I just bought myself a cold-press juicer, which I’ve been meaning to get for ages, but have finally pulled the trigger! Around London, there are countless juice bars that have sprung up from nowhere, all boasting clean branding, wafer-thin fonts, green cloudy bottles and eye-watering prices. I’m all for the juice craze, but as with anything, I think it’s worth finding out what your juice is actually made of – my juicer gives me that control! This post contains one of my all-time favorite juice recipes (The Holy Kale), a few pointers on how to approach juicing, and some images we shot with Urban Outfitters whilst wandering the juicing epicentre – Marylebone! Click MORE to see it all…
WHY USE COLD PRESS?
It’s the ideal juicer in my opinion as it preserves the nutritional value of the fruits & vegetables. With many high speed ‘centrifugal’ juicers, they simply whir around and the heat they generate can warm up the fruit sugars, transforming them into simpler sugars, which will in turn cause blood sugar spikes and troughs. Cold presses, or masticating juicers, effectively chew the juice out of your inputs, leaving behind a cake of fibrous pulp, and pure, un-heated nutritionally-intact juice! Yum.
NATURAL MULTIVITAMIN:
The hit of minerals is absorbed quickly by the body it acts an instant natural multivitamin hit, and is easily taken up into the bloodstream for maximum efficiency!
THINK DARK:
Dark veggies – broccoli, kale, spinach, leafy greens – these are jam packed with the likes of calcium, beta-carotene, vitamin K and vitamin C – just to name some of the super powered capabilities found within!
PLANT BASED:
My preference is to stick to plant based vegetables wherever possible as they boast a lower glycemic load, which will result in less of a sugar spike, therefore avoiding that crushing low which typically follows!
FLAVOURING:
Personally I don’t think kale is the tastiest of veggies, so feel free to add some ginger, lemon, lime, or sweet berries to instantly give any juice some delicious flavor.
PHYTO-ESTROGENS:
Natural chemicals that are found in plant foods – it’s a natural hormone which can help keep your own hormones in balance. One of the many reasons to go ‘plant-based’ in your juices, avoiding the crowd-pleasing grape and orange varieties!
‘AVOIDS’?:
Unfortunately a lot of packaged fruit juices are pasteurised. This means that they have a longer shelf life which is due to the heat-treatment they go through – kills bacteria but also kills a lot of the nutritional value. Simple-sugared fruits to look out for are: mangos, grapes, pomegranates, cherries and pineapples. They’re not to be missed out entirely, but be mindful; a Costa 610ml cup of Red Berry Cooler contains 24 teaspoons of sugar, in liquid form, absorbed into the bloodstream instantly. Whilst you might think that regular juicing is healthy, it can be counterproductive if you’re not aware of what’s going into your juice.
RECIPE: THE HOLY KALE (see pic below)
INGREDIENTS: Quantities are ‘to-taste’, as everyone has differing tolerances and preferences!
1. Cucumber
2. Kale
3. Ginger
4. Lime
HEALTHY COOKIES!!
Waste not, want not – the left over pulp is by no means bad for you. It contains lots of good fiber and nutrients. So instead make healthy cookies!
HOW TO?
1. Mush the remaining pulp into little pancakes,
2. Drizzle some manuka honey or cinnamon on top. Or add some cacao nibs inside – whatever is appropriate flavouring to accompany your juicy pulp left overs…
3. chuck the little pancake formations in a preheated oven and let them bake for circa 10 minutes.
4. Voila – little healthy snacks for later!
__________________________
I WAS WEARING:
Whilst spring is here I just love a monochrome look all year round – it’s timeless, slimming, and the white shows any spring tan you may have cultivated over the Bank Holiday weekend! Love the cropped NIKE top and trainers which I paired with a black wind jacket, black leggings and a sexy see-through sports bra – all from Urban outfitters.
Leggings: NIKE
Bra: Cosabella
Tank Top: NIKE
Jacket: NIKE ‘Wind Runner’Trainers: NIKE ‘Thea
________________________
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
CHIA SEED DESSERTS!
GO COCO-NUTS!
HEALTHY MUESLI
SLEEP BETTER!
