Free Vegetable Juicer Recipes or Store-Bought Vegetable Juice

Instead of actually juicing vegetables of their own, there are many people that opt to drink store bought vegetable juice.  In general, compared to the many other beverage choices, such as soda, flavored drinks, or even fruit juice, vegetable juice does stand out as being better than those choices.  But when comparing to your own vegetable juicer recipes, it turns out that there is no comparison.

People may have been intrigued by the idea of juicing vegetables (as they should!)  But there are several things that come in the way.  Space can be an issue.  You must have adequate counter space to keep a vegetable juicer out all the time, or have enough storage space.  Price is another issue, as the best vegetable juicers will cost hundreds of dollars (you could settle for less expensive centrifugal juicers, but for juicing vegetables, it is recommended to stick with the high end models.)  Finally, the amount of work needed for juicing recipes can be a problem – it is much simpler to buy a container of juice than it is to prepare your produce and cleaning your juicer every time for your own juicer recipes.

V8 Vegetable Juice Recipe

The most common alternative to juicing vegetables is to drink V8 juice.  You must have heard the commercials by now – “*Doink* You could have had a V8.”  While it does contain a wide variety of juices, it undergoes several processes that significantly reduce the nutritional content in it.  Some of those nutrients are very sensitive and will be denatured simply by being exposed to the air for too long, while more will be diminished from the types of processes that are used to constitute and package the V8 vegetable juice. This is true with any packaged juice that you can buy at the grocery store though.

The ingredients are as follows:

  • Tomato Juice from Concentrate (Water, Tomato Concentrate)
  • Reconstituted Vegetable Juice Blend (Water and Concentrated Juices of Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach)
  • Salt
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
  • Flavoring
  • Citric Acid

Overall, not too bad though.  The only major problem is from the amount of salt added.  The nutritional facts show that there is a total of 630mg of sodium per serving!  Fortunately, there are reduced sodium versions out there as well.  Of course, it is still no comparison to your own vegetable juicer recipes.

This is not to knock V8 fruit or vegetable juices, as they certainly have their place in today’s culture.  If you can’t make your own vegetable juice recipes and have the choice to either buy a bottle of soda or V8, then the V8 is definitely the better choice for your health.  But for those that think that V8 juice can replace juicing vegetables, I’m sorry but you are sorely mistaken.  Drinking vegetable juice in its raw state is always the healthiest option.

Besides V8, there are many other juices to choose from.  However, a lot of them are not even close to the power of fruit and vegetable juicing, with most of them considered to be on the same level as sugary soda drinks.  Not all juice is created equal, so don’t think that drinking any kind of juice is beneficial to your health.  Here is an actual ingredient list from a typical store-bought juice:

  • Filtered Water
  • Sweeteners
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Sugar
  • Grape Juice from Concentrate (Less than 15%)
  • Pear and Strawberry Juices from Concentrate
  • Natural Flavors
  • Citric Acid (Provides Tartness)

It’s amazing how people will buy this stuff.  Judging from these ingredients, I’d say that a soda is probably better for you.  These are the worst types of drinks if your plan is to stay healthy or lose weight with juicing.

In the end, there is a lot of junk out there, so take the time to evaluate whether or not it’s wise to purchase for you and your family.  But no matter what there is on sale at the supermarket, the healthiest option is always to stick with your own free vegetable juicer recipes.

September 1, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Vegetable Juicing Basics  One Comment

Juicing Recipes for Detox

Another very popular process when it comes to vegetable juicing is called detoxification.  While it is commonly referred to detox the body of drugs and/or alcohol, in nutrition it is meant to cleanse your blood.  The idea is that over time, your body accumulates toxins from unhealthy food choices, aging, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, stress, and the list goes on and on.  It is a severely limited diet that lasts a few days to rid the body of toxins.

First, you eliminate all sources that would release toxins in the body, such as alcohol, cigarettes, medication, fatty and sugary junk foods, meat products and dairy.  If possible, you should also reduce sources of stress as much as possible such as work.  It is best to plan ahead and detox on a weekend to account for work.

Fasting is the common start to detoxify the body.  It is important to stay hydrated during this process, which is why vegetable juicing is perfect for detoxification.  Vegetables contain very little fat or sugar (if any at all), but still provide you with plenty of vitamins and phytonutrients, especially during such a vulnerable time.

Some good vegetables to include in your vegetable juicer recipes for detox are spinach and beet juice.  Beet juicing recipes contain powerful antioxidants that stimulate red blood cell production and cleanse the blood, in addition to detoxifying the liver.  Spinach is rich in magnesium and other minerals that avoid the accumulation of uric acid in the body.  Juicer recipes with citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, contain a lot of vitamin C and other antioxidants to fight off free radicals in the body.  You may also want to try wheatgrass juicing recipes, which are exceptionally high in chlorophyll and do wonders for blood cleansing.

