For a long time, home juicing has been a preserve for a select few. Many people didn’t have access to juicers and those that did had a hard time because most of them weren’t ‘easy to use and could not appreciate the benefits of home juicing and healthy juices to make.

Manual juicers were easier to find although using them was a time-consuming and tiring exercise.

Things have changed and the market is awash with different kinds of juicers to help those interested in juicing their vegetables and fruits easily reach their goals.

As will see from these juicing tips, nutritionists also recommend juicing for various health reasons and this has increased the uptake of juices among different people all over the world. 

What Exactly is Home Juicing?

Some people may be wondering what the fuss is all about considering that juicing has existed since time immemorial.

Having a home juicing experience is definitely satisfying unlike picking a juice box from the supermarket fridge or in a juice bar.

Juicing involves passing fruit or vegetables through a gadget known as a juicer to extract the nutritious liquid part from the plant tissues.

The pulp is separated from the juice unlike in a smoothie where the pulp remains untouched in the mix.

The concept of juicing is different from blending because of the pulp separation aspect. The juice yield of the fruits or vegetables depends on the type of juicer used and the type of fruit or vegetable.

Therefore, you should be careful and avoid these juicing mistakes.

For instance, crispy fresh vegetables are more likely to yield more juicers unlike wilted ones. Patience and determination are important in ensuring that one’s home juicing experience is worth the investment.

Why is Juicing at Home a Great Idea?

Juicing is the newest health culture among health-conscious individuals and those who want to detoxify their systems occasionally.

Juice fasts are becoming a common phenomenon for weight watchers and the better way of doing it is only realized through the making of juices.

A detox juice recipe comes in handy at this point. It is becoming popular because the freedom to take part actively in improving your health is revitalizing.

It is also a test of one’s discipline and determination toward a life-goal of healthy living. Juicing at home makes this possible.

The benefits of juicing at home include:

1. Enables You to Take More of the Required Daily Intake

Let’s be honest here. How often do you eat five servings of fruits and vegetables in one day? How often do you mix up the vegetables and fruits that you do eat?

Eating the recommended amounts of these items in a day isn’t easy. In fact, it is hard for those who aren’t fans in general.

Home juicing reduces this burden because you can throw in different fruits and vegetables into the juicer to get a healthy fresh juice for your nourishment. Imagine spinach, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, apple, lemon and ginger in the same cup! It definitely does stretch the possibilities!

2. You Can Play Around With Fiber

Since the fiber is already separated, making the juice is primarily much easier than if you had to strain the mixture. The fiber doesn’t have to go to waste though. While home juicing , you are flexible and at liberty to do what you want.

Another option is throwing the pulp into dessert items. Add it to muffin or cake batter for healthier versions of these items.

You can also use it to make broth for your soup or rice later. With home juicing, you are only limited by your creativity and adventure.

3. Juices are Easy to Digest

The body needs fiber to help with digestion. Many people have developed digestion problems over the years because of their bad food choices.

This can make it a little difficult for them to process fiber. Fresh juice guarantees faster absorption of concentrated nutrients with the reduced risk of it being wasted.

4. Increases Energy

As mentioned, juices are easily absorbed into the body. This provides the body with instant energy. Its alkaline nature balances the body’s pH levels.

The balance causes you to feel a spike in your energy levels. Such benefit is only associated with home juicing because nobody can afford the pricey juice bar produce forever.

Absorbing pulp plus juice causes the body to use more energy. Fewer nutrients will also be absorbed into the body within the same length of time.

If the purpose of juicing was to help heal a chronic illness, this lengthens the time taken to attain proper healing.

Green juices, in particular, have chlorophyll in them. Chlorophyll’s the green pigment you see in vegetables.

It has a molecular structure almost similar to hemoglobin which is beneficial in plants. Home juicing fresh vegetables gives your cells an instant dose of oxygen supply besides the associated detox benefits.

The regenerated blood cells after a detox guarantee healthy functioning of the body. Chlorophyll also cleanses, regulates blood sugar and acts as an internal deodorizer. It is also an anti-inflammatory agent, a cleanser, and reduces cholesterol among several other capabilities.

5. Helps in Resetting Your Dietary Habits

Assuming that you’ve been eating unhealthy foods and grabbing a snack on impulse without really taking note of what you are eating and how much. 

A juice cleanse will help you realize how much you really eat. It will condition your brain to realize that you don’t need the extra snack you usually pick up after lunch. You can only achieve this if you commit to juice at home.

After a few days of juicing, you will definitely be more conscious of what you eat. Considering the taste of vegetable juices, foods will taste much sweeter, your tongue will be more sensitive, and that keeps your sweet tooth in check.

You can continue the practice from then on and maintain healthy eating habits at the comfort of your home.

