I hope that everyone had a happy Halloween!
If anyone was curious about this year’s Halloween costume… I was a cactus! I cut white pipe cleaners into small pieces, folded them into “V” shapes and stitched them all over a green fitted American Apparel dress! I added a cactus flower in my hair and as a ring as well : )
Thursday-Saturday consisted of lots of sugary drinks, candy, and costume changes and I think it’s about time for a juice cleanse!
I’ve been complaining to my friends about being super tired and sluggish, and to be honest it’s probably all of the extra crapola that i’ve been eating! Halloween is only once a year, and candy and punch is necessary to celebrate.
My friend Brett (my gorg bunny model) and I are starting a 3 day juice cleanse and I would love some bunnies to join us! I’ll be posting my daily juices and feedback on my blog for you guys to read and follow along. It’s always great to have a buddy so you can hold each other accountable and stay motivated.
I’m really really excited for this post, because I love sharing what i’ve learned along the way of my weight loss journey. I want to showcase my simple juicing tips to make a homemade juice cleanse less intimidating and less time consuming for you guys. Hopefully you will learn some new tricks or be inspired to do a cleanse of your own after reading this!
TIP #1: BUY LOCAL. IT’S CHEAPER.
A lot of people can get turned off by juicing or juice cleanses because of the price. Store bought juice cleanses are super pricey, but making it at home doesn’t have to be!I went to a local store called “Growers Direct” which has excellent prices. I bought all of my produce for the next 3 days for $14.50 (unless I forgot something and need to go back!). Farmers markets are excellent for buying produce for a juice cleanse because they tend to be less expensive than your average grocery store or Whole Foods. Even hit Costco or Sam’s Club for bulk produce!
What I bought:
4 bunches of kale
4 oranges
4 lemons
4 cucumbers
7 Fuji apples
ginger root
5 lb bag of carrots
All for $14.50! That’s the price of 2 store bought juices, or one meal at a restaurant!
TIP #2: LINE THE PULP BIN WITH A PLASTIC BAG.
This will definitely help when cleanup time comes! You won’t have fruit and veggies bits all over your kitchen and they will be pre-bagged and ready to be transferred. For ideas on what to do with your pulp, see TIP #7.
TIP #3: SORT YOUR PRODUCE FOR WASHING.
Place all of your produce that needs to be washed in the sink (anything that the skin remains on i.e. apples, greens, cucumber, grapes, etc.). In the meantime, place a few pieces of paper towel next to the sink for easy drying. Kind of like a little fruit & veggie washing assembly line!
After your produce has been rinsed, place them on the paper towel and gently blot dry. Don’t worry about drying them completely, just blot the excess water.
TIP #4: SORT ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE CHOPED
Sort any produce that needs the skin removed (i.e. citrus and ginger.) At this time, you will also want to chop any large fruits or vegetables that cannot fit into the juicer whole. I like to chop my apples into 4 pieces each so they’re easier to feed into the juicer.
TIP 5: JUICE CITRUS IN BETWEEN SOLID PRODUCE.
To get the most juice out of your citrus and greens, place them in between more solid produce like apples or cucumbers. I like to line up the “mouth” of my juicer with an apple, lemon, and then more apple and press it in with the “plunger.” This way I know I’m getting all of my citrus juice pressed in!
TIP #6: FILL THE SINK WITH SOAP AND WATER FOR QUICK CLEANUP
Fill your sink with warm water and soap while you juice your produce. This will make the cleanup process MUCH faster! Once you finish juicing, place all of your washable juicer parts in the sink and let them soak while you bottle up the juice. This will allow the soap and water to help loosen up the pump for quick and easy part cleanup!
TIP #7: RECYCLE YOUR PULP!
Now that your pulp is already stored in a plastic bag, it’s super easy to transfer it to your refrigerator for later use, or to compost! I love using juice pulp for crackers (recipe coming later this week)! Just remember, if you want to use your juice pulp for another recipe later on, be sure to remove any inedible seeds and skin before juicing. Get that pulp in the refrigerator and save it for my Juice Pulp Cracker recipe later this week!
