Joy of Juicing

Would you like a quick and tasty way to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables in one convenient glass? Try making fresh juice at home. When juicing, the pulp is extracted, leaving you with a smooth, delicious, preservative-free beverage teeming with nutrients.

Jazzercise Founder and CEO Judi Sheppard Missett recommends juicing as a healthy alternative and also reminds us to include whole foods in our diet for added fiber.

When you juice at home, you get to choose exactly what flavors you enjoy most. Experiment and create new recipes by modifying the ingredients a bit each day based on the produce you have on hand.

Home juicers are available in many stores and online, starting at around $70. Features to consider include entry chute width, how much pulp is removed, quietness of operation and ease of clean-up.

Here are some tips for easy, fun, healthful juicing:

Balanced Blends
Balance fruit’s natural sugars and acidity by including veggies for their alkalinity. Celery and cucumber both juice very well thanks to their high water content.

Drink it Now
Without preservatives found in bottled beverages, your juice will taste best and have the most health benefits when you drink it immediately after making it. Store freshly-made juice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a maximum of 24 hours.

Stock Up
Juicing requires more product than it may appear at first. Once you begin, you’ll learn how much to have on hand so there’s enough to share with everyone in your household.

Go Green
Add green veggies to your blend. The flavors of kale, broccoli, spinach and chard can almost be masked when juiced with fruit, though the color of your concoction will take on their green tints. Go easy on the quantity – green juice is powerful.

Lighten up with Lemon
Lemons and limes brighten the flavor. Begin by juicing half a lemon or lime and see how you like it before graduating to the whole fruit.

Whole Foods Alternative
For a thicker beverage more like a smoothie, use a strong food processor to make a drink of entire fruits and vegetables, pulp and all. Be sure to add liquid such as water or milk for more fluid consistency.

Recipe ideas:
Try some of these delightful juicing combinations:

• Carrot, apple and celery

• Carrot, apple and beets (peel beets before putting them into the juicer)

• Tomatoes, celery, cucumber, carrots, half a lime and salt for a veggie cocktail

Experiment with quantities to find the flavor blends you like best. Drink to your health!

Judi Sheppard Missett, who turned her love of jazz dance into a worldwide dance exercise phenomenon, founded the Jazzercise dance fitness program in 1969. She has advanced the business opportunities of women and men in the fitness industry by growing the program into an international franchise business that today, hosts a network of 7,800 instructors teaching more than 32,000 classes weekly in 32 countries.

 The workout program, which offers a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, cardio box and Latin style movements, has positively affected millions of people worldwide. Benefits include increased cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility, as well as an overall "feel good" factor.  Additional Jazzercise programs include Junior Jazzercise, Jazzercise Lite and Personal Touch.  For more information on Jazzercise go to jazzercise.com or call (800)FIT-IS-IT or (760)476-1750.

Courtesy of Jazzercise, Inc. - jazzercise.com