Ruth Tal - Fresh Essentials: Fruit Smoothies And Power Shakes

Getting Juiced

Imagine getting intoxicated on fresh juice, feeling greatand never having a hangover again. Imagine drinking a stream of super powershakes, energy and immune elixirs, exotic fruit smoothies and vegetablecocktails that leave you glowing, very much alive and kicking.

Luscious juice gives you the opportunity to enhance yourdiet, health and present lifestyle with the inclusion of fresh juices,superfood supplements, protein powders and herbal tinctures. One step furtherand these juices can infiltrate your life to the exclusion of other vices youmay have.

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices have the power of natureshealing properties and nutritional building blocks to bring you closer tobetter health and well-being than youve ever been before. They are a rich,concentrated source of nutrients and give an instant boost of vital energy. Thevitamins, minerals and enzymes present in live juices are absorbed much morequickly, easily and efficiently than whole foods that can take hours to digest.The quick and easy assimilation of fresh juices is due to the presence of liveenzymes in raw fruits and vegetables. These enzymes are destroyed when fruitsand vegetables are cooked. In todays busy world, when it seems theres neverenough time to eat properly, juicing can ensure that your body gets thenourishment it needs to stay on topfast. This is especially important for yourimmune system, which is constantly fending off assaults from bacteria, viruses,environmental toxins and stress.

You can use Luscious Juice as your inspiration and referenceguide. Allow yourself to improvise and deviate from the ingredients, tailoringour juices to suit your needs. Let your senses lead you to your dream juice,and then let your body guide you to a new level of well-being.

The Eight Benefits of Juicing

Hydration

Our cells consist mostly of water, which is essential totheir proper functioning. Thats why our bodies require at least eight glassesof water a day. Raw juice supplies the water you need to replenish lost fluidwhile providing all the necessary vitamins, minerals, enzymes, andphytochemicals. Juices also promote the alkalinity of body fluids, which isvital for proper immune and metabolic function.

Cleansing

Raw juice has a laxative effect on the body, which helps ridit of toxins. Cleansing the system makes your metabolism more efficient.

Enzymes

Enzymes are the living force present in all living plants.They are most readily available to the body when raw fresh juices are consumed.This life force is a vital quality that is lost in processing, pasteurization,and concentrates.

Sugars

Natural sugars deliver the same energy as pastries, candy,and soft drinks without the chemicals, empty calories, and fats.

Assimilation

Nutrients can be taken into the cells of the body within 15minutes (as compared with 1 hour or more for nutrients to be assimilated fromingredients with the pulp intact). This saves the energy required for digestionand allows the body to rest while detoxifying or cleansing, before or afterphysical activity or while recovering from illness.

Chlorophyll

Found only in plants, chlorophyll has a unique structurethat allows it to enhance the bodys ability to produce hemoglobin, which inturn enhances the delivery of oxygen to the cells.

Antioxidants

Herbs, fruits, and vegetables are high in antioxidants,which counteract the free radicals that can cause cellular damage, aging, andsusceptibility to cancers. Top common antioxidant fruits and vegetables includepomegranate, berries, cherries, apples, red beans, kale, red potato, andartichokes.

Pleasure

Making juice at home is fun. Its an interactive activityfor couples, roommates, kids, and parents. The fun begins with dreaming upcombinations, going shopping for your juicing adventure, prepping and juicingat home, and finally drinking your delicious creations. Drinking freshlysqueezed juices and smoothies is a pleasure for the taste buds, and knowing youhave just done something for yourself and your loved ones is a pleasure for everyone.

Be sure to incorporate your juices into a well-balancedhigh-fibre whole food diet. Extracted juices should not completely replacewhole fruits and vegetables, since their fibre is also important foreliminating toxins and preventing some forms of cancer.

Basic Equipment

All you need is a clean cutting board, a good, sharp knife,a tall glass or two smaller glasses, a decent home juicer, and a blender. Somerecipes may require only a juicer or a blender, and some may require both.

Juice extractors

A juice extractor separates the nutrients and watercontained in fruits, vegetables, and herbs from the pulp or indigestible fibre.There are two basic types of juice extractors: masticating and centrifugal.

Masticating

A masticating juice extractor squeezes the fruits andvegetables through gears, which crush and force them through a fine stainlesssteel strainer. It takes more time to produce a glass of juice, but the processgenerates less heat and friction, and so more enzymes are preserved. Plus, it isvery quiet.

Centrifugal

In a centrifugal juicer, a spinning basket shreds the fruitsand vegetables and forces the juice through a fine stainless steel strainer.Depending on the make of the juicer, pulp can be continuously extracted orcollected in the basket. Centrifugal juices cause slight oxidation of thenutrients, but they are much faster and more convenient to use than masticatingjuicers.