Juicing

I have had a few folks ask what exactly is in my "green juice", well, it just depends on what is in my fridge that day.  Today, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, celery, bell pepper, apples, oranges, and ALWAYS kale.

This picture is showing my Omega Juicer.  It was purchased SEVERAL years ago, but wasn't used more than a few times...that is until the last few months.  Now it is used almost daily.

Up close of the first batch of veggies going thru the juicer.

And for anyone who is curious this is the end result of that entire bag of kale, maybe a cup of juice.

So after juicing all the veggies from the picture above, I decided it wasn't enough veggie juice, so this is the next batch of veggies--more carrot, celery, cucumber, and I added an orange bell pepper.

This is a one gallon pitcher, with just the juice from the two batches of veggies.

And then I added some apples and oranges to add a bit of sweetness to the juice.

 This is the end product of all the veggies and fruits.

I like to store the juice in glass pint jars, so I can grab and go whenever.

So, for someone "new" to juicing, or someone who is accustomed to store bought fruit juices (or combination fruit/veggie juices), this particular juice I made isn't nearly as sweet.  Sometimes, the cucumber or celery will overpower the other flavors.  For a first time fresh juicer, you may want to use more fruits than veggies to start with, and slowly increase veggies while decreasing fruits.  

Some things I've learned:

-Use organic where possible, or wash and/or peel your veggies.

-Use "young" beets, if you don't like the "earthy taste" (I don't use beets very often and when I do, I use small amounts.)

-Use the "rainbow"--the more colors, the better

-You don't need a recipe :)

-I like my juice better "cold"

-Fighting a cold? Add garlic or ginger--but start with small amounts (it can get spicy)

-Diabetic? Go easy on the fruits and sweet veggies, like carrots and beets, sugar is still sugar.

Some things I've juiced:

-Greens, kale, spinach, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce

-Cucumber

-Celery

-Carrots

-Beets (note, above)

-Tomatoes

-Bell Peppers (all colors)

-Apples (all kinds)

-Oranges (peeled)

-Grapefruit (peeled--but can still make a bitter taste in the juice)

-Pears

-Peaches

-Berries (the seeds will come thru)

-Pineapple

-Plums

-Watermelon

-Ginger

-Mint