Juicing Tips Basics

July 9, 2012 in Juicing Tips

Here are a few tips for those of you new to juicing:

  • Always serve your juice immediately. Juice is at its peak when freshly squeezed. Over time, it loses vitamin potency.
  • If you want your juice to be more smoothie like, juice your produce of choice and then stir in a tablespoon or so of low fat or nonfat yogurt to thicken.
  • Remove rinds of oranges and grapefruit to cut down on bitterness but leave much of the pith (the while soft layer between the fruit and peel) to get the maximum amount of vitamins.
  • Don’t discard that pulp! Scan this site and our recipe books for great ideas on how to use the pulp. Recipes include yummy and healthy treats such as quiche, muffins and soups.
  • Get creative! Don’t be afraid to try different vegetables and fruits together.

Happy juicing!

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Shopping organic

July 5, 2012 in Edible Garden

I will be the first to admit that I was once very skeptical of the whole organic thing. At one time I believed that it was all just another way to make a few extra bucks by scaring us through marketing. However, after watching a few documentaries, reading a few books and doing my own research, I’ve come to believe that there is something to buying organic after all. I now strive to buy organic, though admit that I often wince at the difference in my grocery bill! I’ve had to make other choices in my shopping to accommodate for the expense but I’m making it work.

If you are interested in going organic with some of your produce and don’t know how to tell what’s what, here’s what to look for when shopping.

Find the produce sticker on the fruit or veggie. This is known as the PLU (price lookup code) and provides useful information for consumers.

A 4-digit plu starting with the number 4 or 3 indicates that the produce is conventionally grown.

A 5-digit plu starting with the number 9 indicates the produce was grown organically.

A 5-digit plu starting with the number 8 means the produce has been genetically modified.

If you are interested in going organic for some fruits and vegetables but are on a budget, then consider just going organic for the “dirty dozen 12″ found in this article. These fruits and vegetables tend to have the most pesticide residue.

If you choose not to go organic at all, just be sure to wash and rewash all your fruits and vegetables carefully.

Do you care about your produce being organic?

 

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Gazpacho: A chilled soup summer favorite

June 27, 2012 in Juicing Recipes

Make this delicious and healthy summer soup using your favorite summer produce.

2/3 cup cucumber juice

2 1/4 cups tomato juice

3/4 cup carrot juice

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped combo of basil, oregano and thyme

Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill before serving

Photo Credit

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Digestive Jump Start juice

June 19, 2012 in Health Information, Juicing Recipes, Juicing Tips

If summer celebrating has you feeling a bit bloated then get yourself feeling better with this delicious recipe!

Digestive Jump Start:

1/2 papaya (peeled and seeded)

1 apple

1 guava (peeled and pitted)

Juice and serve

freedigitalphoto

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Energize your mid-afternoon slump

June 11, 2012 in Juicing Recipes, Juicing Tips

I used to get pretty tired right around 3 PM every day. Since taking a nap isn’t an option, I often reached for coffee or sugar. Both would backfire. Sugar would cause me to crash a very short time later and caffeine would leave me tossing and turing later that night.

So here is what I do now:

  1. Eat better. Well, duh. The saying, ‘You are what you eat” truly is on the money. Eating processed and fast foods do not provide the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs, so you are left feeling sluggish. By having power foods like whole grains, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and other healthy foods - you are fueling your body for success.
  2. Drink water. Often we begin to feel sluggish when we are slightly dehydrated, sometimes (for me) I’m just not thirsty and I have to remember to drink water.
  3. Move it. Sure, when you’re ready to take a nap the last thing you feel like doing is exercising but believe it or not, exercise can turn your sleepy self right around! Case in point, my four year old decided to wake up at 2AM on Friday night! He had us up nearly all night. I had an early morning run scheduled on Saturday morning with a few friends and didn’t want to bail. I yawned and cursed all the way to the park, I was so sleepy! However, as I ran I began to perk up. Afterwards I felt alert and much better than I did before.
  4. Juice! I have found that strategically making a juice helps me to full-fill those vitamin and nutrient requirements needed to maintain energy. Below is a power juice specifically created to boost your energy.

Wheatgrass Energy Drink

1 handful of wheatgrass

1 handful of spinach

1 pineapple spear

Juice all ingredients and enjoy!

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The benefits of composting

June 8, 2012 in Edible Garden

If you are a gardener one of the best things you could do for your garden and the environment is compost!

