GREEN FARMS
To drink your veggies or not?
Juicing can be a convenient way for your family to consume fruits and vegetables. In addition, you gain all the large amounts of nutrients and enzymes into your diet. It allows you to use up produce that's overripe or and you can be creative about combinations of produce. You can hide vegetables in fruit juice as a way to consume them and mask the flavor. Add mild-flavored vegetables that are high in nutrients, such as carrots, cucumbers and celery. For a stronger veggie flavor, you can add spinach, cabbage or escarole. In general, you can get about 8 ounces of juice from a pound of raw produce. Unfortunately, the beneficial soluble and insoluble fiber from fruits and vegetables is lost during the juicing process. Fiber is primarily in the skins of fresh produce. Save some of the pulp from your juicer to add the fiber back into your diet. Sweeten your juice up by adding fruits like, pears, apples, berries, peaches, and melon. There are many combinations that provide a tasty alternative to eating your veggies raw. Smoothies can also make a quick nutritious meal by combining fruits and vegetables with a source of protein, such as soy milk, low-fat yogurt or a scoop of protein powder. As with juicing, making smoothies allows you to blend foods you might not think of combining. You’ll retain the fiber in fruits and vegetables when you make a smoothie, and you can add more beneficial fiber and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids by tossing in a few tablespoons of flaxseed or chia seeds. The fiber and protein in a smoothie add up to a satisfying meal or snack. Just be mindful of the sugar intake with sweet ingredients, such as ice cream, flavored yogurt or too much fruit, which increases the drink’s calorie count and may lead to blood sugar spikes.
Here’s some helpful links to juice and smoothie recipes:
www.all-about-juicing.com
www.nativejuicer.com/recipes
Source- HealthyEating/SFgate.com