An amazing way to cool off this summer and increase your vitamin intake is by juicing.
You may think of freshly squeezed orange juice or lemonade during the summer to cool off, but consider adding a variety of other produce to your morning juice for an added boost.
Studies have shown that certain fruits and vegetables can increase your eye health; a fun and creative way to sneak in a few more nutrients throughout the day. See our blog post for the best Fruits and Veggies for Eye Health.
Because you use a much larger quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables to make a glass of juice than you would normally eat in a day, you’re able to get a larger dose of nutrients. Even if you love a variety of vegetables, there are only a certain number you can eat throughout the day. Juicing helps increase that intake. This is a perfect way to add vegetables to your kids’ daily diet too. Start out juicing with your favorite produce and then branch out to a few vegetables that you may tend to skip.
You can also use this as an opportunity to get your kids in the kitchen and experiment with juicing. Spending a lot of money on a juicer may not be necessary, some of the best reviews on Amazon are for juicers under $60. One that we love for beginners is the Bagotte Fruit and Vegetable Juicer with over 3,000 reviews! It’s small, affordable, and allows beginners to get started quickly and easily.
Now that you know the benefits of juicing and where to get an affordable juicer, what should be the first thing to juice? We recommend starting with Pineapple Beet Carrot Orange Juice. Keep in mind that oranges, cucumbers, melons, carrots, celery, and beets contain more water and tend to make more ‘juice’ than other options might. This recipe will create a good amount of juice and is just sweet enough to make it a less intimidating option than green juices might. If you are ready to add a bit of green, spinach is amazing to add and has very little taste along with the other ingredients.
Pineapple Beet Carrot Orange Juice
Ingredients
1 large beet, peeled (don’t skip the peeling)
½ pineapple (you can also juice the core)
4 large carrots
2 large oranges, peeled and seeds removed
Optional – 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
Follow the instructions provided with your juicer. Serve immediately.
Feel free to add sparkling water or sparkling juice into it to add a few bubbles and make it a little fancier too.
No matter where you might be in your juicing journey, make sure to take each step slowly. Remember you are incorporating more nutrient dense fruits and vegetables into your diet, but they don’t all have to be added at once. Enjoy the process and all of the tips you might learn along the way, your eyes will thank you.
