When you first start learning to juice it may feel like you will never have time to do anything else in your life. You have to make the juice fresh daily or at least every other day and depending on the type of juicer you have, it could take some time to prep all of your fruits and vegetables to get the job done.

Perhaps the issue of time is what has held you back from starting a juicing regime or maybe you used to love juicing buy lifestyle changes make it more difficult these days. This is completely understandable, but you don’t have to let juicing take over your world. You can incorporate it into your life without give up all of your free time.

First, get your thinking about juicing straight. Many people do think of juicing as lifestyle and they are willing to work their schedule around their juicing activities, but you don’t have to do that. If your life is more complicated and time is short, think of juicing as a healthy part of your life. This is something you are adding into your schedule, rather than something that will dictate your schedule.

Take the time to think about the main benefits you want to get from juicing. If you are trying to lose weight you probably want to use homemade juice to deliver nutrient-packed drinks that will give you the energy to get through tough workouts. If you are trying to live a healthy diet to preserve your health and youthfulness, then you probably want to use your fresh juice to deliver antioxidants and powerful phyto-nutrients to your body in large concentrations.

Once you know your main goal with juicing, think of simple ways to incorporate juicing either on a daily or weekly basis. If you are trying to lose weight and need your juices for energy, then whipping up fresh juice a few hours before a workout could be all you need. If you are trying to increase the antioxidants and nutrients you take in daily, then starting your day out with a fresh smoothie made with homemade juice could be the perfect routine.

Juicing can be a lot of fun if you have the time to stock the kitchen with every fruit and vegetable under the sun, prep them all, and play around with unique combinations and recipes found online. Yet, if you don’t have time for all that you don’t have to do all that to get the benefits you really want.

It is enough for many people to just find a few good juice recipes that they enjoy and which meet their most basic needs and goals. That cuts down on the amount of fresh produce you have to keep stocked (which cuts expenses) as well as the amount of time you have to invest in the juicing process.

One last tip that will really cut down on the amount of time you spend juicing: invest in a really good vegetable juicer that works fast. One that is good is the Breville Juice Fountain Elite. Many of the cheaper juicers take awhile to process and that is what makes the process a bit more costly in terms of time. Invest a bit more of your money for a very fast and highly efficient machine and you will have to invest a lot less time in the process.

Are You A Twin Gear Juicer

Hello good lookin’ are you ready to start cookin’? I’m the twin gear juicer and I am the cream of the crop. Juicing fanatics who will settle for only the best pay top dollar for me because they know I will outperform all the rest.

I have two gears that turn around one another to twist, press, and rip apart fresh produce in a more efficient manner than all other juicer types. I am worth more than other juicers because I break apart even the tiniest veins to release more nutrients for your body.

I work twice as hard so you can benefit twice as much!

My delicious juice is far more nutrient-packed than the juices you get from other juicers, but I also make more juice. I give you dryer pulp and about 25% more juice so your money stretches further with me on your counter. I can sometimes be made from bio-ceramics like the Green Star Juicers, and that makes me even better because it helps me pull out even more nutrients.

Unlike the other types of juicers, I love chewing through green leafy vegetables, including wheatgrass! I can actually turn them into chlorophyll drinks if you want…that’s how good I am!

I’m not going to be a good fit if you are on a tight budget unless you really shop for a great deal, but I promise I am worth every dollar on my price tag. I am the best juicer if you are serious about making juicing your way of life or if you just want really delicious, nutritious juice and will only settle for the best of the best.
The Wheatgrass Juicer

I’m the wheat grass juicer and obviously I’m just good for taking fresh wheat grass and turning it into healthy chlorophyll juice to nourish, heal and energize your body. I am very popular today because more people realize that chlorophyll can do wonders for the body and natural wheat grass juice is more beneficial than supplements. This was all started by Charles F. Schnabel back in the 1940s, but millions of people are benefiting from the knowledge today.

If you want to juice up a variety of veggies and fruits in addition to wheat grass you should look at the powerful masticating juicers or those elitist twin gear juicers, but if you just want a simple manual wheatgrass juicer to use on a casual basis, I’m your girl. I’m also very affordable, especially if I’m manual.

The Citrus Juicer

Half up those oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines because I’m ready to start squeezing them! I am the simple yet deliciously sweet citrus juicer and I can take any type of citrus fruit from large oranges to small limes and turn them into fresh juice in just minutes. You cut your fruits in half and press me down over them and I squeeze out juice rich in vitamin C. If you use oranges, I can also give you tons of potassium, thiamine and folate.

