Juice bars are popping up on every corner, giving us healthy alternatives to our lattes, Frappuccino’s, and mochas. But you may be wondering: why is juicing so great? No matter how committed we are to getting in the recommended 5 to 9 servings of vegetables and fruits every day, sometimes we simply come up short.  It may be that we’re busy and barely have time to eat at all, or perhaps we find ourselves in eating situations that don’t include many fresh vegetable choices.  Or maybe we just plain old don’t like them.

On days that you find it hard to eat enough vegetables and fruits, a green drink is the perfect answer.  It is a great way to boost your health and even detox your system.

Green drinks are just that—green, because they contain the juice of fresh green vegetables and other vegetables and fruits.  There are many reasons to consider adding green drinks to your diet.

Why drink green juice? 

Let us explain! Vegetables and fruits are full of essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes that your body thrives on.  And since you’re consuming it in liquid form, your body can digest it quickly.  This is especially helpful if you have digestion issues, because the process of juicing ‘pre digests’ the food for you by breaking down the cell walls.  Which means that the nutrients can easily go right into your system. 

Drinking your veggies and fruits also allows you to take in more nutrients.  For example, you may find it difficult to eat an entire bunch of kale in a day, but drinking the juice from that same amount is no problem at all! Funny how that works isn’t it? 

You will also detox your body by drinking fresh juices.  The enzymes contained in the juice help to release built-up toxins, leaving your body much healthier. So after that weekend at the lake or at the beach where you might’ve drank one too many rum punches or ate one too many cheeseburgers, having some fresh green juices is a great way to relieve those weekend hangover symptoms and get your system back on track. 

In case you still aren’t convinced on the whole green juice thing yet, many people have found that juicing helps them to lose weight, increase their energy and even improve some medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. So what’s not to love?!

Smoothies too! 

An alternative to juicing your veggies and fruit (our preferred method) is to turn them into smoothies. While a juicer extracts the juice and leaves behind the pulp, a high-powered blender can be used to blend the juice and pulp together into a thicker drink.  Either method is fine--it just depends on your preference.  The fiber in the smoothies will cause you to feel full longer, which may help you to have fewer cravings.  That’s a win-win in our book!

Watch Your Calories and Sugar Intake!   

WARNING:  Juicing can really jack up your calorie and sugar intake when you use a lot of fruit. So just be mindful of what you’re putting into your green drink…

Get started with these recipes

Here are some recipes to help you jumpstart your health and energy.

Baby’s First Green (a great starter juice)

1 large pear

1 apple

1 cup pineapple, cubed

4 large stalks kale

1 cucumber

Classic Green Juice

1 green apple

1 inch knob ginger

5 large stalks celery

1 cucumber

1 large handful parsley

5 stalks kale

Veggie Ginger Juice

3 large carrots

1 beet

1 green apple

4 large stalks celery

1 large handful of spinach, parsley, or other dark green

1 small cucumber

1 inch knob ginger

Do you like to juice?  Let us know your favorite recipes!