Since last March, I have been making my own fresh juice every day. It helps that I have a Champion Juicer, albeit over 30 years old, which my husband inherited from a friend. We had used it on occasion without getting into the habit. Back when there were two or three kids at home, it took a lot of prep work to make enough juice for everyone to have just a little bit. Being a jubilant empty-nester, I can now make fresh raw juice as a part of my morning routine in very little time, plus I get a full 12 to 16 ounces instead of a shot-glass full. Another nice perk is my husband gets up after me, so he cleans the juicer after he’s made his juice.
If you have never juiced, start by preparing a small amount and figure out a base recipe to work from that tastes good to you. Then you can make additions of other vegetables a little at a time without having any big swings in flavor that you may not like.
My foundational vegetable juice recipe is
4 medium carrots, cut off the green tops, wash but do not peel
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks to reduce strain on juicer
½ - 1 apple, remove the stem but do NOT core or peel.
chunk of beet 1" to 2" square
chunk of ginger to taste
As time went on I learned I could substitute cucumber for celery and add small amounts of spinach leaves or other greens and still have a good tasting juice. Knowing I was going into the gardening season as a raw juicer gave me a mental boost. I looked forward to incorporating fruits & veggies straight from the garden; talk about LIVE FOOD! With any gardening success at all we have more food than we can eat, a nice problem to have. I knew I would consume more of what’s good for me out of the garden as a juicer.
Once early spring arrived, I bravely added my garden asparagus in place of celery to my basic recipe, and found it was still very good. (The orange foam on the top of my juice had a bright lime green swirl added to it - reminding me of rainbow sherbet.) Then as other garden crops came up I added small amounts of lettuce, then spinach, broccolli, kale, cucumbers, or beans to the recipe, each adding another dimension of flavor to the juice, but always good. I never made anything that was undrinkable, as I was conservative in adding small amounts to be sure I liked the flavor.
Eventually I found I could make a green drink with an apple base (leaving out the carrot) that was very good. And I was so thrilled when I made my basic recipe straight out of my own garden - save the ginger. I learned to like more ginger and add a chunk of hot pepper for an extra zing. I still have a few of our garden hot peppers in my fridge to add to my daily veggie juice.
I’m not a big tomato juice lover, but I eventually got up the courage to try using a gazpacho recipe (a cold chunky tomato soup) and juicing it rather than eating it as soup. Wow! I was sorry I’d waited so long.
A very good reference book on juicing is Raw Juices Can Save Your Life by Sandra Cabot, MD. It contains an A-Z reference guide listing the fruit or vegetable, available nutrients & phyto-chemicals in the juice, and the healing properties of the juice. So when you’re guzzling down your very ALIVE beverage, you can read about all the good healing vitamins, minerals, and enzymes you’re getting and what they’re doing for you.
Charlene Elderkin, Marketing & Membership Manager
written by Zeba Due
Our fall seasonal harvest is upon us and now is a perfect
time to beef up on the nutritional support that seasonal vegetables have to
offer.
Cabbage:
Cabbage is an excellent source of manganese, calcium,
potassium, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, fiber, folate, omega-3, sodium, zinc
and copper. In addition cabbage is an excellent source of Vitamin C, thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin, B6, K, A, and protein.
Cabbage has anti-inflammatory properties, is believed to
help treat peptic ulcers and with abundant Vitamin C, is good protection from
free radicals.¹
Beets:
Beets are loaded with Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, and C. They are also a remarkable source of
chlorine, folic acid, iodine, manganese, sodium, potassium, fiber, and
carbohydrates. Although the iron
content isn’t high, it is the highest in quality for blood building. Beets are known for many health
benefits such as; anemia, atherosclerosis, blood pressure, cancer,
constipation, dandruff, detoxification, gastric ulcer, gall bladder and kidney
ailments, gout, liver or bile cleansing, and varicose veins.²
Carrots:
Carrots also contain an array of vitamins such as A, B1, B,
B3, B6, C, E, K, Folate, Niacin, Biotin, and pantothenic acid. They also include boron, calcium, and
copper. Carrots are useful in
treatment of night blindness, colds, heart disease, high blood pressure, and
supports adrenal gland function.³
Cabbage/beet slaw
½ medium head cabbage, shredded
¼ medium beet, shredded
2 large carrots, shredded
¼ small onion, shredded
1 stalk celery, shredded
1 small green pepper, shredded
3-4 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
In a medium mixing bowl add cabbage, beet, carrots, onion,
celery, and green pepper. Stir in
mayonnaise, salt, parsley, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to blend. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to
blend seasonings before serving.