Sure, you could use those other juicer types to get juice from citrus juices, but there are two reasons to save your citrus just for me: I use much less oxygen and heat so your juices will last longer in the fridge and my juices are much higher quality than what you can achieve with any other type of juicer.

I only do citrus so you still need those other juicers, but you can’t do great citrus without me!

Which juicer personality makes you smile the most? Which one reminds you of yourself? Which one might be the best fit for your expectations, standards and budget?

Anyway you go you will have the ability to improve your health and general well being by drinking pure juices with no additives, colorings or preservatives and all their natural nutrients left intact.

Now that you have an idea what type of juicers are on the market and what their differences are, it’s time to start learning how these juicers can bring you greater health. It’s time to stock up on knowledge so you can hit the store and stock up on healthful, delicious fruits and vegetables!

Missed part 1, you can find it here What’s Your Juicing Personality?

Related articles

• Juicing Versus Blending: Is There A Difference? (freshstartjuicers.com)
• Yes I’m Going Green With My Juicer Machine (freshstartjuicers.com)
• A Bowl Of Wheatgrass And A Tablespoon Of Ranch (freshstartjuicers.com)

There are marketers out there that are trying to get you to buy these so called “energy drinks,” claiming they are good for recovery after a workout. But beware, these energy drinks are loaded with caffeine, sugar, and empty calories and don’t make a good recovery drink at all!

What you really need is something to replace those lost fluids and electrolytes. You can try a sports drink if you want, which is usually lower in sugar and higher in  electrolytes. What I like best, however, and can save you a little money is making your own recover drink. I love a fresh juice mix: pears, spinach and celery make a good combination.

According to Gloria Tsang, RD

“Energy drinks should have no place in our diet, but sports drinks may. Sports drinks can not only quench your thirst, but also replenish fuel and electrolyte loss. However, you do not need to purchase commercial sports drinks!”

You can read the full article here:

http://bit.ly/hrcuQQ

Okay, so how do you get started juicing? Following are 10 great tips that will help you get started successfully and stick with it long term:

1. Not all fruits are the same.

Fruits will give your juice the tangy, sweet flavors that most vegetables lack. There are a couple of things you should be aware of in regards to citrus fruits and melon. Not all juicers will work well with citrus fruits, so you may want to purchase a separate citrus juicer for those.

They are usually inexpensive and easy to use. But you can certainly peel them and cut them into pieces for you juicer, this works fine for wonderful juice combinations, but if you want just citrus go for that type of juicer.

Also, melon tends not to mix well with other fruit juices. Most other fruits can easily be juiced together in any combination you like!

Fruits are naturally high in sugar and can spike your blood sugar and create an imbalance, so be careful if you are sensitive to sugars. You may want to dilute them with water a bit.

2. Apple is the great sweetener for vegetable juices.

Not all fruits will work well with a heavy vegetable juice. If you are juicing with a nice blend of veggies you can use apple to sweeten and can save your other fruits for a nice fruity blend.

3. Keep it simple.

You don’t have to stuff five different vegetables and a few fruits into a single juice blend to get maximum benefits from juicing. Just pick 2-3 vegetables and perhaps toss in some apple for sweetness and you will have delicious and nutritious juice.

It’s the same with fruits. Picking just a couple to combine together will allow you to taste each fruit and enjoy the concoction more.

4. Drinking your juice prior to a meal is best.

Fresh homemade juices are great choices for snacks when you don’t have a lot of food in your stomach and are excellent just an hour or two prior to eating a large meal. Your body will absorb more of the nutrients and enzymes since the juice is sitting on an empty stomach and you will feel more full when you sit down to eat, which will help you control your portions so you eat less.

5. There are more fruits and vegetables out there than you know of.

Make it a point every time you go to the grocery store to explore new options in the fresh produce department. Scour local farmers markets and stop at those roadside stands where farmers direct sell their goods. You may find some delicious, nutritious fruits and vegetables that you don’t already know about!

6. Don’t juice up the same thing every day.

Your body needs a wide variety of nutrients, so make it a point to juice different fruits and vegetables on a daily or weekly basis. You can purchase in bulk for a week to save money, but make sure to change an ingredient or two every week. This will also keep you from getting bored with your juices.

7. Some fruits and vegetables do not turn into juice.

The consistency of different fruits and vegetables varies and some will turn into a puree rather than a juice. For instance, adding banana into a fruit smoothie gives it a thicker, creamier consistency. Fruits and vegetables with this consistency should be blended rather than juiced.

