Vegan Juicing with Oranges, Apples, and Other Vegetables

Do you want to live a more healthy lifestyle? Want to lose a little weight? Are you considering a vegan diet? Then you may want to look into purchasing a juice machine and making some fruit smoothies to help supplement your diet. You can also juice to help you transition to a vegan lifestyle. Fruit smoothies are a great addition to any diet. Not only do adding fruit smoothies and vegetable juices into your diet provide extra nutrients, they also will not leave you feeling hungry.

If you are considering switching to a vegan diet altogether, then transition slowly into your new eating habits. Simply switching to raw foods means you are eating more fiber than you usually do. It could lead to undesirable results at the other end! Juicing removes a lot of fiber that is contained within fruits and vegetables, so the effects of simply switching will not be as drastic. However, fiber is an important part of any diet, so you should not rely only on juicing for your diet. Be sure to work good fiber into your daily diet.

You can begin a vegan diet by simply introducing a homemade smoothie to your regular meal in place of that soda pop. Gradually wean yourself off meats over a period of several days or a week. You can cut out the dairy products as well.

A simple Juice Recipe
For this recipe you will need:
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 apple
2 tomatoes (or more)
Dash or oregano or basil

An easy recipe is my "better than a V8 recipe." It is better than a V8 because it contains the base vegetables that are used in V8, but it does not contain all of the unhealthy salt that the makers of V8 seem compelled to put in their product. In addition, it is served raw, whereas V8 bottles their product after the nutrients have all been cooked out.

Peel several carrots and toss them into your juicer. Carrot juice is light and sweet tasting. It is a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin E. You may find that you could just drink carrot juice all by itself without adding anything extra.

Next, add a two or three stalks of celery. Celery will add a touch of bitterness and spice. If you like the taste of celery then add an extra stalk or two.

Then, core an apple. Be sure to remove the seeds. Not only can apple seeds damage your juicer, they also contain trace amounts of cyanide. Apple juice will lighten the flavor of the juice even further, and bring more sweetness.

The last ingredient is the tomato. Tomatoes are loaded with nutrients, fight cancer, and taste great. You can also add a small peeled vidalia onion. Vidalias are recommended because they do not have a strong onion flavor, and will not overpower your juice.

Finally, you can add a dash of oregano in place of adding salt.

Other fine additions to this recipe include cucumbers or green, yellow and red peppers. Do not add more than a half of a pepper though, as they can quickly make the drink bitter. Yellow peppers will deliver the mellowest flavor over the three colored varieties.

A Simple Smoothie
For this recipe you will need:
A pineapple
2 Bananas
1 Orange
1 cup of soy milk
option: crushed ice

Bananas and pineapples go great together. But, there is a problem with placing bananas and pineapples together in your juicer. Bananas simply do not have enough water content, so when they are ground up, the pulp from the bananas will clog your blades. So you will have to prepare your ingredients separately. You should use a blender to prepare your banana.

But first start with the pineapple. Pineapples can be peeled, cored, and placed into your juicer with no problems. A single pineapple will produce a lot of juice. Juice the pineapple first, than add a peeled orange. The high water content of the orange will help cleanse the blades of your juicer, making later cleanup easier. Once you have your pineapple and orange juice ready. Peel a banana or two and place it in the blender. Then pour in your prepared pineapple juice over the top.

At this point you can add a cup of soy milk. Soy milk will deliver a smooth texture to your smoothie and introduce a subtle bean flavor. In addition, the soy milk adds protein to your drink.

When it is done pour over crushed ice in a tall chilled glass and enjoy!

When you are done juicing, you will be left with a fresh pile of pulp. With a quality juicing machine, the pulp is collected in a container. If you are going to do a substantial amount of juicing you may consider starting a compost pile with your leftover pulp. If you are growing your own garden, then there is no better way to recycle. Do not leave the pulp in you home trash for more then a day, especially in the summer heat. It will quickly develop a foul oder as it begins the fermenting process. Any visitors that come to your home will quickly take note and turn up their nose.

Even if you do not plan on switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet, a juicer will open up new doors of experimentation in your kitchen. Do not be afraid to try these recipes out and surprise your friends at your next gathering.