Bottling Strawberry/Aloe Juice

Today, I picked some Aloe while outside mowing the lawn and then made a lovely Strawberry/Aloe Juice!!! It wasn't sweet but still refreshing! Of course I could have added honey but preferred the red juice in its most natural state!

The plump, juicy strawberries I used were local and farm fresh from The Veggie Bin.

In "The Juiceman's Power of Juicing," Jay Kordich says: "Strawberries are high in potassium and iron, which is good for strengthening the blood. The sodium content makes them a valuable tonic for nerves and for keeping glands healthy, which explains why they are considered 'youth' food."

Strawberries are also know for their wonderful vitamin C content and "natural sugars that cleanse the system," Kordich explains.

What a perfect food for spring cleansing!

Why not sip on some Strawberry Juice?

Strawberry/Aloe Hugs,

Penny

A Cruciferous Veggie/Ginger Juice

Who would think all of these ingredients are in this juice: Carrot, Cauliflower, Bok Choy, Kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts (1/2 of a whole stalk with sprouts), Parsley, and Ginger? You could end up with a little spicy after-taste, but popping a Barhi Date in the mouth so nicely counteracts that!

Cheers,

Penny

My Answers to the Cons of Juicing

Donna McGee, studio manager at Life's Journey Yoga & Wellness, shared this article with me: The Pros and Cons of Juicing by Jo Cavallo.

Below, I've quoted some of the cons that the writer lists followed by "my answers" to them!

Here goes...

Article: "However, there are some drawbacks to juicing. For one, the process of juicing eliminates fiber."

My answer: Because we would typically balance juicing with eating whole foods or making smoothies (in blender) that retain fiber, it wouldn't be as if we are completely eliminating fiber from our overall diet. The chance to nourish the body while eliminating the process of heavy digesting...giving the digestive system a well-needed break...is invaluable, I think.

Article: "One of the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables is to increase your source of heart- and digestive-healthy fiber."

My answer: It's all about balance: eat some, blend some (the smoothie made in blender keeps the fiber). Then, juice, too, for that instant-dose-of-nutrition opportunity! I think the optimum word here is "balance." Juicing doesn't have to take over the whole diet, unless one is juice fasting or such for a certain period of time.

Article: "Also keep in mind that unless you drink your home-squeezed juice right away, you run the risk of contamination by exposing it to air and pathogens."

My answer: I think this juice-and-immediately-consume-it process is a beautiful thing! Fresh juicing, fresh drinking! Why wouldn't we want to get the nutrients from the juice into the body as soon as we can? Isn't that far better than drinking juice that has sat on a store shelf for weeks? Plus, we don't need a huge glass of fresh juice to receive the nutritional benefits, so it shouldn't be tough at all to get the fresh juice consumed soon after juicing the produce.

Article: "And then there is the expense of buying a juicer and the time investment needed to prepare the fruits and vegetables you're using and the cleanup afterward."

My answer: There are juicers to fit varying budgets. For anyone who is a regular consumer of store-brought juice, well, before long or over time, they'll eventually end up paying the cost of a juicer for juices they've been purchasing. Plus, with juicing, there are no bottles or containers to dispose of after juicing, so it's easy to see why juicing would be an eco-friendly choice when it comes to consuming juices.

Regarding the time investment element, is it really that bad to take a little bit of time out to push some produce through a juicer and clean the equipment when we're done? Many people spend far more time cooking a full-course meal in front of the stove/oven...which often requires far more prep and cleaning time than the overall juicing process? And, by the way, quite often, that one fresh juice is far healthier than the full-course cooked meal. I think the "time investment" is something that can be viewed differently with a little shift in perspective.

Happy Juicing! :-)

Penny

HoneyBell Oranges Galore

Heaven rained Honeybell Oranges down on my family!!! Thank you! Thank you! xoxo

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Genesis 1:29 KJV

Five of the oranges in the above bin filled up this glass...with a little left over.

Learn about these tasty oranges at http://www.honeybelloranges.net/.

"...You can’t hear or go through something about FL citrus without noticing the phrase Honeybell oranges. They are the sweetest, juiciest, and merely the very best..." ~Honeybell Oranges

Juicing Fresh, Local Oranges from The Veggie Bin

Jan. 27, 2011

Cheers to week two of receiving my bin of local, seasonal, farm-fresh produce from The Veggie Bin in Jacksonville, FL. Now that I've picked up my bin that was delivered to Life's Journey Yoga & Wellness, well, all that's left to do is nourish myself and my family with the varied produce. One simple way to do that is to JUICE some of it, starting with the oranges tucked away in the bin of the day.

