The Benefits of Juicing

Is there a better way to start a new day than with a home-made juice?  This morning’s looked as delicious as it tasted.  It’s that shade of green you see, I just can’t resist it.  Must be my Irish blood.

Are you a juicer?  Juicy Jason Vale is the guy who taught me about the energy-boosting power of drinking your veggies and fruits.  I didn’t get it – surely it’s better to eat the stuff and get the benefit of all that fibre? 

But would I – and my 11 yr old – really have sat down this morning to a breakfast of spinach, cucumber, lemon, carrots and apples?  Yet that’s exactly what we drank. 

Drinking fresh veggie/fruit juices make you feel really good, it’s all those living enyzmes and vital nutrients  you’re getting.  And the benefits of juicing are not simply about its nutritional value, it’s also the natural high of knowing you’re treating your body with love and respect.  Esteeming and honouring it.  Can we really value our clients if we haven’t learnt how to value ourselves?

Yes, those of us running our own small businesses with a staff of precisely, erm, one, owe it to ourselves to use the highest quality fuel for our bodies.  We are our business, after all.  And if we aren’t walking our talk, can we really ask our clients to walk theirs?

In case you’re a juice virgin, here are some tips to get you started…

• There are heaps of different juicers on the market, some with price tags to make your eyes sting.  The main difference with the pricier models is that they are likely to have a larger chute (less chopping required), extract more juice and be quieter.  I have been using the Moulinex Juice Master which is endorsed by Jason Vale and very reasonably priced at around £50. 
• Juices made with more fruit than veg are delicious but if you’re watching your weight be careful, they can be calorific.  Aim to go heavy on the veggies, a taste that you acquire easily over time.
• Carrots and apples form the base for a lot of juices and certainly all of mine.  They give you a sweetness that makes the juice palatable, particularly when you are starting out but do experiment with adding in various other vegetables and fruits.  My own favourites are spinach, celery, beetroot, limes, cucumber, kiwis, lemons, pears, pineapple, ginger but you can try cauliflower, parsnips, dandelion greens, garlic, parsley, grapes, oranges, tangerines and many more.  Oh, and one essential addition to all my juices is a handful of ice cubes
• Some people are put off juicing by the perceived expense, time needed and the mess.  I calculate that my daily juice costs around £2 (or €3) for two of us.  And that’s a brimming half pint glass each.  It takes me under ten minutes to find, wash, cut and juice my ingredients then about 5 minutes to clean the juicer.  It’s always worth cleaning out the removable parts of your juicer immediately when they rinse off easily.  It’s a little messier than pouring yourself a bowl of Coco Pops but the results and benefits are on different planets
• Your juice needs to be drunk fresh in order to get the full benefit of the live enzymes so preferably within half an hour but if you want to take one to work with you, pop it in a flask with some ice cubes and it will still be good at lunchtime.
• You can’t juice bananas!