“Detox” and “juicing” are certainly buzz words these days, as so many of us are looking to live healthier lifestyles and find ways to compensate for those days (or weeks or months) when we haven’t been trying as hard as we could be.
Cucumber, celery & apple juice
The premise behind detoxing is that your body accumulates toxins, chemicals and other poisonous compounds over the course of your life. Detoxing, or eliminating unhealthy foods from your meal plan, gives your body a chance to cleanse and refresh itself.
One of the most important parts of any diet, detox or otherwise, is water. The old adage about 8 glasses of water a day holds true – and diet soda, caffeinated tea and any kind of coffee are not substitutes for water itself.
Cold-Pressed Juices at Butterfield Market
Drinking vegetable juices, especially the cold-pressed kind sold at Butterfield Market in NYC, are also important elements of your detox program. By pressing them, versus pureeing them in a blender, you keep more of the nutrients, vitamins and beneficial enzymes in tact.
If you haven’t tried these juices before you might be skeptical, and I know the green ones in particular make potential customers more nervous than the sweeter, fruit-based drinks, but if you consider that health authorities maintain that we need 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, isn’t sipping some easier and less time consuming than sitting down to a big salad on some days? Kale has a quirky texture, fennel as a bite, and celery is watery, but when combined with other ingredients like carrot or parsley, ginger or spinach, even a little green apple or lemon juice, these ingredients take on a whole new flavor profile.
Green Goddess Juice from Butterfield Market
Additionally, drinking the vegetables in this form helps you absorb all of their great benefits more easily. Now usually these drinks do not contain protein, so while these can work as a meal replacement, to fully satiate yourself, you may choose to use them as a supplement instead and add some of your favorite plant-based or lean protein on the side. This is surely not to say don’t enjoy your salads! But if you are looking for something different, and for those of you always on the run, give juicing a try. Butterfield Market has plenty of options from which to choose and they are made fresh so you know the quality is always the best!