Juicing recipes – benefits of juicing

Juicing can be an excellent way to get more nutrients, use fruits and vegetables, and encourage you to follow a healthier diet. Unfortunately, it can be costly when you realize how much produce is used for each glass of juice.

Budget-Friendly Juicing

The following information will allow you to stick to any type of budget and still adopt a juicing lifestyle.

1. CSAs and Farmer’s Markets
If you want to start juicing for your health, the first thing to consider is your budget. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of fresh produce to juice on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to cut back on costs!

The first thing you should consider is where you buy your produce. Some of the most popular options when buying large amounts and saving money in the process is to go through local farmers, such as farmer’s markets, CSAs, and co-ops.

Here is some information about each of these options.

CSA
The first option, which is often more convenient for people, is a community supported agriculture (CSA) program. CSAs might work differently depending on where you live, but typically you get a box every week or month with your fresh produce. These are often from local farmers, offered at a substantial discount, and not produce you pick yourself.

Many CSAs have different types of boxes, like choosing a small or large box, deciding how often to get a new box, and deciding between just fruits, just vegetables, or a mixture of both.

Some of the CSAs will require you to pick it up at a local farm location, or have it dropped off at your door weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

Co-Op
Your next option for getting affordable produce from your local farmers is with a co-op. This is similar to a CSA, except instead of having a box delivered to you on a routine basis with produce you didn’t choose, you go to a location that is more similar to a small supermarket.

You will need to become part of the co-op, which usually requires signing up and paying a small fee to be a member. Then you go to the local co-op location where you pick up produce as needed, which is usually provided by local farmers or other members of the co-op.

This is often much cheaper than if you were to buy all your produce for juicing at local supermarkets or even health food stores.

Farmer’s Market
You can also find a local farmer’s market, where you not only buy fresh produce, but often find herbs, spices, premade food and snacks, flowers, and a lot of other fun goodies. The trick here is to pay attention to the prices of produce found at the farmer’s market, compared to what it might be priced elsewhere.

There is still a benefit of getting organic, local produce at farmer’s markets, but if sticking to a budget is your main goal, you still want to shop around and know what the good deals are.

2. Growing Your Produce
This is an optional step to take toward saving money on juicing, but one that can be incredibly useful. It is not recommended that you do it when you first start juicing, but if over time, you find yourself wanting to juice daily or multiple times a day, but are struggling with the cost of fresh produce, it is something to look into.

There are of course a few things to consider with growing your produce. For example:

Caring for the produce can sometimes be time and labor-intensive.
You need to live in a climate allowing you to grow the produce.
You might not have it year-round, depending on your climate.
You must have good soil.

Produce You Only Have to Grow Once
Since you are looking to save money while juicing, it can help to simplify the growing process even more by looking at what you can grow more than once. With these vegetables and fruits, you can use part of the harvested vegetable to keep re-growing it, while others (like tomatoes) just keep growing.

They include:

With the tomatoes, they will keep growing on the vine until you remove it, where avocados can grow from the pit of a previous avocado. Carrots re-grow by using the carrot tops.

3. Organic Vs. Non-Organic
Let’s talk about the difference between organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables. As you know, organic produce can be considerably higher in price, which is, of course, going to make a big dent in your budget. If you are just starting, you can choose all non-organic produce if you prefer. However, there may come a certain point when you want to switch to a more organic approach.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all produce needs to be organic, where it is grown without using a lot of pesticides and other chemicals. However, there are 12 common fruits and vegetables on a list called the dirty dozen, which typically use more chemicals than other types of produce.

If you are going to buy organic, start with just those on the dirty dozen list. These include:

4. Choosing Your Produce Wisely
This last section is going to go over what type of produce to choose for juicing, especially when you are first starting. These tips not only help you simplify the juicing process but also help you to curb costs, so you aren’t using your entire food budget just on produce for your juice.

Go for High Water Content
The reason juicing can sometimes be expensive is because it uses a lot of produce to create enough juice to fill a glass. If you are juicing for multiple family members or more than once a day, the costs add up very quickly.

One of the best things you can do is focus more on the fruits and vegetables with high water content. You will get more liquid, water, and juice from these fruits and vegetables, which allow them to go further, requiring less of the other ingredients you decide to add.

