Juicy

Hello friends, fruit lovers. 

When I was a child, the only juice in our house was orange juice. It was made from a can of frozen concentrate, the cheap generic brand. And my dad watered it down. We drank it only at breakfast.

Fast forward to today, our grocery list includes some if not all of the following: OJ, lemonade, cranberry juice, cranberry/pomegranate juice, grape juice. We ofter mix them with carbonated water from our SodaStream. Our fridge also contains Gatorade (only “the blue”), Celsius energy drinks, Fairlife protein shakes, Diet Coke, and La Croix (lime).

I know juice has a lot of sugar and is only marginally better than soda. There was a time when many people thought juicing was super healthy. Then they questioned whether they were actually just consuming a lot of fruit-based sugar without the benefit of fiber. Back when I was in college, my mom gave me a giant industrial juicer which I never used. When our apartment was robbed, and they took the juicer I was actually grateful.

Now I’m sort of wishing I had one. I do have a Ninja Bullet for making smoothies and smoothie bowls and it’s great, but I suspect I need a juicer in order to blend hardier things like carrots, celery, apples, and the like. Just like with my smoothies, I think the trick to limiting the amount of sugar in a juice is to include veggies. Kale and spinach are practically undetectable. Coconut water or almond milk add liquid without adding more sweetener when you already have frozen fruit in there. Protein powders, oats, chia seeds and almond butter all add fiber and/or protein, not more sugar.

If you’re in the market for a juicer, here are a few options I’m considering. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Just so you know.)

PRETTIEST/SPLURGE  |  BREVILLE

GREEN JUICE

When I was in Mexico recently, I tried Jugo Verde. It was amazing. When I asked what was in it, they said, “cucumber, cactus, parsley, orange, and pineapple.” If I had a juicer, I would definitely make this.