Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Juicing 101





So I recently decided to attend a "Quench Your Thirst" juicing class.  But wait Curly Cubamincan I've seen pictures of your juice creations on Facebook and Instagram so why would you waste your time going to a class? Although I'm not new to juicing...I'm still very open minded to learning more about juicing and the health benefits it has to offer. The class was held inside of JuiceBar Juices located off Holland road in the Holland Windsor Crossing Shopping Center in Virginia Beach, VA. Sister Vickie Thompson was so informative and she shared a little bit about herself and how juicing has proven to benefit her greatly.  To start off she's been juicing for 25 years!  I've still got my juicing training wheels in comparsion to a juicing veteran like her.  She spoke about chlorophyll and it's benefits and I even had the opportunity to sample it.  I learned about the differences between centrifugal and masticating juicers, which I found to be helpful information since I was somewhat unsure of the difference myself.  We sampled all of the four recipes that were part of the demonstration.  I'll share them with you later.  So I'm going to give you a rundown of what I learned about the two...each has its own set of pros and cons.  Since I own a centrifugal juicer (Jack LaLanne) that's the one I will discuss first.  This information helped to further my understanding of what type of juicer I owned.

Centrifugal Juicers:

  • Centrifugal juicers are juicers that separate the juice from the pulp by spinning the produce at a high speed.
  • The chutes on this type of juicer are generally larger so you're not as committed to prepping.
  • These juicers tend to oxidize and slightly warm the juice so some nutritional value is lost in the process.
  • Relatively noisey.
  • Juices produced by this type of juicer should be consumed within 24 hours.
  • This juicer is great if you need your juice quickly.
Breville Juicer


Masticating Juicers:

  • Masticating juicers basically mimic what your teeth do, which is grinding the produce to separate the juice from the pulp.
  • The chutes are generally smaller which does not allow the same amount of oxidation as a centrifugal juicer.  Smaller chute also means you will have to set aside time to prep your fruits and veggies.
  • These juicers take longer to produce juice which is due to the method the juicer uses to extract the juice (grinding action), which yields more juice and less pulp
  • Juices produced by this type of juicer can be consumed within 48 hours
  • Quieter than centrifugal juicers.
  • More efficient at juicing green leafy veggies such as spinach, kale, parsley, cilantro, etc. 
Omega 8006




Sister Vickie also provided the class with information regarding the difference between juicing and blending.  Juicing separates the juice from the fiber and blending blends all ingredients together.  Therefore the rate of digestion from juice varied from that of a green smoothie.  She taught us that with juicing there is an instant infusion of minerals and phytonutrients to your bloodstream.  Juicing is gentle on your digestive system.  And finallywhen juicing you remove the fiber so you can pack more veggies in juice than a smoothie.  Smoothies support digestive health which in turn aids in elimination.  Smoothies are bulkier so they satisfy hunger and sustain energy over times.  And lastly smoothies balance your blood sugar.

Here are some tips I picked up...I found them helpful so I'm sharing them with you:
  •  Layer your produce...fruit, veggie, fruit, veggie...helps to blend the flavors together prior to stirring or straining.
  • Certain fruits and veggies yield more juice when juiced at room temprature versus straight from the fridge.
  • If you don't plan to consume your juice immediately you can add citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, and oranges to act as natural preservatives
  • When blending put your soft produce at the bottom of the blender first.
So if you live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and happen to be in Virginia Beach stop by JuiceBar Juices.  Here's a few photos of what is now one of my favorite places to stop by.











These recipes that I'm about to share are not ones I created myself.  I was surprised I liked the recipe that contained ginger and the recipe that contained beets.  First things first I am NOT a fan of beets by far.  And second off I tried ginger and wasn't really feeling it.  Juicing is all about trying new combinations...some you'll love, some you could take it or leave it, and of course some you just flat out do not care for.   If you try the, let me know how it turned out...like it? Love it?  Hate it? 
 
Hob Kob Juice:
  • 3 pears
  • 1 head of celery
  • 1 inch ginger


Limeade Quench:
  • 2 apples
  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1 peeled lime
  • cilantro 1/4th of a bunch

    (Sorry I didn't catch a photo before tossing it back, lol)
Green Acres:
  • 2 apples
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 beet
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1/2 head of celery



The "Down Dog" Smoothie:
  • 1 small banana (or 1/2 large) frozen and chopped
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen pineapple
  • 1 1/2 cups spinach or romaine
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • a few chlorella tablets (optional)
  • 1 scoop any protein powder of choice; hemp would be great in this smoothie
  • 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups coconut water

For more information on Sister Vickie please visit her website at www.nuturingbodynsoles.com or give her a call at 757-560-2001.  The entire class/demo was made possible by Sister Vickie of 2 MoRaw Sistahs and JuiceBar Juices.