You probably already know some of the fruits and vegetables that have a high water content based on using them for your meals. Some of the more obvious ones include celery, cucumber, some lettuces, and fruits like tomatoes. Also think of other options that have a lot of juice or water content, such as:

Select Cheaper Produce
After you have chosen the best places to get your fruits and vegetables (and herbs) for juicing, you will then want to cut back on costs even more. Sometimes you can’t find what you need in a CSA box or a farmer’s market, and then need to visit your local grocery store. It helps to know what produce is going to cost a little less, but still go a long way to having delicious, healthy juice every day.

Some of the cheapest types of produce include your lemons, limes, celery, apples, and cucumbers. Other fruits that are often more affordable include watermelon, pears, papaya, nectarines, kiwi, honeydew, grapefruit, bananas, apricots, avocados (depending on where you live), and tangerines.
For more affordable vegetables, turn to carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli, parsley, and some greens.

Start with Minimal Juicing Recipes

Finally, when you start juicing, don’t try to use 10 different types of fruits and vegetables in a single glass of juice. Your costs will be outrageous, and the recipes will most likely keep you from wanting to juice every day. It can be fun in the beginning, then you realize how much work is involved, and quit pretty fast.

To save more money and make juicing a simple, healthy activity to participate in daily, look for more simplified recipes. Try to stick to just a handful of produce with each juicing recipe, making sure to include those greens since they increase the health of your juice, and won’t cost much either.

Simple Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less
Here are a few juicing recipes you can start with, that use affordable produce and only minimal varieties.

Simple green juice – For a basic green juice, start with greens of your choice, like kale or spinach. Add in some pineapple (without the skin), a green apple, and ½ to a full cucumber. Simple and delicious!

Berry juice – If you prefer more of a fruity, berry flavor, you can do mostly berries, but should still add a vegetable with a neutral flavor, like celery. Add in however many berries you want for juicing, a couple of apples, some celery, and a peeled lemon or orange.

Tropical green juice – To make it more tropical, just pick 2-3 tropical fruits and combine it with spinach and kale, or a mixture of both. Try some cantaloupe, papaya, and mango, adding in an apple for extra sweetness and to cover up the greens flavor.

Juicing Grocery List

Equipment:
* Juicer or Blender
* Sharp knife

Fruits:
* Apples
* Bananas
* Limes
* Lemons
* Strawberries
* Cherries
* Blueberries
* Raspberries
* Blackberries
* Pineapple
* Mango
* Watermelon
* Grapefruit
* Oranges

Vegetables:
* Kale
* Spinach
* Lettuce
* Cucumber
* Carrots

Extras:
* Ginger
* Cayenne pepper
* Parsley
* Mint
* Basil
* Cilantro
* Coconut water

This list will go over all the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other ingredients mentioned in each recipe. It is a great way to start, though of course, you can pick up any fruits and vegetables you like!

Some of the recipes mention coconut water. While you can use any type of water or liquid, coconut water has a lot of electrolytes, which is why it is often recommended for juicing. While during this challenge you are just having one drink again, and not necessarily replacing a meal with it, you should always use coconut water when having juice as a meal replacement. This gives you the necessary electrolytes and nutrients you might be missing from a traditional meal.

Choosing a Juicer

Once you have purchased your produce, you will need to buy a juicer. There are many different juicers on the market, from low-speed and high-speed juicers, to single-serving juicers and even professional-grade appliances. Your budget and the amount of juicing you intend to do often determine which one is best for you.

We have provided a list of the top-selling juicers on Amazon to help you compare them.

Centrifugal Juicers

First of all, there are high-speed juicers, also known as centrifugal juicers. These juicers are going to use a higher speed to shred through the fruit and vegetables and extract as much juice as possible.

They usually contain a basket that collects shreds and pulp so that it doesn’t end up in your juice. Surprisingly, these are usually less expensive than the masticating or cold press juicers.

Masticating or Cold Press Juicers

The higher-priced juicers are the lower-speed varieties. These are more expensive because they often get more juice since they work more slowly. You also produce less heat and also less noise when using them. These are ideal when you want to use a lot of greens, such as kale and spinach.

