If you are a person who keeps the slightest bit up to date on food news via blogs or documentaries, you might have noticed that juice fasts have risen in popularity recently.
Juice Fast
A juice fast or cleanse can be for detox purposes, dieting or even just as a supplement to a food-based diet to add in extra nutrients.
One film dominating the juice conversation is Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead where filmmaker Joe Cross travels from truck stop, to small town, to big city trying to get people to try out “juicing.” Cross basically crammed a pile of fruits and vegetables into a mechanical juicer in the back of his vehicle and had strangers drink the results. In any other situation, that might be considered a bit dangerous.
On the other hand, this documentary launched a fringe diet into the mainstream because of the drastic effects each subject experienced when switching from a highly processed diet to a completely plant-based one.
One thing to remember, however, is that “fasting” of any kind may not be for everybody, or every body, so it is best to consult a doctor before embarking on any radical dietary change. For me, my body reacts rather negatively to a complete juice or liquid fast, (and my friends and family appreciate when I am not “juicing” full-time), but I still like to start the day with a smoothie or juice instead of something heavier.
For whatever reason you might be drawn to upping your all-natural juice intake, and for whatever duration, it is a great way to get a high volume of nutrients in a small package.
Here is my favorite morning juice to bring to work, or to enjoy on my porch with coffee and a book.
Lean, Green Juice Machine
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 lemon or lime
- 1 large piece of ginger root
- 1 cucumber
- 2-3 Fuji apples (or whatever apples you prefer)
- a giant handful of kale leaves (this is also a great way to get rid of greens on their last legs in your fridge. Also, read about other uses for greens here.)
- 1-2 carrots
The best thing about juicing is that you don’t really have to chop or peel much of anything. I would only worry about thick rinds from lemons, limes or oranges. You also probably shouldn’t juice bananas unless you plan on clogging your juicer.
Image Credit: Flickr Creative Commons, Leon Terra