TIP #8: LINE YOUR COUNTER WITH PAPER TOWEL FOR JUICE STORING.
Line your counter with a couple sheets of paper towel to make the juice storing process less messy. Remove lids from your glass jars and get ready to pour.
Tip #9: HOW TO PROPERLY STORE YOUR FRESH JUICE
Fresh juice right out of the juicer is not only the best tasting but the best for you because of it’s high nutrient level. But we can all agree that it’s not always practical, right? No one really has time to juice several times per day, so it’s necessary to make juice beforehand. A couple of questions I frequently receive are “Is it possible to make juice ahead of time?,” “how long does juice last in the fridge,” and “how do you store fresh juice?” Well here are my answers. Yes, it is possible to make a batch of juice ahead of time and store it for later. Fresh juice can last about 24 hours without losing any nutrients if stored properly.
The biggest concern for keeping juices fresh is oxidation. During the juicing process, fruits and vegetables are broken open and their enzymes and other nutrients are released from the fiber. When the juice is exposed to air it gives up an electron to the oxygen in the air, thus oxidizing the juice and making it less nutritionally stable. If you can reduce the amount of time the juice is exposed to the air and seal it up quickly you have a better chance of keeping the nutrients intact.
This means storing your juice in glass jars with an air tight seal. Below I will describe the process of filling the jars to get the least amount of oxygen in them as possible!
Fill the jars all the way to the top rim with juice so that they actually overflow a little. The goal is no air inside the jar.
Place the metal lid on top of the jar. Some juice may overflow, which is ok. This ensures that there is no excess oxygen in the jar.
Screw the metal band on tightly to ensure the lid is on and sealed.
Clean off the jars and throw away the paper towel. Store for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator! Careful when opening, they’re full!
TIP # 10: DRY JUICER PARTS ON A DRYING RACK
After cleaning all of your juicer parts, let them air dry on a drying rack (I bought a bottle rack at Target for about $10). The less work, the better, and the more likely you will be to juice again!
Now for that juice recipe you’ve been waiting for!
Catherine’s Glowing Green Juice
Makes 4 16oz servings
2 bunches of curly kale
4 Fuji Apples
2 Lemons, skin removed
2 large cucumbers
1.5-2 inch slice of ginger, skin removed
This is one of my favorite juices and an excellent basic green juice for a cleanse!
I hope that these juicing tips have helped and/or inspired you to juice at home! xo
If you have any juicing tips, let me know in the comments below!
Jojo @ RunFastEatLots
November 4, 2013 at 4:47 pm (11 years ago)Thanks for the tips! I got a juicer last Christmas, but haven’t used it much.
Hannah
November 4, 2013 at 5:36 pm (11 years ago)What juicer are you using? I want to get one but I have no idea where to start looking.
Catherine
November 4, 2013 at 11:31 pm (11 years ago)Hi Hannah! My Juicer is a Breville JE98XL. It is super powerful and all of the pulp comes out dry so no juice goes to waste! Mine is a Certified Refurbished model that I purchased from the official Breville store on Amazon.com for $99! Definitely worth it!
Diana
November 4, 2013 at 6:03 pm (11 years ago)Perfect timing for this post, and thanks for clearing up that the myth that you can’t save your juice. Definitely making this green batch!
Catherine
November 4, 2013 at 11:33 pm (11 years ago)Thanks Diana! I’m glad that I was able to debunk that myth for you! It’s so much easier to make juice the day before 🙂
Alysha
November 4, 2013 at 9:17 pm (11 years ago)What model of juicer do you use?
Catherine
November 4, 2013 at 11:32 pm (11 years ago)Hi Alysha! I have the Breville JE98XL. It’s absolutely amazing and no juice gets left behind! It’s great for fruit, veggies, AND citrus! Definitely check Breville’s official store on Amazon.com because I got mine certified-refurbished for $99!
