Fresh Juice

I don't like to give my kids pop, that is a given, although they get maybe a glass or two a year at a family get together or birthday party. In our house the drink choices are filtered water ( which I plan to talk about in another post ) raw milk, tea, yogurt of kefir smoothies, and juice. I don't buy juice from the grocery store because most of them are as bad for you as pop. I know that sounds like a stretch but if you don't believe me look into it for yourself. Here are a few places to get you started.
truth about store bought orange juice
arsenic in apple juice?
Secret ingredient in your orange juice
None of these articles even address high fructose corn syrup in juice, which can be another problem.
Instead of buying juice from the store for my kids, I really like to make fresh juice for them.  This does require some hardware and software. The hardware would be a juicer. There are a lot of them on the market. They range from $30 to $500. Let me tell you I don't think you really need to spend a fortune. My first Juicer was a cheep $30 juicer and it did the job. I have a Jack La Lane juicer now, and its nice and not to pricey at just around $100.

  Now for the software. I like to use a variety of fruits and veggies in our juice.  Here is what we had this morning.

Carrots, apples, cucumber, pineapple & grapes

I like to have mostly carrot in our juice, its a good base, and its really good for your gut. It also helps to rid your body of toxins.
Here is what our finished juice looked like today. It could be very different depending on the combo of ingredients I use. Like spinach no matter how little I use, turns the whole glass bright green.

All that fruit and veg, made just that amount of juice. Its enough for all of us to have just one glass. 

Here is what we are left with after all the juice is gone.

I know it seems like a waste, but sometimes I take the pulp and make muffins with it. I don't view it as a waste because I know that my family just received a powerhouse of nutrients that they would never get by just eating an apple and a few carrot sticks as a snack. Now don't get me wrong, I love it when they snack on healthy stuff too, but this is much more concentrated. 

Juicing is especially good for people who are on the gaps diet. Here is what Natasha Campbell McBride has to say about it in her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome.

So what do we do about all these heavy metals and toxins lurking in our patients bodies? We can't just forget about them. Well there is a time proven way of detoxifying, taking out of the body not just the heavy metals but a lot of other poisons as well without any side effects or harmful complications. And a very tasty way too. Children in particular love it. This way is JUICING. Thousands of people all over the world freed themselves from the most deadly diseases with juicing. 

Juices provide all the goodness from these fruit and vegetables in a concentrated form and in large amounts.  For example to make a glass of carrot juice you a pound of carrots. Nobody can eat a pound of carrots at once, but you can get all that nutrition from them by drinking the juice. 

For people who have a compromised digestive system the fiber in fruits and veggies can irritate the gut lining, by juicing the fiber is taken out, making it easier to absorb all the nutrients. 

Fiber in fruits and veggies is a good thing for those who can handle it! 

Well I hope I have inspired you to look into juicing, or to dust off the juicer you have had sitting in the basement.  I think it will pay off big for your health.  Right now I try to juice twice a week. That is enough for us to see some of the benefits!  Happy Juicing!