I do not usually make New Years resolutions, but this year I decided to set some goals to boost my family’s health. It is a good time to make a new start but you can do it any time of year, just by setting a date and deciding to make a change on that date.
My main goal this year was to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables my children eat. No easy task but one I felt was really important, especially over the winter months when colds and viruses are in abundance. I wanted them to consume more fresh, organic produce. In their fresh form they contain a lot of minerals and vitamins with are vital to good health.
For my kids this was no easy task, but I did find a solution in the form of juicing. With juicing they can get a whole lot of nutritional benefit with a variety of different combinations of fruit and veg which stops them from getting boring. A glass of freshly squeezed juice is incredibly nutritious.
The following is some of the main benefits for juicing for kids:
1. You can turn juice making into a fun event by involving your children. They can stand on a chair and push all the food through the juicer. They appreciate the drink more, that they have made themselves, and will drink it without any fuss. The dreaded clean up is quite simple and really only takes about ten minutes. Well worth it in my opinion.
2. If your children really do not like to eat many vegetables then this is the perfect solution. They increase their vegetable intake, and because they are in the raw, fresh state, they provide even greater nutritional benefits. A huge win win, which makes everyone happy all round.
3. Do your children drink a lot of sodas? Mine certainly did, and if yours do, then you will finding juicing is the perfect solution. Drinking fresh juices will reduce the consumption of these drinks quite considerably. This is a good thing as they are just empty calories containing many additives. These can be responsible for childhood obesity and chronic illness later in life. Also, you will find you save money by not spending it on these drinks.
Have you made any goals for your children’s health this year? If not, then start juicing. If will really benefit their health for many years to come and is also a fun pastime that you can do with your children.
Rob writes on the and about how to find the on the internet.
Do you know what is going into that smoothie you are drinking? Such drinks have become big business today, and words like “healthy” and “natural” have been used in order to describe them. Yet the smoothies you purchase in your local supermarket may not be all that they seem. These products often have labels either depicting a blender full of fruit or a sunny outdoor scene to convey the image that they contain vital living ingredients. But in many cases these smoothies have been prepared on a very large scale using large industrial machines as well as vats of fruit purees that to help extend their life have been pasteurized.
Also be aware that not all the drinks your local juice or smoothie bar offers are not completely natural. Many of the companies who provide commercial equipment to smoothie outlets will also supply them with frozen portions of fruit purees high in sugar. In most cases the kinds of professional blenders you see being used to make smoothies in a juice bar have been supplied to them for nothing as long as they use their frozen fruit purees as well.
However, there are a number of juice bar chains who have created their own frozen fruit products which not only saves them money but simplifies their operations. Although there are some which are good there are others that contain high levels of sugar. But if you think it is some sort of conspiracy to make sure that we don’t get natural ingredients, and then think again. It’s just businesses streamlining things in order to make a profit, but there are times when we as the consumer lose out.
The original idea of a smoothie was very simple. It was a way of blending a healthy drink. Made most popular in the USA still there is no definitive term to describe this type of drink. Most of us simply recognize as this drink being a fruit based one made from frozen or fresh fruit and ice. Many of the independent juice bars tend to focus on the health side and so create high quality products that are freshly prepared when ordered, plus to further enhance the smoothies for some health enthusiasts they add super foods or boosters to them.
If you are lucky enough to have such a great juice bar close to you then you should really be using it. However, if your only real contact with smoothies is the bottled variety, you are missing out on some great flavours and goodness from the freshly prepared kind.
One of the best ways to try a delicious smoothie that is fresh to make it at home. However, first let us clear up the confusion that has arisen created by blender manufacturers. A smoothie maker and a blender are one and the same. Up until a few years ago this type of kitchen appliance was known as a blender until someone in a marketing department came up with the idea of calling them smoothie makers so that the company could target those wanting to make their own smoothies. Whilst companies were profiting from the demand created by the rise in people wanting to make smoothies the decision to then call a blender a smoothie maker happened and results in us thinking they are two different machines. When in fact they are not.
To make a smoothie is very simple you just put the ingredients into the blender jug and then press the button. It only takes a few seconds to turn the whole fruit into pulp and juice and cost per smoothie you make at home is much less than those you buy on the high street. Homemade smoothies not only taste great by contain lots of essential nutrients that your body needs. You can either make smoothies using frozen fruit or fresh fruit mixed with ice. Plus to further enhance the flavour and make the smoothie creamier you can add some yoghurt. Plus experimenting with other ingredients you could further enhance the health benefits of the smoothies you make.
To start off with, you need a smoothie maker or blender. You should go for one that will provide the right level of service and can cope with frozen ingredients. So you should avoid using the cheaper models that are available at many large electrical retail outlets. Actually blending ice can be very demanding on a blender so the more you pay for your model the better. If you can try to purchase one that mills dry ingredients as well, such as the American health brand L’Equip model known as the “Mill Blender”. With this you can grind up some flax (that contains essential fatty acids) and add this to your healthy smoothie using the same machine.
There are many health enthusiasts who place great demands on their kitchen equipment and spend hundreds on buying commercial grade equipment such as the Blendtec Total Blender. Although a luxury model they do offer you a long time of service, but you yourself don’t need to break the bank to make your own smoothies at home. If you intend to blend ice or frozen ingredients in your smoothies avoid those that cost below 60. Instead to go for a much more expensive model such as the smoothie makers to be found at www.ukjuicers.com.
There are a huge range of available to order from various online stores. It is worth doing a littleresearch into what type is most suitable for you and you diet needs. You may also consider choosing from the many which can be a great alternative to a smoothie maker.
Many people are aware of the positive aspects of juicing but don’t know the significant positive aspects that citrus juice has to offer. Most people are aware of Vitamin C and some of its positive aspects. Human beings are one of the few species that does not make its own supply of Vitamin C.
A lot of the illnesses we suffer from today, such as cancer and viruses, are often thought to be caused by the lack of Vitamin C in our diet. This is in large due to the fact that this chemical destroys a lot of the free radicals that enter and attack our body by harmful the cells. We ate much more fruit in the past than we do today. We have hands that are made to pick and grasp fruit and so this was an easy food source for us to obtain.
Many experts in the filed of nutrition believe that we stopped making Vitamin C as it was so readily available in the diet. It is believed our bodies compensated by producing less of this important vitamin until today where we produce none. This causes us a problem as the modern diet contains very little fruit and, as such, our Vitamin C intake is insufficient.
We can reverse this trend by fruit juicing which allows us to take in our essential nutrients. It is a natural way of increasing our intake of essential nutrients. It can also save you money as there is no need to spend money regularly on expensive vitamins and nutrients.
The famous scientist and Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling has been one of the greatest supporters of Vitamin C in the diet. He believed that it would prevent a lot of of the illnesses that we suffer from today. The quantities that he advised to take in though were quite large and it’s now generally thought we do not need to take in this much on a daily basis.
Fruits like oranges and lemons contain a large amount of Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid. Every orange contains about 50mg of ascorbic acid per 100 grams of fruit and about 70mg per slice. The recommended daily allowance is only 60mg. This is the minimal amount to prevent scurvy, the classic illness that causes bleeding gums.
Buying a citrus juicer or juicer such as the Jack Lalanne Juicer is a good way to start juicing and investing in your health. This article demonstrates that many of the essential nutrients we require can be obtained in a healthy and natural way.
About the Author:
Jade likes to write numerous articles around the and reviews the latest on the web.