Citrus Juicers

Using Your Blender: Juicing vs. Blending

If you don’t currently have the budget for a juicer, that’s okay! You can use your ordinary blender to make juice. Just make sure it is a high-quality blender and that you chop the ingredients before putting them inside the blender.

You want to grind up the soft ingredients with liquid first, followed by the solid ingredients. You will need to extract the pulp by using cheesecloth when you’re finished, so it does take a little more work.

One thing you should remember about juicing is that even though you are using vegetables like kale, spinach, and celery, your juice isn’t going to taste like a nasty combination of vegetables. The fruit is actually what helps to sweeten it up. If you have ever had a green juice before, you know it tastes more like the apples and berries than the many vegetables. This is one of the beauties of juicing!

Tips For Making Juice

First, let’s go over some basic tips of juicing, and then we will get to the challenge. If you are using a high-powered juicer, you don’t need to chop the vegetables and fruits much. Most of them can go right into the juicer. Even strawberry’s stems can be placed in the juicer. Here are some tips to follow when you are making your juice.

Wash everything beforehand – Make sure you wash all of your fruits, veggies, herbs, and other ingredients first. This is especially important when using fresh produce (which is recommended). However, drying it isn’t necessary.

Read the juicer’s manufacturer instructions – All juicers are just a little bit different, so take a few minutes reading the manufacturer’s instructions before you get started.

Start with softer items first – The softest and most delicate produce should be added first, with the harder and coarser ingredients last. First ingredients are usually greens and softer fruits, followed by hard fruits like apples and mango.

Drink it the same day – Juice is best when you drink it within 24 hours of making it. If you want to store it for another time, freezing it is much better than placing it in the refrigerator if you aren’t going to enjoy it within a day.

Start juicing with produce you are familiar with – When you are new to juicing, starting with familiar ingredients is usually best. Then you can gradually experiment with juice as you get more used to the different flavor combinations.

Put the pulp back through the juicer – When you end up with all that pulp, go ahead and put it back through the juicer one more time. You might get a little more fresh juice from it!

Juicing Recipes

For today’s challenge, you are going to make your very first juice! Follow these juicing tips and try out this easy recipe. The first recipe includes basic ingredients for a juice that is very easy to make. It contains only fruit, so it is good for most palates.

Juice Recipe #1: Berry-Apple Juice

This is a simple berry apple juice to get started with. You can use any berries you like for it.

Ingredients

* 3 cups of berries (strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries recommended)
* 2 large apples
* ¼ lemon
* ¼ lime

Directions

Place the berries in the juicer, followed by ¼ of lemon and ¼ of a lime. Finish with 2 large apples, cut into pieces. Juice the fruit, then add it to a glass with.

For day 2, we are going to focus on adding greens to your juice. Don’t be intimidated – your juice will still be sweet and flavorful as long as you are also adding fruit to the juice! You’re not quite ready for a juice with only vegetables; that comes later.

Before we get into the challenge, this is a good time to discuss the many health benefits of juicing. This encourages you to keep drinking juice each day even after the challenge. Remember juice can either be your breakfast or other meal, snack or simply a great way to get more nutrients into your daily diet.

The Health Benefits of Juicing

Juicing is similar to making a smoothie, but you aren’t using frozen produce in most cases, and you are not adding a cream-based ingredient like milk or yogurt. Due to that, the juice is typically lower in fat and calories, but still has a high amount of nutrients. Here are some of the benefits of juicing:

You get a lot of vitamins and minerals – If you don’t eat a lot of produce on its own, this is the perfect opportunity for you. It is easy to get your day’s worth of produce just in a couple of glasses of juice a day. Juicing lets, you get a wide range of vitamins and minerals that you might not get with the other foods you eat.

It allows you to try different fruits and vegetables – You can also try some different fruits and vegetables, and other additives when you start juicing. Perhaps you have always been afraid to try kale, or you think dragonfruit looks interesting but weren’t too sure about it. Adding more produce to your juice is an ideal way to get creative.

It is a low-caloric way to replace meals – Juice is also a good way to replace meals during the day. While you probably don’t want to drink only juice all day long, if you are looking for a convenient meal replacement, the juice is a wonderful choice. It is low in fat and calories, only contains natural sugar from the fruit, and can be frozen in batches, so you always have some juice that is ready to enjoy.

