Juicing – How to get started

It seems like these days everyone is jumping on the juicing band wagon, am I right? But it is definitely not just the latest health trend – Juicing is here to stay! Having said that you need to find what works for you, that is the advice we give all our customers especially if this is something new to you don’t dive right in and grab the strongest spinach filled greens – Not only will this put your taste buds off but it will most likely also be too rich on your stomach.

Here are a few of our tips on how to get started juicing at home:

1. DECIDE ON A JUICER

You will hear the words centrifugal and cold-pressed (also known as masticating) been thrown around. All can be very confusing and over whelming at times.

So to break it down these are the major differences:

The centrifugal is traditionally the most common type of juicer, it is faster and less expensive than a cold-pressed juicer however; it uses a fast spinning motion exposing the fruit and veg to more heat, thus retaining less nutrients than the cold-pressed method. The cold-pressed method may be more expensive and slightly more time consuming but it retains much more nutrients as it crushes then presses the fruit and veg with the use of gears. If you are juicing to drink the juice immediately the centrifugal juicer is fine nutrient wise, when looking to prep in advance the cold-pressed juicer is best.

One other aspect of a centrifugal juicer to be cautious of is that it doesn’t juice leafy greens well. If you are looking to incorporate leafy greens into your juices then definitely go for a cold-pressed juicer.

We recommend the Oscar. It can pretty much juice anything and will be well worth the money spent.

2. START OFF SLOWLY

If you are new to juicing start off with more fruity varieties then work your way up to the stronger vegetable based ones. Juicing, especially vegetables, can help restore and rebuild the body to optimum levels.

Remember to sip your juices slowly – this way it is easier to digest and the maximum amount of nutrients will be absorbed from the get go.

3. WHAT PRODUCE TO USE

Always stick to seasonal fruit and veg – Not only is it better priced than its imported counter parts seasonal fruit and veg has a much higher nutrient content!

While fresh oranges at Woolworths might look appealing mid-summer don’t be tempted – Not only will it lack flavour but it won’t have a great nutrient content either, next to nothing if you ask me.

Your local fruit and veg shops are your best bet for quality ingredients – Try Impala in Craighall otherwise for great deals Randburg Wholesale Market at the Carreira centre in Randburg.

4. RULE OF THUMB

If you are going to be replacing a meal with a juice make sure that it is at least three quarters veg to keep you more sustained. We actually suggest rather having juices in between meals, well over and above your meals instead of replacing meals so that you can get that extra burst of nutrients especially if you aren’t a regular salad or vegetable eater.

5. IDEAS FOR RECIPE

 For great juicing ideas we suggest Superfood Juices by Julie Morris otherwise The Natural Medicine Magazine has a juice section each month by Jason Vale which is a fantastic.

And on days that you are too lazy to juice pop in store our store and grab a cold-pressed juice on the go

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