Juicing Basics

Whether you call it a juice fast, juice feast, juice cleanse or just a juice journey there are a few things  you should know before starting..  This is by no means a written in stone thing as well as not being everything you should know.. It is just something to get you started on your own personal journey to a healthy you.   I also want to be clear that I am in no way claiming I know it all because I do not.   Each experience is a new one so each is going to be different from the last.   I also am not an licensed nutritionist or doctor.   I am just a girl sharing her experiences and tips..

The first thing you need to remember is that not everyone is going to see your journey in the same light that you will.  There is a ton of conflicting information out there so you really need to go with what your body tells you.  It knows you better than anyone else.

Now.. You need to figure out what your goals are...  Do you want to cleanse your body?  Do you want to lose weight?  Do you want to try something new?  Are you looking to incorporate juicing into your regular diet?

Once you figure out your reasons you will have a better idea on what your expectations and guidelines should be.  

First off...  My goals have always been to detox and lose weight..  So based on that when you are planning your menus you will want all your daily juice to equal out to at least 50% green juice..  by green juice I mean.. leafy greens, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, romaine, parsley, cilantro, cucumber, broccoli, bok choy etc....  You get the idea...  

The more fruit you add to your recipes the more calories you are adding as well.. So go easy on the fuits.. Use them to sweeten your juice without making it the main course.

My rule of thumb has been to drink a gallon of juice a day...It is very difficult in the beginning until your tastebuds get used to it..  If you can't tolerate that much just drink as close as you can get and make sure you are still drinking water or tea...  Oolong is my favorite...  Yerba Mate as well...

Keep a journal or some other form of tracking.  Accountability is the key to success... I use my fitbit to track my foods...  Once you get the hang of it you can figure out your calories and fluid intake..  What I do is keep track of the amount of each ingredient I use..  then tally it up and divide it by the ounces.  Then I can track my ounces and calories each time I have a cup versus trying to figure out how much is left at the end of the day.

Save your bottles or jars for recycling into cute drinking containers.  You will see above that I use mason jars.  32 ounces in each jar so I only have to drink 4 of those each day.

I would also like to mention that it is not a good idea to drink strictly juice.. You need to add water to the mix.. Try some plain water infused with fruit, tea with no sweetener...  Heck.. I even drink coffee...  Some folks would flip hearing that, but... I will not give up my coffee for anything..  :)  I also add those flavor packets to some of my water to shake it up a bit.   

All this said.. lets get on to the mechanics of juicing.. You can do it one of 3 ways.. 

First get yourself a good juicer... A good juicer will yield way more juice than a cheapy.  In the long run anyway..  If you are not sure that juicing is for you then by all means by a cheap model at your local discount store.  It will do the trick until you choose to upgrade.  I have one of each..  I have an Omega VRT350 as well as a cheap one I picked up from Walmart.  It works but I do run my pulp back thru it to get additional juice out of it.

Second option is to use your blender.  Blend all ingredients with added water and strain it in a cheesecloth or cotton napkin.  This is a lot of work folks.. It takes more patience than I care to do, however, if you do not want to invest in a juicer it will work.  

Third option which I do not recommend...  Buy premade juice.  Just make sure it does not have added sugar.  There are some places you can buy it from online, but they are very pricey and do not give alot of customizing options.  Find yourself a juice bar that makes daily fresh juice.  We do not have one locally so I just make my own.  


Be Realistic... Keep your expectations real..  Juicing is hard..  It is not as easy as some might like to tell you..  Detoxing symptoms really suck..  Headaches, dizziness, nausea, foggy, and foul smells...  Keep it simple your first time round.  Try a 1 day cleanse to begin with.  If you feel you can go longer then by all means..  Just keep it real..  

• Nifty products to assist in your drinking pleasure

I love my lids.. It makes drinking with my jars so much nicer and people love commenting on them.. lol   

I also like to recycle glass Starbucks bottles for easy toting.   I find my mason jars are quite difficult to transport in my small cooler bag.

Always remember that this is your journey and you can make it into what you want it to be.

happy juicing!!!