You can always make fresh juice and then pour some into a blender with these fruits and vegetables for a nice smoothie.

8. Leafy greens will work best if you squish them together prior to juicing.

Rather than just tossing a handful of spinach leaves into your juicer machine, ball them up together so they are more like a well formed piece of fruit. The juicer will work best with them this way.

9. Coffee filters eliminate pulp.

If you don’t want pulp in your juice you can use a coffee filter to keep the juice clear.

10. Lemon juice eliminates color changes in fresh juice.

Toss in a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon juice and your juice will not change colors while in the fridge!

Juicing for maximum health benefits doesn’t have to be a radical change in your life. It can be a delicious addition to your current diet that you enjoy and look forward to!

Everyone loves a quiz, especially when the results give a brief glimpse into your soul. This isn’t exactly a quiz, but it is a fun way to break down the different types of juicing machines on the market today and determine what type fits best with your life.

Here are the juicer types on the market today and a brief introduction to their personalities.

Which ones remind you of yourself? Which ones have a personality that blends well with your…

• Budget
• Expectations
• Standards

All three of these things are important when picking out a home juicer because you won’t be happy if the machine doesn’t meet all of your expectations and deliver juice that fits your standards for health and nutrition. Of course, you are always bound by your budget!

Without further ado, meet and mingle with your juicing options…

The Centrifugal Juicer

Hello! I am the most basic juicer on the market. I am perfect for juicing newbies because I am usually the most affordable type of juicer on the market. I can work with most fruits and vegetables, but not all, and can often juice up larger pieces of fruits and vegetables than many other types of juicers can handle. That means I am a bit faster and won’t make you do a lot of chopping. I have to admit it means I often have a big mouth, especially if you go with a whole fruit juicer.

My speeds typically range from 3600 RPM to 13,000 RPM, so you can see I am quite fast. I am usually very easy to use and cleaning me is a breeze since many of my parts love splashing through the dishwasher.

No one likes to speak poorly of themselves, but since I have a big mouth I’ll give you a tip: I ‘m not the best choice for working with leafy green vegetables, but I sure taste yummy!

I may be your dream come true if you are on a tight budget or want something very simple to use. Sadly, I won’t meet your expectations if you like juicing wheatgrass and other leafy greens or if you want the richest juice possible, I give it my all.

The Masticating Juicer

Step back and watch me in action! I’m the masticating juicer and I am long, lean and packed with muscle. My genuine personality shines through when you pick up a Champion juicer, but there are also some versions of me that use other processes that work a bit differently. They still get to use my “”masticating” title, but the Champions resemble my genuine charm.

As a single gear juicer I crush open fruits and veggies, smashing the crushed veins against a screen to squeeze out the wholesome goodness your body craves. In Champion form I use a three phase process to flex my muscle and pulverize almost any fruit or vegetable you throw my way.

Despite my muscle and forceful charm, I am also be quite tall and slender like the Omega Vert 350 juicer. I don’t take up a lot of kitchen space and am easily stored away when you don’t need me. Unlike the centrifugal juicer I operate at a slower pace, allowing my muscle to do the work rather than relying upon speed. Due to this slow nature my juice is less foamy and contains a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals because oxidation doesn’t occur when you take it slow.

One other difference between me and the centrifugal juicer is my juicers won’t be completely smooth unless you run it through a sieve. I may leave small bits of pulp with some fruits, but it’s nothing a quick filter won’t fix and frankly if you’re serious about the sport this is what it takes!

Oh yeah, and there is a dual stage masticating juicer…it’s a different side of my personality! I push my muscle further to squeeze out even more juice after smashing the pulp against a screen. The Omega Juicer 8003 juicer or the Tribest SoloStar-II Juicer SS9002 are great examples of my flexing power in action.

If you want a reasonably priced juicer that contains a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals than the centrifugal juicer can produce, I’m your man! You can consider me the middle of the market, though with these smoking guns I consider myself worthy of any kitchen counter.

Part 2 coming soon.

I made a real tasty juice this afternoon. I was quite surprised. I had a couple of sweet potatoes and decided to juice them up.

I added a couple of carrots and a couple of apples as well. I added a small piece of ginger and then topped it off with freshly grated nutmeg. Yumm.

I’ve been working on some nice recipes to add to my e-Book which will be coming out in the next couple of days. I think this one is a contender.

I’ll let you know about the e-Book as soon as it is completed. I had a lot of fun creating it and even more fun coming up with some delicious recipes that I think you all will enjoy.

