What to juice and why

If you read my post last week about buying a juicer, you’ll know that I’ve been getting to know my Breville Pro from Argos over the past few weeks. Now that I’ve got the hang of it I thought I’d share my tips. This is not a post about juicing for weight loss by the way; I’ve been using the juices as a supplement on top of my normal food intake. It’s an easy way for me to cram some more vitamins and goodness in to my day.

My best tip for creating tasty juice is to start with a base ingredient like apple or carrot then build from there. Taste after each ingredient you add to give you an idea of what else will go with it. Try and sneak something savoury in to every juice you make. So if you’re making orange juice, add some kale or spinach. It’s easily hidden and will bulk your juice up without adding as much sugar.

Here are some of the juices I’ve been enjoying:

Apple, ginger and banana // Watermelon // Carrot, orange and nutmeg

Carrot, celery, ginger // Kale, celery, apple, mint and lime // Apple, carrot and beetroot

Beetroot and orange // Beetroot, celery and lemon // Apple, cucumber, mint and lime

There’s a whole host of articles out there about which fruit and vegetables to juice so I’m going to focus a bit more on the things most people forget to include- herbs and spices. They were the center of ancient medicine. Our ancestors knew the good that they could do and they are the basis for the medicine we know today.

Turmeric for instance is a powerful anti inflammatory and has been proven to inhibit cancer cell growth in labs. It’s earthiness is best masked by adding some citrus to your juice. The fresh stuff is not the easiest to get hold of but a teaspoon of the ground spice is a simple way to level up your juice.

Nutmeg and cinnamon are well known as comforting spices. We relate warming spices like this to getting all cosy for good reason; it’s proven to aid relaxation, reduce stress and anxiety.

Cayenne can add a real interest to vegetable juices if you like things spicy. It’s approved by the Drug Administration to help treat pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis and shingles. Add it to celery and tomato juice for a healthy bloody mary.

Ginger gives juice a real zing that feels like an instant pick me up and is packed with anti-inflammatory goodness. It’s good for nausea and when met with a petri dish of cancer cells, causes them to kill each other – that’s got to be good right? Mixed with carrot and orange juice, I think it tastes like Christmas.

Mint is the perfect partner for juices that contain lime, it’s like drinking the healthiest mojito you’ve ever tasted and so refreshing. It combats indigestion and bloating whilst topping up Vitamin A and C levels.

You can pretty much add any herb or spice to your juice. Just follow fresh herbs in to the juicer with something water dense to help it through and make sure you give the juice a stir after adding any ground spices. Have you tried adding any of the above to a juice? Adding these gives you so many more options, I’d love to know your favourite recipes to use them in.