The holiday season has passed and you may have overdone it with both food and alcohol. You may be a few kilograms heavier, or just feel sluggish and ‘yuck’. When your digestive system is out of whack, it’s harder to concentrate and maintain focus.
After realising that I had indeed overindulged after an unpleasant run-in with my scales, I decided it was time to take control of my life back. I knew one of the quickest and easiest ways for me to do this was to eat better — duh! I also knew from previous experience that when I’m looking to feel better, my whole body responds to the nutritional benefits of juicing.
I have a Sunbeam JE7800 Double Sieve 1000W juicer. I love it because you can throw your fruit and veg in whole and for the most part, with the skin on. So there’s very little pesky prep time in relation to peeling and chopping. The only things I peel are citrus as the skin/rind is so thick. You don’t need to core anything, so apples and pears can go in whole as well. I have replaced two meals a day with juice for the last 8 days now and am starting to feel so much better. I love using as many vegetables as possible as I don’t want an overly sweet fruit juice. I’m more interested in sustained energy, using ingredients that contain anti-inflammatory and blood cleansing qualities. If you can get your hands on a juicer, you can mix and match and play with ingredients like a mad scientist until you get a mix that works for you. I’ve included my favourite combinations below:
Green apples, spinach/kale, lime, kiwi fruit, celery, cucumber
With this combination, I tend to use more of the veggies and use the apples and kiwi fruit more sparingly, as I don’t want the juice to be overly sweet. Some of the benefits of these ingredients include: stabilising blood pressure, causing inflammation to reduce, promotion of skin elasticity and it’s also super hydrating due to the cucumbers and celery which are largely water-based.
Beetroot, carrot, celery, lemon juice, fresh ginger
Beetroots are an amazing vegetable — a veritable powerhouse of good stuff! I use beetroot as a base for lots of my juicing (it’s a flavour you may have to get used to; it’s quite ‘earthy’) but the benefits include fighting anaemia, increased circulation, and detoxification of liver and kidneys. The carrot, which I also use, is great for eye health, and ginger relieves nausea, heartburn and fatigue and is known as a natural painkiller.
I like to use ice cube trays to freeze lemon or lime juice and use them in my juice instead of real ice. You can also use your ice cube trays to freeze blueberries in water, as they are full of antioxidants. I personally like my juice to be cold and keep all ingredients in the fridge; I find it harder to drink when it’s warm. If some of the ingredients have been sitting on the bench in a fruit bowl and are room temperature, I throw in a few of my special ice cubes before I drink the juice.
I also make sure that I drink up to 2 litres of water a day, which I infuse with lemon and fresh mint. It flushes toxins out and keeps you from being as easily tempted to snack.
Do you juice? Do you have favourite combinations that work well for you?
Maree pins on Pinterest under the username ‘Talidu’, where she has a board devoted to collecting juicing recipes for various health purposes such as pregnancy, weight loss, kids and juicing, and body detox.
