They’re fresh, fast and nutritious – they’re juices. If you want to detox, lose weight or improve your nutritional intake, consider juices as part of your daily diet.
There are dozens of juice shops all over Brisbane. Regular customers have their favourite orders – perhaps carrot, ginger and orange or a power-packed berry chiller.
But are juices really good for you? And how easy is it to make them at home?
Equipment
The most basic equipment (under a few dollars) is a cheap plastic citrus juicer. This will work for juicing oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit. Plus you’ll get a free upper body workout.
If you want to expand your repertoire, invest in a juicing machine. Basic models start at about $150 dollars and top-of-the-range models can cost over $500. Perhaps you can borrow one first to see how much you enjoy juicing and whether the appliance would get lots of use in your home.
One tip: leave it on the benchtop and you are much more likely to use it regularly. Don’t hide the juicer in the cupboard.
Juicing is fresh, fast and nutritious.There are two types of juicers – centrifugal or slow turning/cold press. Some people claim that slow turning juicers preserve more nutrients and enzymes. They can also be used to make nut butters, babyfood and sorbets. The centrifugal models are more common. They work because the fruit and vegetables are pushed against a strainer at high speed. They do not work well to juice wheatgrass or other fibrous greens.
What to juice
Almost any good quality fruit or vegetable can be juiced. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy bags of produce, which are labelled as being best for juicing. Often this produce is not perfect eating quality but will still give good juice. Since the juice is created from the skin as well as the flesh of the fruit and vegetables (citrus fruit and melons excepted) consider buying organic produce.
But what can you juice? Well, almost anything! In fact just about the only recommendations are not to use bananas (as they don’t juice, they simply go mushy). Bananas are fabulous in a smoothie, made in a blender. Some juicing books even give recipes for bean, cabbage or potato juice! Herbs can also be juiced, or added to juices, such as parsley, coriander, basil (with tomato juice) etcetera but be careful because they can be potent. Combinations with pineapple, mango, berries of all varieties, apple, pear, ginger, carrot and beetroot are sweet and popular.
Health benefits
Most people want the nutritional benefits of juice. Consider that a glass of juice could include two oranges, quarter of a pineapple and an apple – that’s a lot of fruit! Drinking juice doesn’t give you the fibre found in whole fruit but most of the vitamins and nutrients are retained if you drink the juice as soon as possible. Remember, some juices have a high natural sugar content and can have a surprising amount of kilojoules. Like all things, juice is best in moderation. Nutritionists suggest substituting juice for a meal and not using it to quench your thirst. It may be helpful though to get enough fruit and vegetables in your diet or for those with small appetites.
If you have any health issues or are pregnant, seek advice about which juices are not recommended for you.
Some references
- Choice provide a few good recipes plus you can buy a report that compares models of juicers for value and performance.
- The CSIROs Total Wellbeing diet mentions vegetable juices.
- Julie Stafford Juicing for Health 1994, Penguin Books, Ringwood.
Tell us your favourite juice combination. Add your comments below.