Parents have a difficult job. Fear is everywhere, and if we responded to all the adverts around us, making us afraid of the air we breathe and the water we drink, we’d live a sad, drab life. Most of us struggle to find the right food for our children. They need liquid, they need vitamins, they need fiber and they need protein.

Sadly many of the popular drinks contain only carbohydrates, and rather too much of that, they are also expensive. I found that my kids would drink cans, but they had learned so much about pollution at school that when I suggested water as a substitute they thought I was mad.

The problem with cola/soda is that it’s sweet and kids get used to that. It can also contain caffeine which has more effect on small bodies than it does on adults. In fact when you get right down to it, you wonder why we let them drink it all. There are many alternatives. Sparkling water is one, smoothies are another.

Most of us think of smoothies as creamy drinks, and this is great initially when you are persuading your kids to try them out. Imagine if you could persuade your children to drink something which supplied them with the water they needed AND lots of minerals and vitamins, without the caffeine and excessive sweetness? Guess what? That ideal drink’s a smoothie, so you’ll need a blender. I like the Blendtec Blender HP3A.

Take a look at any smoothie recipe and one thing that will jump right out at you is the sugar content. Although smoothies are made with real fruit, modern tastes seem to prefer food which is far sweeter.

The good things about this is that the sweet tooth is learned, so it can be unlearned. Ask anyone from outside the USA and they’ll tell you that everything here tastes sweet to them, often too sweet, in comparison to the food in other countries.

Here are three smoothie recipes to help with the process.

1. The original ice cream drink. It’s important to use strawberries and bananas here because they are nice familiar fruits – don’t try to introduce anything weird or wonderful. If you can’t get strawberries because of the time of year, frozen ones taste great.

Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream Drink

1 large banana

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

3-4 fresh strawberries

Blend them all to make a refreshing drink that’s great for the summer.

2. Staying with nice, familiar strawberries, blend them with fruit juice and start to introduce some other fruit.

Pineapple and Strawberry Smoothie

8 large strawberries

1/2 banana

3 pineapple slices

1 cup of apple juice (no added sweetener)

If this isn’t sweet enough, try adding just a little honey.

Blend it all together until smooth and then add 1 cup of crushed ice as the final touch.

3. This last recipe introduces melon. I love the taste of melon, especially water melon, but I’ve never been able to persuade my kids to eat it. This recipe had the opposite effect. They liked the drink and so were curious about the fruit. The happy result is a house full of melon eaters.

Strawberry Fair

2 cups fresh strawberries hulled and chopped

1 cup apple juice

1/2 melon peeled and chopped into chunks.

As always, add honey if required.

I like to add ice cubes once the fruit is all smushed (technical term) together, the kids seem to enjoy the destruction involved!

Weaning your kids off cola is no easy job, but it’s very worthwhile, especially if you can do it by introducing smoothies. You might just succeed in teaching them that not everything that’s good for you tastes bad.

Children seem remarkably resilient and can survive on an amazingly junk food diet, but processed food contains less vitamins and minerals and these are necessary not just for health and growth, but as a foundation for health in later life.

The easiest way to access vitamins and minerals directly is through fruit and vegetables, but children often reject these, finding green vegetables unpalatable, and preferring sweetened desserts to raw fruit. It’s amazing how kids can be convinced that foods will only taste good if covered in breadcrumbs, wrapped in a bun, smothered with sugar or at the very least sealed in a packet.

Children need to consume the right foods and perhaps more importantly, get into the right habits, so as parents how can we persuade them?

Good nutrition is a complex issue, not least because there is so much variation between one person and another. Tests have shown that two apparently identical individuals living similar lifestyles can have very different amounts of vitamins and minerals in their blood.

We all know that vitamins are essential, but did you know that minerals, in tiny quantities are also vital to the operation of our bodies, and that no matter how many drugs we consume, without minerals we cannot function properly?

The minerals we need in large quantities are:

calcium
chlorine
magnesium
phosphorous
potassium
sodium and
sulfur

But there are even more which are vital to the body in extremely tiny amounts. They act as catalysts in many of the chemical reactions in our bodies, and without them we would die very quickly.

Zinc is an example. Nutritionists believe we need around 8-11 mg per day to stay healthy, a tiny amount by any standards, but vital as zinc is essential in the operation of over 100 enzymes. Zinc is used by the metabolism, and the immune system. It is also important for proper growth, and a serious deficiency can result in growth problems.