You can use a lot of superfoods – Superfoods are different foods, primarily fruits, and veggies, that contain a high amount of nutrients. Juicing uses quite a bit of them so that you can be an even healthier person!

Now you are going to try something different with your juice. You are going to add greens! Try to include greens that you have rarely had, haven’t really enjoyed, or have always been curious about but haven’t tried before. This might be a handful of kale, spinach, or even some celery along with your favorite type of lettuce. Remember to add the greens first, followed by juicing the rest of the ingredients.

Recipe #2: Kale, Cucumber and Pineapple Juice

For today’s new recipe, you are going to add some greens in the form of kale. It is also going to use some fresh pineapple for flavor. You can also add any other juice you like.

Ingredients

* 2 cups kale
* ¼ cucumber
* ½ bunch cilantro
* 1/2 pineapple, meat only

Directions

Tear the kale into pieces, then place it in the juicer, followed by the cilantro. Then add your cucumber, and pineapple meat. You can also experiment with other greens!

For today’s challenge, you are going to try having fresh juice after your workout. If you are not someone who is accustomed to exercising, now is the perfect time to start! Go ahead and have a quick walk around your neighborhood to get some fresh air and get your blood pumping. When you return, you will be ready to have your juice.

What goes in a post-workout juice?

So what exactly makes a good post-workout juice? This comes down to the types of ingredients you use. Each juice has specific benefits that are a little different from other recipes. Some juice offers more protein; other juice is good for your skin or hair. Post-workout juice tends to have ingredients that are excellent for detoxing the body, while also being fat-burning foods to continue burning fat even after you’re done with your workout.

Fat-Burning Fruits and Vegetables

Here is a list of some fruits and vegetables that are known to burn fat. This doesn’t include all fruits and vegetables that are good for fat burning, but just the ones that would be good in a juice. For example, avocadoes burn a lot of fat, but are not good for juice! Here is the list:

You are going to make yourself a post-workout juice. These are a great option for you since they include ingredients that are not only fat-burning but can help detox your body after a hard workout. The fruits, vegetables, and herbs can provide anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce swelling and stress off your muscles, so they are particularly good after doing weight lifting workout.

You will also notice it is simply a delicious juice so that you can have it any time. If you aren’t planning on any workouts soon, go ahead and just give it a try after any physical activity, even if you’re doing yard work or cleaning the house!

Recipe #3: Grapefruit, cucumber juice

This juice is very refreshing and includes fat-burning ingredients like lemon and grapefruit. The cucumber is an excellent way to get a fresh feeling after a hard workout.

Directions:

Cut open your lemon or remove the skin and place it in the juicer. Peel the cucumbers and slice them in large chunks before putting inside. Juice the ginger, lemon, cucumbers, grapefruit and parsley.

Now we’re going to have fun with superfoods! Superfoods sometimes called power foods, include a combination of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other foods that contain a high amount of nutrients. Their vitamin and mineral content tends to be higher than other foods, making them a healthier option. To be the healthiest person possible, you should try to include as many superfoods into your regular diet as possible.

Top Superfoods For Juicing

To get started, let’s go over some of the superfoods that are best for juicing. Keep in mind this isn’t all of them, but simply some that are popular for juicing in particular.

Blueberries – One of the most popular fruits that are also a superfood for juicing is blueberries. Blueberries have just the right amount of sweetness for juice that is going to have a lot of vegetables, such as green juice. Blueberries are an amazing superfood with so many vitamins and nutrients, including a lot of antioxidants.

Cherries – Many people like to include cherries in their juice. Cherries are another superfood that contains a lot of antioxidants, but also help to fight inflammation and include fat-fighting enzymes. Cherries also taste great along with greens, helping to sweeten up your juice. You can also use them in a spicy juice along with chili peppers.

Apples – The last fruit we’re going to add to the superfoods list is apples. You will see a lot of juice that includes apples. They contain a lot of nutrients, add a mild sweetness to juice, and blend well with just about any ingredient.

Cucumbers – As far as veggies go, cucumber is a great one to include! These anti-inflammatory vegetables also have vitamin C, vitamin K, fisetin, vitamin B5, fiber, magnesium, and potassium. They are also great for your digestive tract.

