, and just start SLOW, as you would with anything – start with SIMPLE recipes like apples, carrots, celery, cucumbers, and don’t even think about dark leafy vegetables at the beginning. I wish you the best and thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Thank you! Yes, I signed up for your newsletter right away.
Guess I just saw it as another drink, making it instead of pouring. That’s how I did not realize the concept of slow!
blessings,
Cynthia
Last Fabulous Post by Cynthia Ann Leighton was Alzheimer’s Disease Statistics
I glad I found this site, via your article on Anna’s site.
I use to juice, I need to again. I’ve been vegetarian for years nows, not vegan. I’ve probably only new a few tips, like drink it as soon as possible.
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Hi Steve, welcome here. Be sure to sign up for the Juicing list so you can stay on tap with all the tips and suggestions on getting back into juicing again!
HI Farnoosh,
Loving your green juicing posts and videos! Quick question (hope you haven’t answered this somewhere else – I looked!) — what are your thoughts on green juicing vs. green smoothies? I recently have gotten into green smoothies and am contemplating purchasing the Vitamix and really ‘taking the plunge’
Green smoothies seem a lot easier to prepare with the Vitamix and you keep more of the fiber in the veggies…. or not?
Anyway, just curious on your thoughts!
Stacey
Hi Stacey, thanks so much for your question. I talk a little about green smoothies here.
So green smoothies can be wonderful – they are filling, and depending on how healthy you make them – I usually don’t use any of that protein powder stuff but you certainly can and I try to make them more green so lesser fruits and more vegetables, but they are different from green juices. I recommend both. I think green juicing just has a different benefit. Yes you don’t get the fiber but it is a great way to cleanse the body and really give your digestive system a rest and a purification that you just can’t get from a filling green smoothie. By the way, be sure to get on the list, Stacey! The green juicing book is coming out before year-end, baby!
Hope this helps?
PS: Does the Vitamix not act as both a juicer and a smoothie/blender?? I recall calling them once to ask about something and that’s what I remember them telling me. Do check! You might hit a home-run if that’s the case. You know?
Thanks Farnoosh for your reply and linking to your previous post on the green smoothies. So looks like you got into it for a bit — and I’m wondering if you still do them or stick to primarily green juices now? Personally I love the idea of quicker prep and cleanup with smoothies so I will start there. Oh and one other question – how did you find your Breville blender? I heard Vitamix is the only way to go with the green smoothies but I’m just curious about your experience
Also to answer your other question about the Vitamix, no it doesn’t juice – but you just throw everything in whole and it purees it in the best way ( or so I’m told!) – hardly any ‘prep’ at all since you don’t have to cut and peel, etc.
Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks!
Stacey
Hi again dear Stacey …. Let’s see: Breville? I know it’s an Australian brand (and what do you know, writing you this from Sydney
), and I trust it’s a very good one, and I needed a high-end blender after killing a few $30+ cheap ones.
Absolutely go with green smoothies, and just make them super green and enjoy them. Right now, because I am writing my green juicing book, I am just doing more green juices, although with traveling, it’ll be on hold. You need to ask about the Vitamix then. Maybe I was thinking of a different brand or a different model? Read all reviews that you can find before deciding and good luck!!!
Yummy!! this looks so awesome Farnoosh! Good job!
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Thank you dear Rose. It IS delicious. I am sure you know this from drinking your own green juices!
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