Mary
November 5, 2013 at 5:59 am (11 years ago)I recently found your site and really appreciate your recipes, but best of all is reading your candid honesty about your past, challenges, and progress. Thanks for always being “real” Catherine and sharing how you ate sweets and drinks for the Halloween holiday but just get back on course without guilt or remorse. There are plenty of sites with how to be healthy and fit but few with honest people courageous enough to expose their ups AND downs! 🙂 For juices I use a Vitamix which blends all the fruits and veggies with no pulp left. It keeps all that good fiber in the drink. I throw a handful of kale in my smoothies with a frozen 1/2 banana, frozen cherries, ice, and Greek yogurt or protein powder. Thanks for the juice recipe. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe tonight. Also, adorable cactus outfit!
Meagan
November 5, 2013 at 7:47 am (11 years ago)I might have missed this because I read it at 6 am and my eyes were not functioning.. but do you only drink three of the drinks a day? Or can you drink as much as you want? Do you recommend eating fruits + veggies along with the drink for the three days?
Thanks 🙂
Liza
November 5, 2013 at 9:43 am (11 years ago)Hi Catherine! Do you try to primarily use organic veggies? And do you just rinse your produce or use a fruit/veggie soap?
Jill
November 5, 2013 at 10:48 am (11 years ago)I’m also a fan of making up big batches of juice or smoothie and freezing. If some nutrients are lost, whatever. Still so much better off drinking it than not!
Most adorable costume!!
Liz
November 5, 2013 at 9:25 pm (11 years ago)Would love guidelines for how to do the cleanse. It’s my bday tomorrow and after that celebrating, perfect time for a cleanse!
Katherine
November 6, 2013 at 6:16 am (11 years ago)Awesome tips! But why waste so much paper towel? Use dish cloths! Yes, that means more laundry later, but will save a whole bunch of paper towel from ending up in a landfill somewhere 🙂
Heather
February 18, 2014 at 11:15 am (11 years ago)Why take the time to complain? You would’ve saved time by not complaining!
Lyz
November 6, 2013 at 2:25 pm (11 years ago)Hey bunny! How much of this juice do you drink per day?
Train mean, eat clean - Lieke
November 6, 2013 at 10:46 pm (11 years ago)you have such a lovely blog! mentioned you here: http://liekepolak.blogspot.nl/2013/11/my-favorite-foodblogs-2.html ! 😉
xoxo
Jessica
December 3, 2013 at 5:47 am (11 years ago)Thanks for the tips on storage! I love juicing, but tend not to do it too often, because it’s such a pain to do it multiple times a day. I’m always worried about the juice losing its “punch”, so to speak. It’s refreshing to know I can keep it for 24 hours! Thanks, Catherine! I’m in love with your blog!
Laura
December 4, 2013 at 3:51 pm (11 years ago)Hi! I was just wondering what you do with the froth? When I juice, I have a small amount of froth on top so when I move it to the mason jars (like you mentioned also), I make it air tight by slightly overflowing it, but once the froth goes away in the jars, there ends up being a little air in the jars? Should I wait until the froth goes away to store it in mason jars like you described? Or is a little air ok as long as it was from the froth? I just don’t want to let the juice sit too long without drinking or storing it in mason jars! Thanks!
Grace
December 28, 2013 at 4:01 pm (11 years ago)I got a juicer for Christmas and it’s the exact same as yours!
This is the best beginners guide to juicing post I’ve come across, so thank you!
And I just made this juice as my first green juice- I replaced lemon with an orange because it’s all I had but I just wanted to say that it was delicious! I was a bit nervous to try it in case I didn’t like it but I loved it! Thank you so much for this 🙂
Catherine
December 28, 2013 at 4:14 pm (11 years ago)Awwww that’s awesome! I’m so glad you got a juicer and loved the recipe!!! xoxo
Kristy
March 29, 2014 at 8:48 am (11 years ago)I have the same juicer. I find my pulp does not come out dry for things like pears and carrots. Do you re-run the pulp ever? I tried it once, but it was super time consuming.
Also, be sure to remove the apple seeds (containing arsenic) because that particular Breville shreds them and you don’t want that poison in your juice. 🙂
Lori
December 16, 2014 at 10:28 am (10 years ago)Great info on the apple seeds!
