Juices and Smoothies and Greens—Oh My!
Juices and smoothies are the easiest way to get the recommended (how many?) servings of fruits and vegetables (that hardly anyone eats each day).
As I said earlier, I was never fond of dark, leafy greens. I was doing well if I managed to have a salad each day. I don’t think I’d eaten collard greens more than once in my life. Like kale and chard, I remember it being overcooked, wilted, mixed with beans and vinegar, and bitter. There sure were (and still are) a lot of vegetables I didn’t like.
That’s why I was amazed when I started trying juice and smoothie concoctions that include greens. As opposed to the overcooked and wilted versions that made me want to hold my breath in order to eat, I found their taste when raw far superior. And with smoothies, you balance the greens with other ingredients, such as apples, banana, pears, berries, or mangos. Because they give your body what it needs, the taste (even the color) of the juices and smoothies actually grows on you.
As Oprah says "It's a glass of fresh."
Greens provide a huge concentration of nutrients, including chlorophyl, and protein in the form of individual amino acids, which are more easy to assimilate than complex proteins found in animal products. They nourish your body on a cellular level.
Plant fiber is like a sponge, and it absorbs toxins from our body as it passes through.
And to top it all off, greens are the most alkalizing thing you can eat (or drink).
You can either juice hard veggies and fruits and then put them in a blender with softer ones, (bananas, avocado, leafy greens, etc.) or just do it all at once in a blender.
Green Smoothies
I have a green smoothie almost every day
In the gardening months, I might include homegrown kale, spinach, collards, and even lettuce. I sometimes start by blending up some hemp milk, then adding the greens, a banana, an apple or pear, and often frozen fruit.
I drink a smoothie at my desk, and take them on errands. I think I could live off them—I feel totally satisfied, and more healthy than I've ever been in my life.
The pioneer family of green smoothies, the Boutenko family, share some of their recipes here.
Homemade Juice
With homemade juice, you can incorporate a far greater amount of fruits and veggies than you would be able to eat, unless you chewed all day long. Plus, juicing (and blending) allows you to absorb the minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids to a greater degree than chewing them, since it breaks down the cellular walls and the food is not heated. And it doesn’t taste anything like V-8, leave you with a plastic or glass bottle to dispose of, or have a corporate logo on it.
You know exactly what's going into the juice and can tailor each batch to your own taste. You can use a recipe to address a specific dietary need, just use what you have on hand, or make the same thing every day. Democracy in action!
Once you start juicing, you'll probably find that, since your body uses less energy for digestion, you will have more overall energy. If you use juicing temporarily for a cleanse, that's great. I felt headachy and loopy at first from the onslaught of nutrients and release of toxins (I used too much garlic), but started sipping the juice as if it was a meal (which it is) and soon found myself feeling zippy and excited about the whole process.
And then one day I woke up feeling great. I didn't know who or what had taken over my body (and mind). I now juice (or have a smoothie) every day. I don't feel wonderful every single day, especially when I'm testing to see if a food bothers me. But I feel much better when I have a tall glass of fresh or elixir of life than when I don't.
Are juicers expensive and hard to clean?
Even though we laugh at Jack Lallane’s infomercial, we were happy to find his juicer for $90 at Costco, so that’s what we’re using right now.
It takes about 10 minutes to scrub, cut, juice, and clean up. That's a lot faster than cooking.