Feel free to add fruits in your juicing recipes for detox, but do not overdo it.  After all, fruits do contain a lot of sugar, which is what we are trying to avoid to reduce the amount of toxins in the body.  If you are on medication and must take them during your fasting period, then be wary of grapefruits in your detox juicing recipes.  They have been shown to increase absorption rate of medication, which can easily lead to overdoses with harmful side effects.

The severe decrease of calories you consume during this type of diet can possible lead to harmful side effects, so you must plan ahead.  Some common side effects are fatigue, dizziness, headaches and weight loss.  Acne can also be a problem due to the large release of toxins flowing through your body, which could find their way through your skin.

There are some people who should not be vegetable juicing for detoxification.  People afflicted with certain ailments or diseases.  If you take medication regularly, you must be careful about how not eating could affect your response to them.  Pregnant women also need a healthy intake of nourishment and calories to be able to support the baby, as well as the baby itself.

After you complete your detox diet, you must slowly get used to eating solid foods again.  Start with whole fruits and vegetables.  Work your way to carbohydrate foods like rice or pasta next, and then ease into eating meat products and beans.  As much as you want to, avoid stuffing your face the first chance you get.  Be sure to stay hydrated at all times with plenty of water and vegetable juicer recipes.

It is suggested that you do this once a year to recharge yourself.  However, there is no direct evidence to show that it is advantageous at all to the body.  In fact, there are doubts as to whether detoxification is beneficial at all, so be careful if you choose to go through with it.

One of the best juicers for juicing is the Omega 8005.  However, a more affordable option would be the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer.  I suggest looking in to these two options first.

Here are some juicing recipes for detox to use:

Carrots and Wheatgrass

  • 3 carrots
  • wheatgrass juice (1-2 oz.)

Green Monster

  • 3 celery stalks
  • wheatgrass juice (1-2 oz.)
  • handful of spinach
  • handful of Collard greens
  • 1 lemon

Citrus Cleanse Juicing Recipe

  • 2 oranges
  • 1 grapefruit
  • 1 beet

Sunny Blend Juicing Recipe

  • 3 carrots
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 orange or yellow pepper
  • 1 lemon

August 22, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Ailments, Detox, Vegetable Juicing Basics  No Comments

Vegetable Juicing Recipes for Acne

Oh the wonderful joys of acne and all the lives it has claimed.  Many teenagers’ high school experiences are constantly ruined by breakouts.  However, it is not just our adolescence that people have to suffer with acne.  People of all ages unfortunately must deal with it probably because of poor eating habits.  This is why vegetable juicing for acne is a wonderful idea.

The reason we get pimples are due to the toxins that linger in our bodies.  Normally, it is the liver and the kidneys that flush out all of the toxins from our body.  When there are too many, or if the liver and kidneys aren’t able to get rid of them, they find their way only other way out – their skin.  Depending on how much the pores in your skin are clogged, acne you get might be a few red bumps or large inflamed and irritating bumps.

Reducing the problem is two fold – you have to protect the inside and the outside of the body.  Protect yourself from anything that can clog your pores, such as cosmetic products.  Reducing the amount of toxins in your body is a little harder, as many have terrible eating habits that are hard to break.  Fortunately, one solution for us is to use vegetable juicing recipes for acne.

Juicing produce that have a lot of antioxidants is ideal for acne.  These antioxidants are powerful fighters against free radicals that can cause damage to your body.  Good produce to juice include wheatgrass and vegetables with a deep color, such as dark green vegetables and vibrant yellow-orange vegetables.  Bell peppers (all colors), spinach, carrots, and broccoli are your friends here.  Also important to mention are berries, as they are excellent sources of antioxidants as well.

Garlic is a surprisingly effective food against acne.  The problem is that is has a very strong taste that is not the best complement in most vegetable juicing recipes.  Don’t overpower your juicing recipes by adding to much – do little bits at a time.  Another very obscure yet powerful product is Brewer’s Yeast.  It contains minerals that reduce stress levels, thereby reducing toxins in the body.

Probably the most overlooked way to prevent acne is to simply stay hydrated.  Having a lot of fluid running through your body is essential to flush out all the toxins.  This is the best reason for juicing vegetables for acne – you stay fully hydrated while getting plenty of nutrients.

Here are two vegetable juicing recipes for acne:

Detoxifier

  • 4 carrots
  • 1 shot of wheatgrass juice
  • 1 clove of garlic

Citrus Flush

  • 1 grapefruit
  • 1 orange
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 orange pepper

August 18, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Acne, Ailments, Vegetable Juicing Basics  No Comments