For this juicing adventure, all I have to do is peel the oranges...leaving as much as the white pith on them as possible...and then feed them through my juicer. In seconds, voilà, I'll have a glass of tasty orange juice up to my mouth!

"...By law, orange juice sold in cartons and bottles in the supermarket is pasteurized, a process that kills life-giving enzymes. .....because most of the vitamin C dissipates shortly after juice is made, many manufacturers add synthetic vitamin C to bolster the content. Still others add sugar for sweetening. None of this is necessary if you juice your own oranges.....What emerges is a thick, foamy drink with a heavenly creamy color." ~Jay Kordich in "The Juiceman's Power of Juicing"

By the way, if the orange juice doesn't turn out to be as sweet as you would like it to be, perhaps add the fresh juice of an apple or two to it (one of my son's favorites). Or, just stir in a little local honey or cinnamon in place of the apple. Smile at the life-giving enzymes you'll be feeding your body!

Happy Orange Juicin'...

Penny

Update: Jan. 28, 2011

To a friend of mine who also gets a bin from The Veggie Bin delivered to Life's Journey each week, I texted this note: "Just juiced oranges from bin. Only oranges....peel and juice...delicious! Wow! Took everything in me to share." LOL

Yes, the flavor of these juiced oranges was incredible. Seriously! Of course, the flavor can vary from orange to orange, but the orange juice from the oranges in my bin were certainly tasty.

In The Juiceman's Power of Juicing, Jay Kordich talks about how his mother used to squeeze fresh oranges, but he says it wasn't really juicing, because "she simply rotated the halved oranges on a reamer and pressed them in a squeezer." He explains that was simply "rubbing tissues against membranes and creating" what he calls "orange water. It may taste healthy," he says, "but has few of the health benefits of orange juice made in the juicer."

So just what is in orange juice other than the obvious vitamin C? Kordich's list also includes: "B complex, bioflavonoids, potassium, zinc and phosphorous. Orange juice "contains almost all of the oranges' food value," he writes. "Consumed pure, it is a perfect balance of nutrients."

Note: The orange juice I made (pictured above) was actually a little brighter in color than the picture shows.

Bottling the Power of Juicing

"Drinking freshly made juices and eating enough whole foods to provide adequate fiber is a sensible approach to a healthful diet. But incorporating juice into your life does so much more. The abundance of live, uncooked foods flushes your body of toxins, leaving you feeling refreshed, energized, and relaxed all at the same time." ~Jay Kordich, The Juiceman's Power of Juicing

I ran into a dear friend today who had seen my juicing Tip Clip on LaBarefootStudio.com. She inquired about a good juicer that she could purchase and mentioned that since the juice is extracted from the fiber when juicing, perhaps it would be a good idea to add Mila to the juice.

While the body definitely needs fiber and I'm a huge fan of Mila, juicing allows the body to immediately get to the business of assimilating nutrients by bypassing the process of digestion. "Ahh," the body must say. "You're fueling me without me having to digest all that food first. Yay!" :-)

Foods with fiber must undergo digestion. Juicing pushes digestion out of the equation. So, with fresh juices, nutrients immediately go where they need to go within the body. This is the reason why juicing is often the emphasis at healing retreats and such, as this process allows the body to, like I said, get right to the business of healing!

To help you better understand the science of why fiber is extracted from the juice during juicing, I'll quote Juicing Expert Jay Kordich, author of "The Juicemans' Power of Juicing" -- which has been my juicing reference book for many years.

Kordich explains:

"When we eat fresh fruits and vegetables, our bodies extract as liquid what they need from the fiber, which passes on to the lower digestive tract. For all intents and purposes, the extracted liquid is juice, containing the same elements as the juice you make in your kitchen with the juicer. By drinking juice, you are eliminating a digestive process -- extracting the liquid from the fiber -- and efficiently supplying the body with nutrients. The juicer separates the juice from the fiber so that what you drink is pulp-free and your body receives the maximum amount of nutrients in minutes."

Since "nutrients lose a lot of value soon after juicing," you get fresher juice by juicing yourself rather than getting juice from the store. Also, what you juice will not be pasteurized, therefore, you'll be consuming liquid bursting with life.

Plus, you won't add any additives or preservatives, right? :-) Of course we need fiber, so one must balance juicing with fiber-rich foods (and the whole food Mila certainly helps with that). That's why juicing and blending (fiber retained) go hand in hand for me!

Kordich says:

"I get my fiber by eating around the juicer. The juice always comes first when I am planning what I will eat."