Greens – Yes, don’t forget your greens! Have lots of kale, spinach, collard greens, dandelion leaves, and lettuce in your juice. Greens are the perfect way to ‘green’ up your juice, adding nutrients like vitamin C, beta-carotene, folate, vitamin K, and many other nutrients.

As you can see, you have many superfoods to choose from for your juice! Try to include as many superfoods as you can into your juice. Add some strawberries, blueberries, and greens for a delicious fruit-and-vegetable juice that is not only tasty but very good for you! Keep reading for a superfoods juice recipe.

Recipe #4: Superfoods juice

With this juice, you can customize it however you like by adding more fruit for sweetness or adding some extra greens. This is just a starter recipe!

Ingredients

Directions

Add all ingredients to your juicer at one time, starting with the kale, followed by other ingredients. Just leave the blue-green algae for the end. The algae are simply stirred into the juice until it dissolves.

Today’s the day; we’re going to try a juice with only vegetables! There is no need to be intimidated. With the right combination of ingredients, your veggie juice will be both nutritious and delicious. If after tasting the juice, you crave the sweetness, go ahead and juice a small piece of fruit into it, but try it without any fruit first. This is a great way to get your day’s worth of vegetables in just the juice you drink.

Top Vegetables For Juicing

Technically, you could add any vegetables you want to your juice, but there are certain ones that are easier to extract juice from. They also taste better in your juice when combined with other ingredients. One thing you are also going to add to your vegetable juice is some more herbs and seasonings to kick it up a notch.

The first types of vegetables that work great in juice are your greens. The majority of juice you make at home is going to have at least one green, though you can add as many as you like. Some greens that work well with juice are kale, spinach, and collard greens. You can also use leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, and kohlrabi greens.

Colorful vegetable like carrots, beets, sweet potato, and radishes not only taste delicious in juice but also happen to add a lot of color to your juice! Here are even more veggies you can add:

Don’t forget herbs should also be added when making a juice with only vegetables. Some herbs include rosemary, parsley, and mint. Sea salt and onions are also frequently used when flavoring a vegetable juice.

As mentioned, it is all about using vegetables in your juice. It is a nice challenge to see what combination you can come up with and to try and get as many vegetables as you can in a single juice. If you have ever had vegetable juice like V-8, you know the type of flavor you can get.

While these types of juices are heavy in tomato and carrot flavors, you are going to aim for a lighter vegetable flavor, though in the end, it is entirely up to you. Go ahead and try to add some of your favorite vegetables to the juice, and see how ti turns out. Here is a recipe to get you started.

Recipe #5: All vegetables juice

Here is an easy vegetable juice that uses primarily garden vegetables, greens, and a few herbs and seasonings. It is a good base to help you start on your vegetable juice.

Ingredients

Directions

Tear the kale, spinach or other greens in large pieces, then put them in the juicer with the parsley. Cut up the rest of the veggies and add them. Add your salt and other seasonings, stir, then pour in a tall glass.

Today we are going to focus on getting more energy! This is important for many reasons. First of all, when you have more energy during the day, you get more done, are motivated to keep up with your fitness routine, and can better have a good work-life balance. High-energy juice is highly recommended if you intend to do a juicing detox or you are planning on replacing meals with your juice.

This is also going to be your last recipe for the challenge since tomorrow it is all up to you! First, let’s have a look at some of the fruits and vegetables to include in your juice as they are known for providing energy-boosting benefits.

Bananas

Bananas aren’t just great for smoothies, but juice as well! These might be thicker than you would imagine you need in juice, but many of them do still use bananas. It adds a slightly thicker ingredient so that your juice is much more heart. Instead of juicing the bananas, you want to add them to your juice ingredients in a blender instead. Bananas offer a lot of energy and other nutrients.

Apples

Apples are a fruit very high on the list for energy-boosting properties. Apples are very high in fiber and give you more energy since they take a little longer to digest. Apples are ideal for many types of juice; even one made primarily with veggies since it adds a nice crisp sweetness.
Spinach

As far as vegetables go, spinach is one of the best energy-producing ones you can get. Add a handful of spinach every time you juice fruits and veggies to get a nice boost of energy, along with iron, vitamin B, and many other nutrients.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are easy to get a lot of juice from, taste great, and can be added to just about any juice you can come up with. They also happen to contain vitamin C and nutrients that help to boost your energy levels. Some good citrus fruits to try include lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, and apricot.