Compost material:

  • contains macro and micronutrients often absent in synthetic fertilizers
  • releases nutrients slowly—over months or years, unlike synthetic fertilizers
  • enriched soil retains fertilizers better. Less fertilizer runs off to pollute waterways
  • buffers the soil, neutralizing both acid & alkaline soils, bringing pH levels to the optimum range for nutrient availability to plants
  • makes soil easier to work with
  • makes sandy soil retain more nutrients
  • helps to keep soil healthy

If you are clueless to where to start, check out the website Compost 101 for tips, advice and everything you need to know about composting.

If you are just tossing out your pulp from your juicer (and not using it for some of our recipes) then you’ve already got a great source of composting material to start with!

source

Image/Freedigitalphotos

 

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Produce power

May 29, 2012 in Edible Garden, Health Information

As I juice and get more connected to the health properties of vegetables and fruits, I find myself wanting to buy my produce locally and organic when available.

With summer right around the corner, now is a great time to seek out the freshest produce possible.

If you’re a little confused to where to start here is a great online resources that will get you headed in the right direction!

Local Harvest: http://www.localharvest.org/ - This awesome website says it all in it’s introduction: “Use our website to find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.”

How important is buying organic and local to you?

I used to kind of shrug it off as no big deal but as I learn more and more about things it’s starting to matter more and more to me.

 

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Refreshing new recipes for summer fun

May 25, 2012 in Juicing Recipes, Power Juicer Kids

With Memorial Day weekend upon us our resident chef decided to whip up some fun, healthy and tasty new juice recipes!

Strawberry Orange Juice

2 oranges, peeled

8 strawberries, stem removed

Juice in the juicer and serve.

 

Mojito Popsicles

1 lime

1-cup hot water

3 tbsp. sugar

3 sprigs mint, stem removed

¼ cup rum

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, add the mint and cool. Juice the lime. Mix all the ingredients together and poor into Popsicle holder. Add slices of lime and freeze.

 

Margarita Popsicles

1/2 lemon

1-cup hot water

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp.. Lime juice

¼ cup tequila

2 tsp. Triple sec

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water and cool. Juice the lemon in the juicer. Juice the lime in the juicer. Add the rest of the ingredients to the water. Freeze in the Popsicle molds.

 

Lemon lime Ice Cubes

1 lemon

1 lime juiced

1 ¾ cups water

Sparkling mineral water

Juice the lemon. Add the juice to the water and freeze. Pour the mineral water over the cubes.

 

Lavender Grapefruit pops

2 grapefruit juiced

4 sprigs lavender

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. water

Juice the grapefruit and combine all the ingredients. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze.

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Thinking of starting a garden? Here’s a handy app

May 17, 2012 in Edible Garden

I don’t know about you but with Spring here and with all this juicing - I’m feeling inspired to try my hand at gardening.

I totally do not have a green thumb and will need all the help I can get!

So while digging up a little research about planting and at home gardens, I stumbled upon this cool iPhone app called Pocket Garden.

According to the description on the app page:

“Pocket Garden is the perfect resource for vegetable gardeners everywhere. With hundreds of vegetable types to select from, Pocket Garden provides a quick and easy way to research, select, and plant the perfect organic vegetable garden. With information on all kinds of seeds, from standards to hybrids, Pocket Garden is just what you need to get your garden right. Detailed, colorful photos get you ready for the planting season and provide a fun hobby.”

I’m downloading it and will give it a shot!

Do you know of any great apps, books or gardening websites to check out? I’ll continue to be on the hunt for this type of information and will report back when I find stuff.

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A great Mother’s Day menu using your Power Juicer

May 8, 2012 in Juicing Recipes

Have a happy and healthy Mother’s Day this year by trying some or all of these great-tasting, fresh and vitalizing recipes that you can create right from your Power Juicer:

Asparagus Soup

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed

1 Yukon gold potatoes

1 shallot, peeled

½ onion, peeled

3-cup chicken stock

Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Juice all the ingredients except chicken stock, into a medium pot. Add the pulp and the chicken stock to the pot. Place on the stove and cook for 40 minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper. Serve.

 

Peach Sparkler

8 peaches pitted

1 bottle sparkling wine

Juice the peaches and divide into 6 champagne glasses pour the sparling slowly into the glass.

 

 

 

 

Grilled vegetables with mango vinaigrette pictured above

2 mangoes, ripe peeled and pit removed

2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

Juice the mango and mix with the olive oil, vinegar. Mix well season with Sea salt and pepper. Place to the side.

Grilled Vegetables:

4 baby peppers

½ zucchini sliced

½ yellow squash sliced

1 bunch asparagus

Rub the vegetables with olive oil, sea salt and pepper and grill.

1 cup cooked red Quinoa

6 cups mixed baby greens

Assemble the greens with grilled vegetables and quinoa. Spoon the mango vinaigrette over the salad and serve

 


 

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