Most fruits and vegetables contain some zinc, but some, avocado, blackberries, dates,raspberries and pomegranates contain more, so if your children refuse to eat zinc rich green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, french beans or corn, you can always give them their minerals in fruit form, and if that is still not acceptable, create a fruit smoothie using a Vita Mix blender. A cup of Brussels sprouts has roughly the same amount of zinc in it as a cup of raspberries, but for kids, the raspberry smoothie is likely to be a lot more palatable.

Here’s a recipe.

Take one cup of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup of raspberries

Blend them all together with your Vita Mix Blender and taste. If it’s too tart, add just enough honey. If you’re just starting with smoothies make them with ice cream in place of the yogurt and milk and present it to your children as a treat. If you have to over sweeten to begin with, don’t worry. You can reduce the sweetening slowly over time.

Who should have healthy smoothies? The simple answer is everyone. Using zinc again as an example, recent surveys have shown that 35-45% of adults over 60 have diets which are deficient in zinc, resulting in loss of taste and smell as well as lethargy and loss of appetite.

Whatever your age, vitamins and minerals are essential to your health, so get out your blender or juicer and start experimenting. It may be healthy, but it’s also fun.

If you aren’t sure that the juicing lifestyle is for you, ask yourself if any of these statements are true for where you are in life right now:

1. I need to lose weight to avoid or reverse serious health issues.I want to lose weight to feel and look better.
2. I want to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
3. I am concerned about the chemicals in food I feed my family.
4. I am trying to stick to a vegetarian or raw foods diet.

If any of these statements could be applied to your life at this time, then juicing will help you get where you want to be. If you want to lose weight, drinking fresh juice will help in many ways. You will have more energy to get through your workouts.

You will feel fuller due to the high level of nutrients in the juice, which helps stop cravings and sensations of hunger. You will also be able to control the calories in your juice by leaving out the sugar that is often included in bottled juice.

If you are concerned with your impact on the environment, there is nothing better you could do then start juicing! You can use fresh vegetables and fruits to create completely natural juices and you won’t be littering the earth with all of those empty plastic bottles.

If you are trying to switch to a raw foods diet, vegetarian, or vegan diet, juicing will make it much easier to stick to this new way of life. Eating a ton of fresh vegetables may be difficult to do every day, but when you juice them up and consume them in delicious combination’s it is much easier.

Even parents are starting to turn to juicing as a way to combat the growing rate of childhood obesity. Store bought juices are part of the problem because children drink too much of them and the sugar content leads to weight gain and problems with blood sugar.

Fresh homemade juice without any extra sugar or preservatives is very healthy for children and ensures they get the nutrients they need to grow even if they hate vegetables!

Juice can be something that you buy at the store and think little about, or it can become something that you enjoy and benefit from every day. The choice is yours, but with all the benefits to juicing vegetables it is worth learning more about.

Juice seems like such a simple thing. Every grocery store has an aisle lined with juices of every imaginable color. Some are made from fruit, others vegetables, and still others a blend of both. There are even “light” juices on the market for those watching their calories and low sodium vegetable juices. Juice is a part of our modern world and most people never think much about it.

Then there are those who do think about juice even when they aren’t in the grocery store. They think about juice every day because it is a way of life for them.

How can juice be a way of life? It is a way of life when you discover all the benefits of drinking pure juices created in your own home.

Consider just some of the facts about juicing:

• Fresh homemade juice can pack more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and nutrients than an entire meal.
• Juice made at home has richer color than store bought juices.
• Homemade juice tastes better than store bought juices.
• Consuming fresh juice daily delivers a natural energy boost.
• The phyto-nutrients in fresh juice can protect the body from deadly diseases, including cancer.

There clearly are many benefits to drinking juice, but the bottled juices you find at the grocery store aren’t going to cut it. If you really want to enjoy these benefits for your body, you need to purchase a juicer and make your own juice blends at home. This eliminates the extra sugar and salt that store bought juices include. It also ensures that you are not drinking preservatives which are unhealthy for your body.

When you start making your own juice you have the convenience of creating your own unique flavor blends and making the juice fresh whenever you want it. With a good juicer you can quickly turn whole fruits and vegetables into delicious juice that is richer in color and taste than juices selling in the stores.

Fresh juice made in your home won’t last as long as bottled juices in the refrigerator, but you can make enough juice for a couple days at a time. This may be a little less convenient then stocking up on enough bottled juice to last a month, but you are giving your body more of those powerful phyto-nutrients and antioxidants.

Your fresh juice will also taste better than juices bought in the store!