Robin Asbell - Juice It!: Energizing Blends for Todays Juicers

I want to serve a big juicy glass of gratitude to all the talented people at Chronicle Books who edit, design, photograph, and make beautiful books happen. Thanks to photographer Antonis Achilleos, and my editor, Amy Treadwell. I am truly grateful to have been a part of this project, and have enjoyed every minute. I want to pass another round to my husband Stan, and my parents, Larry and Marilyn Calhoun, and my sister, Rachael Calhoun. Thanks for enjoying all the samples. A healthy juice toast to my agent, Jennifer Griffin, for all her help.

I also owe a big plant-based ovation to Fran Costigan for serving me green juices, and to Kristine Vick, Jill OConnor, and the rest of my friends who encourage and inspire me. Text copyright 2014 by Robin Asbell.
Photographs copyright 2014 by Antonis Achilleos. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ISBN 978-1-4521-3014-9 The Library of Congress has cataloged the previous edition as follows: Asbell, Robin.
Juice it! : energizing blends for todays juicers / Robin Asbell ; photographs by Antonis Achilleos.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4521-2539-8
1. 2. 2.

Fruit juices. 3. Vegetable juices. I. Title.
TX840.J84A83 2014
641.87'5--dc23
2013026595 Designed by Sarah Higgins
Typesetting by Maureen Forys Prop styling by Paola Andrea
Food styling by Adrienne Anderson
The photographer wishes to thank: Adrienne Anderson for the amazing food styling, and Paola Andrea, the prop stylist, for the myriad glasses she brought so we could choose the perfect ones for this fun book. It was such a joy working on this project.

Especially tasting all the amazing recipes. My favorite was Ginger Jolt. Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

Juicing just might change your life. Your juicer is a tool for making splendid beverages out of plants, unlocking amazing flavors and health benefits. Today, you can concoct a juice to be the most delicious thing you have ever tasted, and it will still be good for you. Tomorrow, you can make a juice with your health in mind, and it will still taste amazing.

Juicing is a win-win that way. Fresh juices can be so naturally sweet and satisfying that you dont need dessert, or they can be so invigorating that you dont need coffee. You can spoil yourself with a delicious spritzer or juice blend made with the tropical essences of mangoes and kiwis. You can head to the kitchen to head off chronic disease with a glass full of protective antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals from kale and beets. Or you can soothe a headache with celery juice, which relaxes the circulatory system in your head and helps eliminate toxins in the body. Juices can be a nutrient-packed way to kick the soda habit or a way to lighten up after a period of overindulgence.

The key to unlocking the energizing nutrients in plants is your juicer, which extracts the slow-to-digest fibers, giving you a concentrated elixir of vitamins and minerals that are essential to making your body hum at a cellular level. If you have been eating junk food or drinking alcohol, you may have deprived yourself of magnesium, crucial to metabolizing carbohydrates for energy. Thiamine is also essential to the cellular production of energy, and you can unlock both magnesium and thiamine quickly by juicing leafy greens for a shot of instantly absorbed natural energy. Add some vitamin Crich lemon or tomato, and you aid your adrenal glands, which often become overworked by stress and need C to keep your energy balanced. Intensely flavorful juices can be a valuable cooking ingredient, adding pure flavor to simple dishes. Vegetable soup increases its flavor dramatically with a shot of carrot or mixed veggie juice in the broth, and risotto takes on the essence of a vegetable when juice is simmered right into the grains.

Your juicer will deliver all of this and more.

Want vibrant health? Boundless energy? Drinking lots and lots of colorful fruits and vegetables is the answer. The bounty of the produce section is guaranteed to shower your body with protective antioxidants, alkalize your pH, and nourish you with vitamins and minerals you need. For example, lets look at the cucumber: Did you know that cukes are loaded with cell-protecting compounds? Flavonoids, lignans, and triterpenes are phytonutrients that your cucumber juice will provide. Research shows that these elements scavenge cell-damaging free radicals, reduce inflammation in the body, and block chemicals that cancer cells need to grow. Turn your attention to just about any of the vegetables and fruits that you will be juicing, and you will find similar stories, from the vision-protecting lutein in spinach and blueberries to the heart-healthy phenolic antioxidants in celery.

But most people dont seem to be able to eat enough of a variety of vegetables and fruits every day. Life is busy and meals are consumed on the run. Or maybe you are not that crazy about eating vegetables. Even the most health-conscious diner can get to the end of a day and forget to eat leafy greens. It happens. But what if there was a way to make several servings of fruits and vegetables into a delicious, easy-to-consume snack that required no cooking, very little chopping, and no chewing? Well, there is a way.

Its juicing, and its an endless buffet of flavors, from a savory tomato-based cocktail to a sweet and sparkling strawberry spritzer. Thats rightwith your juicer, you can drink raw, nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits quickly and easily. Instead of chewing through a plate of kale, juice it with a blend of vegetables and fruits, and drink it in a glass. What would have taken hours to digest is now absorbed in minutes, and you will feel the effects. Instead of peeling, slicing, and boiling that healthful beet, drop it in the juicer, and voil, you have a gorgeous glass of ruby-red goodness. Enjoy the earthy, sweet juice, because you are drinking vitamins A, B, and C; potassium; magnesium; phosphorus; iron; beta-carotene; and folic acid.

Dont forget boron, which is necessary for your body to make sex hormones. You may never have considered whether the foods you eat are alkaline or acid, but with juices, its all simple. Basically, meat, white flour, sugar, and many processed foods are acidifying when in your body. Plants, in general, are alkalizing, so they help balance and neutralize the acidic state of your own personal pH. Very fresh, raw plants also contain active enzymes and other trace chemicals that are destroyed by cooking. Your body makes some enzymes necessary for digestion, but raw food devotees believe that eating more enzymes in the form of raw vegetables and fruits is important to good health.

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