6. Juicing Boosts Immunity

Raw fruits and vegetables contain certain phytochemicals, which are beneficial chemical compounds in plant matter.

They include flavonols, anthocyanins, carotenes, and isoflavones. Your body is instantly supercharged with the nutrients it needs to fight certain illnesses including different cancers and heart disease.

7. Creates a Perfect Avenue for Weight Loss

Fruits and vegetables contain no fat and are very low in calories. Incorporating fresh juice as part of a diet works to increase the amount of weight lost compared to a diet without the juice.

Individuals on occasional juice fasts often find that they are able to lose a considerable amount of weight during this time.

Since the juicing weight loss concept gaining some popularity, balancing the calories is very important fruits contain a good amount of calories from the sugar content. This can easily defeat the purpose.

It is, therefore, better to focus on green juices with vegetables such as celery, kale, spinach, and collard and a fruit or two can be added for flavor.

You will notice that the green juice may not quite taste appealing at first and the fruit does make it a little better. Lemons and limes also work well to cut the bitter taste. A dash of ginger will give the drink a fresh kick and will leave you enjoying it fully.

The Link Between Home Juicing and Weight Loss

The subject of weight loss and juicing is a little touchy in many circles, with some arguing that the fruits are best eaten in their natural whole state.

Others believe they can completely replace food with juices and still remain healthy and strong. This emphasizes the importance of juicing for weight loss at home.

It is important to note that with the current speed of life and exposure to pollution, getting all the nutrients you need in the food you eat is difficult.

Crops are subjected to long hours of transport before reaching the consumer and stress levels are higher than they used to be. Besides, Over-farmed soil causes lower nutrient levels in crops.

The general state of environmental pollution means that the recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables aren’t enough to meet the body’s nutritional needs and fight ailments.

Eight to 10 portions would at least prove more useful in this age. Getting these in one day is difficult but home juicing does help bring it closer.

Although Mother Nature gives these items whole and the human body does need fiber, the human body also learns to adapt to different forms of the same food.

Different vegetables have different nutritional value. They all serve to make the human body healthy. No two juices are equal and one should find out the nutritional content of the vegetables and fruits in the juice so as to know what it will target.

Replacing food with juice may work for a few days but sustainability is not guaranteed. Generally, the body needs fats, proteins, and enough fiber to sustain itself and juices don’t provide this.

However, this is true for the dry weight of the vegetables and not the crispy fresh vegetables. The rest really contain about 90 percent water.

This would require 10X of servings of the regular weight to achieve the same amount of protein contained in steak. It also wouldn’t be the same because it is not a complete protein.

If you would like to juice at home on a regular basis while omitting food, you can try to replace one meal with the juice as you maintain a healthy diet for the other meals. Ensure you get healthy fats and protein and everything will balance out well.

When doing a juice cleanse at home, it is advisable to take a minimum of 800 calories per day.

A lower calorie count will indeed create a deficit and trigger weight loss but will lower your body’s metabolism and cause it to have difficulty shedding weight in the future.

Detox is another misunderstood concept when home juicing and observing weigh loss regimes.

In reality, the liver is constantly detoxifying your body and ridding it of impurities. Therefore, taking juices doesn’t kick-start the process.

However, it allows your digestive system to take a break. It also provides a good supply of antioxidants that the liver will appreciate as it continues to rid your body of toxins. Make sure to check our detox juice recipe for best results.

Different Types of Juicers for Home Juicing

Blenders are more common but there is a wide variety of juicers to choose from too. They all work to crush the food items and separate the pulp from the juice.

However, you will notice slight differences in how they perform this task. Good examples include centrifugal juicers and slow masticating juicers.

Centrifugal Juicers

Centrifugal juicers spin at high speeds and use centrifugal force to extract juice from the produce.

They also have a mesh chamber with sharp teeth and this helps break the produce down even further. The speed is amazing and they produce juice within a short time. Prices differ but they are generally within the affordable range.

Slow Masticating Juicers

They can serve the same function as cold press juicers. Masticating juicers work by crushing the food item first and then slowly pressing it to get maximum juice yield from it. This is a newer type of juicer in the market but works very well to meet the need.

It can also process nuts so fans of almond milk and any other nut milk will have a great time using it. The noise levels are also very low and therefore aren’t disruptive when in use.

Citrus Juicers

Sometimes you want a healthy orange juice and you know the large bottles on the supermarket shelf won’t cut it. A quality citrus juicer will transform your humble oranges into a beautiful juice you can use.

It is safe for home juicing with your children and doesn’t contain unnecessary sugar unless you add any. If you do need to sweeten, honey is a better option and sustains your healthy juicing trend.

