Adding an organic delicious nutrient-dense vegetable juice into your daily routine can enhance both your physical and mental health. Juicing literally saved my life when I was diagnosed with cancer and has continued to by helping me heal from all kinds of health issues. I am so excited for you to experience all of the incredible benefits that consistent juicing brings.
Here is what you can look forward to:
- Juicing is a natural way to fuel your body with essential minerals, vitamins, live enzymes, and antioxidants that bypass your digestive system and go right into your cells. Vegetable juice is like liquid gold for every cell in your body.
- It is an incredible way to cleanse your blood and your organs (especially your hardworking liver!).
- Supplying your body with the correct nutrients through juicing can help to balance your immune system, which is crucial at a time like this.
- Almost all of the important nutrients that your body needs to thrive can be found in the juice of vegetables and fruit.
- Juicing fresh, organic, green veggies has been shown to result in glowing skin.
- When juiced in the morning, veggies, fruits, and herbs can boost your energy levels and prepare you for the day ahead.
- One common result of juicing is reduced brain fog.
- Juicing raw veggies can help to facilitate weight loss.
Here are the simple guidelines to follow for the challenge:
- Freshly made juice is not a meal replacement. Be sure to continue eating fiber-fueled meals throughout the day while you are juicing.
- Be careful juicing lots of fruits, and/or sweeter vegetables like carrots and beets every day, because they have a lot of sugar. Most of us consume too much blood-spiking sugar already (for example: 1 apple in a 16 oz. green juice can be up to 18 grams of sugar).
- If the juice tastes too strong or bitter, try squeezing in some fresh lemon or lime juice. If it is still too strong, you can add in a green apple (start with half and then increase to a whole apple if needed). Carrots and beets are loaded with nutrients, so you can experiment with adding a little bit of one of those as well if your juice is too bitter or earthy.
- In the world of juicing, routine is not bad! If you will not get sick of the same juice every day, by all means, do not feel pressure to switch it up. But if you are someone who craves variety, do not be shy about mixing it up! It never hurts to continue adding in new veggies.
- Make sure you drink the juice immediately after juicing for the best results. Think about how long it takes an apple to turn brown once it has been cut. Nutrients oxidize and break down quickly, so do not let too much time go by before enjoying your juice.
- For this challenge (and whenever you are juicing), please only buy organic produce if possible and be sure to wash it thoroughly. It is easier for your body to absorb the harmful chemicals in non-organic produce if there is not any fiber slowing down the digestion process.
- If you have not juiced veggies consistently for a while, you may be turned off by the flavor of some of them. That is okay! Do not give up on the juice challenge – I promise your taste will start to change over time. I used to think vegetable juices tasted like dirt and now I crave them.
The following are super simple recipes for 16 ozs. of juice, but you can easily play around with your favorite vegetables. If you do not like strong bitter greens like kale, dandelion greens, or arugula, you can replace with milder ones like spinach or romaine.
- Option #1
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- 1 head of celery
- Option #2
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- 1 head of celery
- 1 lemon or lime
- Option #3
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- 4 stalks of celery
- 1/2 of large cucumber
- 1 lemon or lime
- 1-2″ ginger
- Option #4
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- 2 stalks of celery
- 1/2 of large cucumber
- 1 head of parsley
- 1/2 head of romaine
- 1 lemon or lime
- Option #5
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- 1/2 fennel bulb
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1/2 of large cucumber
- 1 large handful of mint leaves or more
- 1 lime
- Option #6
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- 1/2 burdock root (4 – 6″)
- 1 medium beet
- 4 stalks of celery
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 lemon
- 1-2″ ginger
- Option #7
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- 1 whole head of dandelion greens
- 4 stalks of celery
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 lemon
- 1-2″ ginger
- 1 mandarin orange (optional)
- Option # 8
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- 4 stalks of celery
- 1/2 of large cucumber
- 1/2 bunch of kale
- 1/2 bunch of spinach
- 1 lemon or lime
- Option #9
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- 3 stalks of celery
- 1/2 of large cucumber
- Large handful of arugula
- Large handful of basil
- 1 lime
- 1-2″ ginger
- Option #10
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- 2 cups romaine
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 big handful parsley
- 1 cup broccoli stems
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 limes