Wrongly associated with fad diets and dodgy detoxes, juicing is an easy way to squeeze micronutrients into your life. All you need to do is extract fact from fad.
1. Order up
Green
Kale and spinach are at the juicing vanguard with good reason but they’re also notoriously difficult from which to extract much in the way of liquid. Weigh them down with heavier ingredients for a more precious yield.
A high ratio of vegetables to fruit means a hefty hit of antioxidants without overdoing the fructose. It can also mean a glass resembling pond water. For a more balanced blend, carrots will lend a natural sweetness without dominating.
Fruit machines
When you’re feeling fruity, exercise caution: the juice yield tends to be greater than veg, and too much of a juiced thing is not necessarily a good thing. 300-400ml in total is optimal – much more and your body won’t be able to assimilate it.
Added values
Used sparingly, strong, hard-hitting spikes of flavour will transform a juice from oh-so-worthy to actually-worth-drinking. Chilli and ginger are both excellent choices. But don’t be tempted to peel them: there are valuable nutrients in the skins.
2. Your blender
When you’re ready to pulp and grind, remember: high-speed machines create heat, which vapes vitamins. Meanwhile, cold-pressing is lengthy and fussy. Choose a juicer with adjustable speed settings – or better, one that automatically adjusts according to your ingredients – to balance attention to detail with leaving home on time.
3. Power play
Adding a scoop of protein powder to any juice is a smart move, transforming your beverage into a pro post-workout meal. Musashi’s 100% Whey is a premium blend of WP concentrate and WP isolate that will promote muscle growth after a gruelling encounter with the heavy iron. It’s a low-carb formula, which is ideal as you’ll get enough carbs from the fruit. We’d recommend the super-tasty Vanilla Milkshake flavour as it complements any combination of fruits.
4. Squeeze it yourself
The gaudy bottles increasingly filling the shelves of supermarket chillers are, for the most part, all bumph and no pips. The majority are pasteurised to extend their shelf life, which instantly kills off the enzymes your body is thirsty for. Get on your own brand of juiced benefits with four winter-proofing recipes courtesy of Pandora Symes, founder of wellness experts rootedlondon.com.
Pick out your antidote from the selection below.
Energy fruit infusion
Rhubarb has two seasons and is a sharper alternative to other fruits for a less sickly flavour. Juice 1 cucumber, 4 rhubarb stalks, 2 apples, 1/2 cup strawberries and blend with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Green with immunity
Juice 3 handfuls of spinach, 1 cucumber, 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, 2 handfuls of kale, a small handful of parsley and mint and 1 lime. Mix with 1/2 again of coconut water, or more of if you’re particularly thirsty.
Citrus hangover bomb
Juice 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1-2 red chilies (depending on how daring you are) and mix with a tablespoon of agave and 400ml water. This works best first thing in the morning and beats OJ to a pulp.
Roots of digestion
Juice 1-2 small beetroot, 1 orange, 1/2 cucumber, 2cm ginger, 2 carrots and 1 lime in that order – the rind of the last ingredients helps to draw through the rest. To make it slightly sweeter, add more fresh orange.
5. Crush the competition
If carrot and kale are too vanilla for your Instagram feed, here’s how to pimp your juice with some hard-won nutritional extras
Wheatgrass
Packed with vitamins and amino acids, but notoriously hard to juice. Instead, chop the leaves and grind in a pestle and mortar, adding water gradually to form a paste. Then strain through a muslin. Continue until the leaves are white. Then repeat. A lot…
Almond milk
The true alternative milk aficionado makes his own. Soak almonds overnight in water, then pour away the cloudy liquid and rinse the nuts thoroughly. Add 3 cups of water back into the bowl and slowly add spoonfuls of nuts and water into the juicer.
Nut seed butter
Free from additives and full of flavour but a bit more of a hassle. First, replace the juicing screen with a blank plate. Pour in a handful of nuts and turn it on, then add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Pour in the rest of the nuts and push through – fast for chunky, slow for smooth.