Sources:
- www.organicfacts.net/nutrition-facts
- www.juicing-for-health.com/beets
- www.associatedcontent.com/article
Written by Zeba Due
I
recently began educating myself about the raw food diet. My first
search on Google came up with 7,110,000 hits. Where to begin? A VFC
customer recommended several books and websites as sources to start my
journey.
The principle behind raw foodism (sometimes called
rawism) is that plant foods are in their most nourishing state when
they are uncooked and unprocessed. Heating food above 116ºF is believed
to destroy enzymes that can assist in digestion and absorption of food
as well as diminishing the nutritional value and “life force” of food.
Benefits of eating raw are believed to be:
• Increased energy
• Improved skin appearance
• Better digestion
• Weight loss
• Reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
The
raw food diet not only contains fewer trans fats and saturated fat than
the typical Western diet but is also low in sodium, high in potassium,
magnesium, folate, fiber, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals).
Guidelines
A
100% raw diet consists mainly of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried
fruit, seaweed, freshly juiced fruit and vegetables, sprouted nuts and
seeds, seaweed, and some soaked and fermented foods. Foods should
consist of unprocessed, preferably organic whole foods. Some raw
foodists also include; beans, grains, legumes, young coconut milk,
possibly raw milk and cheese. There are raw foodists that eat meat and
fish raw, but I haven’t researched this segment.
While there is
a lot of information about eating raw, I also found value in speaking
to others about their experiences and educating myself through
experimentation. A raw foods diet doesn’t have to be “all or nothing”.
Whenever I embark upon another new change in my life, I have to honor
the time it will take me to “settle in” to my new routine. I have had
great success in making a couple of simple changes that make sense for
me.
The first change I made was implementing “Green Smoothies” 2
to 3 days a week for breakfast. If I was still hungry I would also eat
the Raw Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed Cereal (see recipe below). For lunch
I would have a raw salad and then dinner would be cooked. For me a slow
introduction to eating raw works. I paid attention to signs and symptom
changes in my body and adjusted the raw eating accordingly.
Green Drink
1 1/2 cups raw milk or milk of your choice
1/4 - 1/2 small whole lemon (seeded)
3-4 cups spinach
1-4 inch piece of zucchini
1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp. Nutiva Hemp Powder
2 Tbsp. protein powder
Pinch stevia powder to sweeten
1/2 tsp. lemon extract (optional)
1 Tbsp. fresh coconut
4-5 ice cubes
Place
all above ingredients except ice in a blender and blend on liquefy or
highest setting on your blender, blending until desired consistency.
Add ice cubes and blend to crush.
Soaking Grains & NutsThe second change I made was soaking grains and nuts.
Soaking
grains breaks down enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid so they are no
longer harmful. As grains soak their vitamin content increases,
especially the B vitamins. Soaking nuts also breaks down enzyme
inhibitors, activating their full nutritional benefits and aiding in
better digestion.
Raw Sunflower Cereal
1/8 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked
1/8 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked
1/8 cup raw buckwheat groats or oat flakes, soaked
pinch of stevia or sweetener of choice
1 Tbsp. oat bran, soaked (optional)
1 Tbsp. coconut
In a small bowl, combine seeds, groats, sweetener, oat bran, and coconut. Cover with nut milk. Chew slowly and enjoy.
I’ve
tried several variations of the above raw cereal. I’ve used soaked
spelt berries instead of the groats, eliminated the oat bran and added
soaked oat flakes. Also adding a heaping teaspoon of raw nut butter or/
and raw nuts will increase the protein. You may enjoy adding your
favorite fruit. This is one cold cereal you need not worry about
wilting before finishing!
by Zeba Due, BS Nutrition, VFC Cashier
Sources:
Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
Eco-eating by Sapoty Brook
The Raw Food Diet Myth by Ruthann Russo, PhD, MPH
Celebrating our Raw Nature by Dorit
Prudence Tippins (VFC customer/owner)