A Beginner's Guide to Juicing

Juicing is a great way to enhance your heath and wellbeing.  If you are strategic about the veggies and fruits you include in your juices, it can be a way to add a variety of nutrients to your diet.  While there are many great reasons to begin this healthy practice, it can sometimes be intimidating at first.  From selecting a good juicer (another post, we promise!) to choosing the ratios of produce to include in your recipe, there can be a large learning curve.  We've done the hard work for you and outlined four practices to help eliminate some of the trial and error early in your juicing life. 


1.  Start with fruits and vegetables you already like. 
Downing an entire glass of a veggie you don't like isn't a friendly way to start.  If you start with the fruits and vegetables you already enjoy, you can slowly add in darker, vitamin-rich greens like Swiss chard and kale.

2.  Add citrus to neutralize bitter greens.
Juicing lemons, oranges, or any other citrus helps cut the bitter taste of dark, leafy greens giving them a more palatable flavor.

3.  Generally a ratio of 80% veggies and 20% fruit makes a healthy, tasty juice.
Too much fruit in your juice will lend to a high sugar concentrate, so stick to mostly veggies with fruit thrown in to sweeten and flavor.  Alternate juicing high water content fruit and veggies with more dense produce so that it is easier on the juicer, and will allow the juicer to extract the juice and nutrients more effectively.

4.  Juice seasonal, organic produce whenever possible.
It is important to eat seasonal, organic produce if you can.  If you can't get your hands on any, make sure you thoroughly wash and peel anything with a skin.  The skin of various fruits and veggies can hold a lot of nutrients, so whenever possible, go local, seasonal and organic to be able to enjoy the full nutritional value.

Best of luck finding your juicing groove!
xoxo,
The Juice Sisters