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Top tips for starting juicing…

Spring is definitely on its way so our retreat guests are asking about refreshing ways to eat well.

The question of smoothies versus juicing usually arises and I’ve answered that on my blog here: Juice or Smoothie – which is best?

As I recommend a green juice is great for reviving when the afternoon energy slump hits, the next questions raised are:

  • If I’m at work, how can I have fresh juice in the afternoon?
  • It seems quite complicated to juice every day, so how can I make it easy?

Here are my top tips for enjoying a juice every afternoon, no matter where you are…

Firstly, you can juice ahead of time. The juice enthusiast will tell you that you have to drink a juice as soon as it’s made because it starts to degrade immediately. But honestly, can something deteriorate totally that quickly?

So, the good news is – YES – you can make your juice in advance, that means you can juice in bulk so you don’t need to juice every day.

Once you’ve selected your juicer (& you can read my blog: Which juicer is best? to help you decide) below are some top tips for starting to juice…

Tips for storing your juice:

  1. Make a batch of juice. Make more than one juice at a time. You can then store it all properly so you can have a juice a day ready in advance.
  2. Store in the fridge. Juice will keep for 24-48 hours in the fridge (72 hours is maximum time suggested).
  3. Keep in airtight container. Store your juices in airtight containers for best results.
    1. Fill container full. Fill your container with juice to the very top to limit the air gap. This helps because it’s the oxygen that depletes the nutrients, so the less air, then the less oxygen to interact with your fresh juice. Use containers that hold just what you wish to drink within one day.
  4. Freeze. Freezing is also an option but remember to leave an air gap at the top so when it expands on freezing it won’t break the container. Freeze your juice immediately after juicing & as quickly as possible. Consume within 7-10 days of freezing as your juice doesn’t have any preservatives added.
    1. Don’t fill the container. Since water/juice expands as it freezes, bottles should be filled to less than 90% of their volume. This will prevent the bottles from breaking due to the liquid expanding during freezing. It’s best to use bottles of a capacity that the juice can be consumed within one day after thawing. If it is not consumed, it can be kept in the refrigerator for one more day.
  5. Store in the correct environment. The juice should be stored in a dark, cool environment away from heat and light.

Tips for making juicing easier:

  1. Plan the juices you want for a week. Then you can juice them all in go and store them according to when you plan to drink them ie in the fridge for the earliest ones and in freeze the ones for later in the week.
  2. Make a shopping list. This way you are organised when you get the supermarket/grocery store and can get everything you need all at once.
  3. Prepare in advance. If you plan to make a juice in the morning, then prepare your ingredients the night before to make it simpler in the morning. You can measure out quantities, wash and chop as needed & store in the fridge overnight.
  4. Line your juicer’s pulp basket. If you have a juicer that has a pulp basket, line it with a compostable liner bag for easy clean-up.
  5. Clean your juicer promptly. Make sure you wash your juicer immediately so the fibre doesn’t dry on, or if it’s dishwasher friendly, then rinse quickly and put inside ready for the next load. If you don’t have time for this, then at least pour clean water down the chute (with the juicer turned on) to rinse most the fibre out.

Tips for making juice:

  • When juicing leafy vegetables (spinach, kale etc) its best to pack them in first followed by something solid yet juicy such as an apple or beetroot bulb. The same applies to juicing ginger.
  • If your juicer is powerful enough you don’t need to peel your pineapple.
  • If you scrub your root vegetables, then they don’t need to be peeled.
  • If your pulp is quite wet, you can pass it back through the juicer again to extract more juice.
  • Best to finish with something such as apple or cucumber to help push all the juice through.

Sometimes green/vegetable based juices can result in a murky, not very appealing coloured drink. So, my final tip for drinking a healthy juice at work is to put it in a colourful opaque flask. This stops negative comments your work colleagues as instead of them seeing muddy coloured fluid, all they notice is an attractive coloured/patterned flask.

Who knows, you may even convert them to drinking a green juice every day too!

Join us on our Juice Detox Retreat to kick-start your healthy lifestyle and hear more easy juicing tips.

What’s your favourite tip to make juicing easy?

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