As a kid, I watched my younger sister savor peas and carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables the way I savored graham cracker pudding pie. It blew my mind that someone, a child no less, could actually like vegetables. The closest I came to enjoying vegetables were ketchup and popcorn.
Prodded by an onslaught of Old Wives’ Tales, flat-out lies, and non sequitors—vegetables will make your hair curly*, you’ll get scurvy if you don’t eat your vegetables, there are children starving in India—I grudgingly choked down as few veggies as I could get away with while anticipating my reward: dessert.
Thankfully, veggies, like beer, became an acquired taste for me.
Now, veggies comprise the bulk of my food plan. I eat 16 ounces of vegetables at lunch and dinner with a serving of whole grains, protein, and fat. I don’t drown the veggies in cheese or oil. I don’t fry them. I eat them raw or lightly cooked, and I can honestly say that today I crave spinach the way I used to crave Tastycakes.
Tastebuds can be retrained, but it’s unrealistic to think that if you despise vegetables you will wake up one morning and suddenly crave Brussels sprouts. You’ll have to put in a little work to encourage your tastebuds to get along with vegetables. Juicing may help fill the gap between what you want to eat and what you need to eat for ideal health.
Here are some of the benefits of juicing:
- With juicing, you can add healthy ingredients—a piece of fruit, for example—that make the veggies more palatable.
- Juicing is quicker than cooking. It cuts down on prep and clean-up times.
- Juicing is easier on your digestive system. Remember: Digestion begins in the mouth. Swish your juice around in your mouth for at least 10 seconds before swallowing it.
- Juicing helps balance your body’s pH level.
- Fresh, all-natural juices are ultra nutrient dense.
- Juice is easy to grab on the go. Try Evolution, Pressed Juicery, Organic Avenue, Liquiteria, Juice Press. Choose glass bottles over plastic, and avoid cans completely, especially if the juice contains tomatoes. Chemicals from the can’s lining can leach into the juice.
You don’t need an expensive food processor to do your own juicing. I use a $30 Ninja blender and it works great.
A friend recently told me some health “expert” claims juicing is bad for you and bad for the environment. That is categorically ridiculous, especially if the choice is between juicing or omitting veggies from your food plan. While juicing does remove the fiber, and a high fiber diet is associated with lower risk of certain diseases, including colon cancer and obesity, fresh vegetable juice is a treasure of nutrition. Also, the byproduct of juicing is completely compostable/biodegradable.
You can juice with a clear conscience.
*Footnote: My hair, which was poker straight as a kid, is now super curly. Is it a coincidence that my luscious head of Botticelli spirals appeared when I began to eat veggies? I think not. Veggies really did make my hair curly. 🙂
