A few years ago, I purchased a smoothie maker on a whim. It turned out to be a great buy – I used it either every day, or every other day. I saved a lot of money, money I would spend far too regularly at a well-known (but very expensive) smoothie franchise near the office where I worked. Once I found the right frozen yoghurt, there was no difference at all in the taste from those I ordered so regularly and it became a quick and healthy breakfast every morning. Supposedly.
I figured a whisked concoction of fruit every morning couldn’t be anything but healthy. However, consuming all that fruit in one go is high in sugar, acidic (which is damaging to tooth enamel) and once fruit is processed with other ingredients including honey or frozen yoghurt, it loses a lot of nutrients and vitamins, so a piece or two of fruit consumed on their own is a wiser choice. Very sad news indeed for smoothie fiends! I needed an alternative, so I gave juicing a go. Not just plain jane orange or grapefruit juicing – juices loaded with vegetables too.
There are so many variations and recipes for juices depending on what ails you, but this one – an ‘immune boosting detox juice’ seemed fairly popular. It’s obviously no smoothie in terms of taste, but it’s tangy, wholesome and easy to finish all the same. As for the benefits – my eyes seem brighter and I have more energy. The juices also take longer to consume and are really filling…but I’m easing myself into a life of juicing. Old habits die hard.
Immune boosting, detoxifying juice
1 apple (remove core)
Half a lime (remove skin)
Half a lemon (remove skin)
Matchbox size piece of fresh ginger
2 celery stalks
2 carrots, peeled
A juicer is essential, unless you don’t mind lumps of crunchy goo!
The finished product will look a little something like this:
♥ ♥ ♥