Celeste Medrani
April 29, 2014 at 2:49 pm (11 years ago)How many ounces is each juice supposed to be for each drink and person.
What’s the Best Juicer for Leafy Greens?
May 18, 2014 at 11:23 pm (11 years ago)I was amazed how the ingredients you used are cheaper compared to another. I will try this one.
Jenn
September 7, 2014 at 1:25 pm (10 years ago)You can also run the pulp a second time thru the juicer to get even more yield. I was able to get an additional 8 ounces by reprocessing the pulp.
Michelle
February 13, 2016 at 7:11 am (9 years ago)Nice!
Diana
October 30, 2014 at 11:36 pm (10 years ago)I do everything basically the same, except I make a ton more at once and fill up huge gallon jars because I’m juicing for the family, not just myself. I do however want to make a suggestion, and maybe you can share the info as well. We are consumers, and we already produce so much waste. I would skip the plastic bag in the pulp catcher, otherwise the companies would just sell plastic bags and skip the container all together. Also, PAPER TOWEL. It’s just one of those words that drives me insane. Typically people concerned with their health somewhat care about the environment. You use a lot of paper towel to soak up water off produce and to clean up the mess. How much do you go through in a day, a week, a month, a year? A much better solution would be to go to a thrift store, buy used bath towels for 1-2$ (cheaper than a roll of paper towel) Cut it up into 15 or so squares, then you have reusable towels that don’t matter if they get stained from carrot or beet juice, and you can rinse or wash them over and over and over. You can also clean your house and car with them. I have not bought or used paper towel in about 7 years. No joke! I just keep a reusable grocery bag in the laundry room or under the kitchen sink full of these rags. They absorb more water and clean up more mess than paper towel ever will, they cut back on waste, they prevent a few trees from being cut down, which grow soooooo much slower than hemp plants. They will save you so much money! Please consider trying this! You won’t regret it!
Elizabeth
December 14, 2014 at 4:00 pm (10 years ago)Thank you! I am a newbie juicer and looking for any and all information I can get. My first juicing fast will begin January 1st. New year new me new attitude. My question may seem basic, but like I said looking for information: how much juice is a serving for a meal; 22 oz, 16 oz, how much? Again thank you.
Lori
December 16, 2014 at 10:27 am (10 years ago)Thanks so much for the simple tips! I’ve been using my juicer more in the last 3 weeks than I have in 10 years!!! LOVING IT!!! My green juice is just like yours, but I’ve learned that celery added is quite yummy as well (funny that I use to HATE celery, even the smell of it. Juicing makes foods much tastier!) I’m recently composting the left overs, looking forward to some rich black soil this coming spring and growing my own veggies! Keep up the posting!
Sean Carey
February 8, 2015 at 8:16 pm (10 years ago)Great juice recipe, and I love some of the juicing tips you’ve included also! Buying local and at farmers markets can really save you some money, especially when juice cleansing. I also love how you showed the actual proper way to store juice! Not many people will remember to mention how important it is to fill it all the way to the top and even overflowing, so that you leave as much of the oxygen out of it as possible. Going to share this one on all of my social networks! 🙂
L. Shudark
April 26, 2015 at 6:25 pm (10 years ago)Thank you for your tip on the plastic bag! That’s a lifesaver! It makes juicing 100000x easier! Thank you again!
Alex
May 21, 2015 at 4:02 pm (10 years ago)I am brand new to this juicing thing! I made green juice last night in my blender, and strained out the pulp. I drank it this morning, and was so surprised at how energized I felt? Is that all in my head, or did I actually absorb enough nutrients to feel more energetic? What juicer do you use, and how often do you drink juice to keep your body full of nutrients?
Katie
February 18, 2016 at 4:19 pm (9 years ago)Great tips! This was my first experience juicing and you made it so much easier. You’re a pro!!!
Mark
January 21, 2017 at 6:03 am (8 years ago)What can you use instead of cucumber? Does zucchini work? I’m allergic to cucumbers.