Commercial Juicers

These are able to handle larger volumes of juicing and so those who own juice bars would benefit from them.

As expected, they are fast and produce quality juices that can be served immediately to customers without compromising the nutritional content.

Good juicers may seem expensive but look at all the health benefits you stand to gain. It is a worthwhile investment for anyone who is serious enough about his or her pursuit of healthier eating and drinking.

Storing the Juice

Your juice is now ready to drink. You may want to split it and keep some for later but this isn’t advisable. Juice oxidizes when exposed to air and this leads to a slow but certain degeneration.

You will notice that the juice separates with the sediments settling at the bottom and the water content floating on top of them. The focus was on healthy drinks so it is best consumed immediately it is ready.

If you must store it you will be faced with the task of keeping oxygen and light out. You can do this by placing the juice in a dark container. Fill the container to the brim and make sure the lid is airtight.

If you can get a food vacuum pump, use it to suck the remaining air out of the container. Once you are done, store it in the fridge as soon as possible and drink it within 24 hours.

The idea is to keep it fresh and to help your body get to optimum levels. This calls for the use of organic fruits and vegetables because they contain no pesticides and such.

Filling your body with pesticide-laden food isn’t something you want to do. Choose your vegetables and fruit very carefully so that you can get the most out of them while juicing at home.

Cleaning the Juicer

Juicers have several parts that make the mechanism work efficiently. This is great when juicing but cumbersome during clean up.

Take heart and clean your juicer immediately because fruit and vegetable pulp gets sticky. It also sticks to surfaces when dry and can be a pain to remove.

Remove all the pieces and wash them as recommended, carefully removing all the food pieces. You can use an old toothbrush to get pieces out of the metallic parts but some juicers come with a brush for this.

Proper cleaning will prevent the growth of mold, which can contaminate your juice. It should take between five and ten minutes to finish the whole process.

In most cases, you should consider the easy to clean juicer if you want to spend more time in making you drink rather than cleaning the machine.

Drinking the Juice

You have your juice ready and your morning couldn’t get any better because you are sure you are giving your body and brain a good supply of good greens. It can be tempting to down it all in a single gulp and especially if you aren’t accustomed to the taste yet but you need to resist.

Would you throw back a good glass of wine that fast? Probably not. This is the god stuff right here so you need to savor it. Take a sip and swirl it in your mouth to give your taste buds a sneak peak of what is coming their way.

Relax and drink your juice slowly, savoring every moment of it knowing that it is doing great things in there. Aren’t you at home? This serves to ‘awaken’ the enzymes for the subsequent digestion of nutrients in the juice.

It is appropriate to take this juice before a meal. This will give the body enough time to digest it without any encumbrances. Taking juice immediately after food is a bad idea.

In fact, it creates room for fermentation since it will take a much a longer time in the digestive system. It will also mix with the food you just ate. You don’t want to have gas as a side effect of taking juice instead of a clearer mind.

Appropriate Portions and Mixes For best Juice Combinations

New juicers may require the balancing portions for both fruits and vegetables. The taste of vegetables can only scare you away on the first day! Choose greens like celery, Romaine lettuce, spinach, and cucumbers and avoid kale for a bit.

Kale can be a little bitter when juiced and you can begin adding it in small quantities later on. Throw in fruits that don’t have too much fructose in them such as a pear or kiwi fruit.

As you go along, you can tilt the scales and have 70 percent vegetables and 30 percent fruits. As you progress, you will find that herbs are a great addition to your mixes.

Ginger, cilantro, and even mint make for a superb flavor boost and come with their own health benefits too.

Even as you keep the vegetables at a higher percentage, remember not to overdo the sweet vegetables such as beetroot and carrots. Mix up the colors by all means but let the greens steal the show. A green juice must be green, after all.

Juicing at Home Truly Is Beneficial!

There will be days you will think of taking out the fruits and vegetables and the thought of washing them to push them into a juicer will seem like a Herculean task.

Maybe you’ll remember there’s a juice bar around the corner or one that does deliveries when you order online and that will seem like a much better idea.

On those days, remember that the fresher it is the better for your body. How fresh is it at the juice bar? Remember that there is much more room to play around with the mixes in your kitchen than when you are buying the juice.

It is not bad once in a while; home juicing will leave you with extras like pulp that could fit into your other healthy meals.

The peace of mind that comes with knowing that your juice is made from clean quality produce and handled with high cleanliness standards is priceless.

What Next?

Good health sometimes feels like an elusive thing in the modern world what with fast food fighting for your attention at every corner.

Getting it together with regard to health will increase your energy levels and enable you to better carry out your duties with minimal fatigue selection of unjuicable fruits and vegetables.

Fresh juice is a great place to begin this journey. This also influences your decision when selecting the best juicers for home use.