What is juicing?

Have you been wondering what is juicing and what it really means?

Growing up, the only kind of juicing I knew involved oranges and a press-down citrus juicer that kept most of the pulp with the juice. But these days, juicing is more of an art form and incorporates any kind of fruit, vegetable or herb.

But, before we get into the different kinds of juicing, what is juicing exactly?

I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this question and what is all about.

I had never understood juicing and therefore had never really given it a shot. Until now. But let me explain what exactly juicing is before we go over the benefits, the how to’s and the variations.

The short explanation is that you remove all the juice from the fruits and veggies. For this you’ll need a juicing appliance. They range from 50.00 to thousands of dollars if you go with a press variety.

There is a difference between a juice and a smoothie as a smoothie is made with a blender or a Nutra bullet type of appliance.

The biggest difference is that a juice is made up of extracted juices from your fruits and veggies. Meaning that all the pulp or fiber is removed and you have a pitcher of rich nutritious juice.

A typical smoothie recipe would consist of fruits, vegetables and herb and supplements (Turmeric, probiotic, magnesium, spirulina, protein powder etc.) tossed into a type of blender and mixed together to make a healthy flavorful beverage. Still, very beneficial, just the contents has been blended to include the fiber.

So, what are the benefits of juicing?

The main benefit is that there is no digestive work for your body as there is nothing to break down. The nutrients are already there, and your body can start processing them without doing a bunch of work. They are more easily absorbed into your blood stream.
You get all the benefits of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants all by just simply drinking your juice. Not to mention you have a drink in your hands that holds ten times more fruits and veggies then one could simply sit down and eat, and your body enjoys the surplus of nutrients.
That being said, it’s important that you understand how to properly juice as to not spike your blood sugar. A spike can lead to moody behavior and loss of energy.

Juices are usually very easy to prepare, and although the clean up can be a bit of a challenge, its still much less work than say making a three course meal in the kitchen.

Does blending have benefits?

The result speaks for itself. It’s quick, its easy, minimal clean up. ( you just rinse out the blending container and maybe the glass you drank from)

This method does help with the managing of the spiking blood sugar and some say a smoothie is more filling, but I have found, if you’re juicing the proper ingredients then you are not hungry on the juice. Additionally, a smoothie can and will typically have a lot of calories.

If you’re considering the smoothie route, think about using wheatgrass powder, protein powder, keifer, spirulina powder (or any green powder you prefer) or a dash of cayenne powder for a little kick and you can even use frozen fruit. Which can save money because you’re not throwing away fruit you didn’t get a chance to use.

So, which is better? Juicing or Smoothies?

Our purpose is to provide a multitude of options for a healthy lifestyle, so, you’ll see juicing recipes right along side smoothie recipes because, sometimes, we just want a smoothie. I can’t say for sure if there is a golden rule about which is better, we will leave that up to you and let you decide if you want to do a juice or a smoothie to get your fruits and veggies.

Maybe you’ll do like many of us and juice some fruits and veggies and then blend say an avocado with some ice and wheatgrass and mix them together. In our house, we do this far more than any other option.