Cold-Pressing Juice for the Soul (And also for the body)

I do not know why I have not yet written on here about juicing. Although, I have only regularly began juicing for less than a year, it has become a regular part of my life. I started off with a traditional centrifugal juicer and soon after moved up to a cold-pressed juicer. This is the same thing as a slow juicer or a masticating juicer. The difference is that instead of using intense speed to juice the fruits and vegetables, it slowly crushes it to extract all of the juice and nutrients--without producing heat. I have noticed that the juice is crisper and it yields a bit more juice. However, either types of juicers will benefit you greatly.

I have several recipes that I adore, but I will start with the first one that I fell in love with: Carrot, orange, ginger, lemon.

This combination has an insane amount of vitamin A, vitamin C and a huge anti-inflammatory kick for a healthy gut and joints. If you make a big jug at the beginning of each week you can drink a glass every other day to support your immune system. Drinking this for a week before traveling can give you that necessary boost that you need for germy planes, sleepless schedules, and new environments. Also, your skin will thank you. External skincare products can only do so much, beauty comes from the inside out. Vitamin C plays a role in tissue repair which helps with skin damage and acne scars. Vitamin A functions similarly and stimulates fibroblasts which cause new skin cell production and plumpness. Basically, your skin will improve greatly.

Not only is juicing so beneficial for your body, gathering nature's bounty together with such care and knowing and appreciating the power of each fruit and vegetable can be a therapeutic experience. And when you are too busy to appreciate it, there's always next week. My mother always says, for every ailment, there is a cure in nature.

Make sure they are organic:

15 carrots

6 oranges

1-2 inches of ginger (I actually never measure this, I am obsessed with ginger)

1-2 lemons (or however much you prefer)

Optional:
1 teaspoon of turmeric (super anti-inflammatory, as most brown kids grew up knowing)
1 teaspoon of Maca powder (hormone balance)
Blend in the gel of a small aloe leaf (soothes the gut, removes fat-soluble toxins)

One additional step I sometimes take is to pour the freshly made juice in a blender and blend it with a small carrot and another tiny piece of ginger. I like the texture that creates. Do not blend for long so as to not produce too much heat, allowing the nutrients to remain raw and intact.

This recipe will give you about 5 servings of juice. I usually put it in the fridge to get colder. Then...

Provecho!

-Anila