ORANGE GREEN JUICE
This is another recipe for a healthy juice that you can drink instead of eating whenever you feel intoxicated, both by too much food or by a cold/flu. I either have 4 or 5 drinks of 350ml for the whole day or else I have three, one in the morning, one at lunch and one in the afternoon and then I have some cooked vegetables for dinner with some light cheese, like ricotta.
This is not a diet because you can’t do it every day for a long time, it’s just a way to feel lighter. Ideally if done once a week it’s a good way to give a break to your intestine. I think it also helps with the motivation to start eating less (I think everybody, even if not overweight, should be careful) because the day after your stomach won’t scream out loud for food. At that point a bit of sport or walks and that’s it… it can be a good start for a longer lasting way of taking care of your body and mind.
I don’t list here all the fantastic properties that each one of these ingredients have, I think everybody is aware of the importance of a diet rich in fresh vitamins and minerals and low in carbs and fats. Here two links to know more: you can click here for vegetables and here for fruits then select whatever food you are interested in and learn about their beneficial advantages.
This week I am proposing three different juices of different colours. The difference in colour is not just for a visual pleasure.
When determining the dietary importance of a foodstuff, nutrients often are the only elements considered, whereas in actual fact there are other known food components called ‘non-nutrients’ that are of enormous interest with regard to health. These substances are named “phytochemicals” when they are found in plants. Among these phytochemicals some stand out because, in addition to having beneficial properties, they give fruits and vegetables their colour.
An example of ‘non-nutrients’ and their importance is given by the compounds responsible for green colour: they are involved in the activation of other substances, specifically the enzymes involved in the detoxification of carcinogens.
In the case of our orange coloured juice, the substances responsible for the colour are carotenoids and the α and β-carotene are very important in the diet because they are precursors of vitamin A, which is involved in immune responses.
You can find more about vegetables colours and their phytochemicals beneficial properties by clicking here: European Food Information Council.
The World Health Organization recommends eating a minimum of 400 g of fruits and vegetables a day to prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. To reach that number, we can combine the different colours of fruits and vegetables, obtaining all the benefits they bring to our health.
In fact by trying these three juices of mine you will be able to distinguish the different flavours and then mix them as you prefer. There is no rule and you can never go wrong. This is the beauty of Nature and its beautiful colours.
- 3 Carrots
- 1 Orange
- 1 yellow-red Apple
- 4 Radish
- 3 cm piece Ginger
- 1 Lemongrass
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1,5 cm slice of White Cabbage
- Clean surface areas and get your ingredients nice and ready.
- Wash vegetables and peel lemon and orange, plus the ones with skin if not organic.
- Pass them in a juicer (juice free of pulp, easier to digest) or a very good blender (juice with pulp and fibers). In this second case you might need to add some water to make it more liquid.
- Add salt and/or agave syrup according to taste.
- If you buy organic is better because you can juice the skin too (apart of the lemon and orange because it's too bitter). If you don't buy organic please peel apples, radish...
- I use a juicer and I pass the veggies three times, every time you can extract more.
- 3 Karotten
- 1 Orange
- 1 rot-gelber Apfel
- 4 Radieschen
- 3 cm Stück Ingwer
- 1 Stängel Zitronengras
- ½ Zitrone
- 1,5 cm Stück weisser Kohl
- Arbeitsfläche reinigen und Zutaten bereitstellen.
- Gemüse waschen, Zitrone und Orange schälen.
- Falls nötig das Gemüse schälen.
- Wenn Sie den Mixer verwenden, enfernen Sie die Kerne des Apfels.
- Entweder entsaften (frei von Fruchtfleisch und einfacher zu verdauen), oder in einem starken Mixer mit etwas Wasser püriere (mit Fruchtfleisch und Nahrungsfasern).
- Mit Salz und/oder Agavensirup abschmecken.
- Biologisches Gemüse ist besser, da Sie es mit der Schale verwenden können (ausser Zitronen und Orangen, da die Schale zu bitter ist). Sonst würde ich Früchte und Gemüse schälen.
- Ich brauche gerne den Entsafter und lasse das Gemüse drei mal durchlaufen, um alle Nährstoffe auszupressen.