Now you are going to make yourself a juice that gives you a beautiful boost of energy. The juice is going to be delicious, including all your favorite fruits and vegetables, and will be perfect for a morning pick-me-up. Start your day with a juice using a combination of the fruits and veggies listed above, or go ahead and try the recipe provided here.

Recipe #6: Spinach, apple, grapefruit juice

This juice recipe includes some greens and lots of citrus fruits to give you more energy when you start your day. You can mix it up any way you like by adding in more citrus fruits.

Ingredients

Directions

Tear some spinach leaves and place them in the juicer first. Follow that by adding oranges, lemons, and grapefruit, all of which should be peeled. Add chunks of apple or core it first then place it in the juicer.

How to Create Your Own Juice Recipe

The Biggest Advantage

“If you’re not big into fruits and vegetables, it’s a good way to get them in,” says nutritionist Jennifer Barr, RD, of Wilmington, DE. You should still eat fruits and vegetables, too, says Manuel Villacorta, RD, founder of Eating Free, a weight management program.

Aim to eat two whole fruits and three to four vegetables a day. Choose them in different colors, so you get a good mix of vitamins and minerals, Barr says.

Juicing for Weight Loss and Cleansing

Juicing might seem like a simple way to lose weight, but it can backfire.

On a juice-only diet, you may not get enough fiber or protein to make you full. You might rebel.

“If you’re doing a juicing diet, you’ll be so tempted to eat something like a cake or doughnut because you’ve restricted yourself,” Barr says.

Not getting enough protein could also mean you lose muscle mass.

The bottom line: It’s too extreme, and the results aren’t likely to last.

What about juicing as a way to detox or cleanse your body? “I haven’t seen any research or science paper to support that cleansing is happening from juicing,” Villacorta says.

Your liver and kidneys take care of that — whether you’re juicing or not. More…

What you want to focus on with your juice recipe is a balance. It should preferably have a combination of fruits and vegetables, with both mild and bold flavors, some herbs, and your choice of seasonings. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Your juice can be whatever you want it to be. However, if you are someone that likes to follow a formula, we will provide that for you.

Juicing Recipe Formula

Here is your easy-to-follow juicing formula that works every time! The actual fruits and vegetables you choose are up to you, but this is an excellent way to get started when choosing your recipes.

Green Vegetable: Start by choosing a green, leafy vegetable. You should include greens in as many juices as you can due to the nutritional benefits you get from them. Some good green vegetables include spinach, kale, lettuce, chard, arugula, and collard greens. You can choose just one type of green or multiple ones for a nice mix.

High-Yield Vegetable: Try to include a high-yield vegetable to get more juice and water content. This might include celery, cucumber, or tomato.

Root Vegetable: Next is your root vegetable. Root vegetables are good for more nutrition and to add a nice pop of flavor. Some root vegetables include parsnips, turnips, carrots, and beets. These also add a lot of color to your juice.

Tart Fruit: You also want to add a small amount of tart fruit. This tends to be the ingredient you use the least of, but you get a nice flavor that takes away from the heavy vegetable flavor. Tart fruits are dates, limes, and lemons.

Sweet Fruit: Don’t forget your sweet fruits! These will make your juice more flavorful and easier to handle at any time of day. Some sweet fruits that work great with juicing include oranges, apples, grapes, cherries, pineapples, pears, and any types of berries.

Herbs and seasonings: These are optional, but many people do like to add them. Herbs like mint, parsley, basil, and cilantro are frequently used for juice. You can also add some sea salt or pepper for a vegetable juice, or even add some chili peppers for a little spice. Ingredients like blue-green algae or chia seeds are also sometimes added.

For the last day of the challenge, use this formula to create your juice. Try to use at least one ingredient from each level of the formula, give it a taste, then add more if you feel it needs it. For example, you can try a juice with kale, carrots, tomato, lemon, cherries, and mint. You have just used an ingredient from each category.