juuuuuuuicing.

i've been juicing for over a year now and just love it.  my mom got a juicer about 6 months before i did and i was dying to get my hands on a juicer ever since she made me my first juice.

sunday morning i woke up with a headache and feeling sick.  steven asked if he could get me anything to eat.  i requested a vegetable juice.  he's only juiced for me a couple of times, but you can't really mess it up.  i told him what i typically juice and it turned out great.  my body was craving it.  normally this would help my headache and nausea, but pregnancy is a whole different ball game, however, it did help a ton.

what went in my most recent juice {plus some coconut water}.

i love juicing for a few reasons:

1) it supplies my body with all of the necessary nutrients i need but might not consume daily.

2) i get the benefits of vegetables that wouldn't normally eat {like beets, kale, fennel, parsnips, etc.}.

3) some vegetables are much better sautéed//grilled//steamed than eaten raw, but juicing gives me the benefits of eating them raw without altering them in any way.

4) juicing gives me energy from all of the nutrients.

5) it helps clear out all of those nasty toxins that build up in my body & keep it alkaline {even though i try to steer clear of most from food--there are so many environmental toxins we can't avoid}.

6) i know my baby is getting what she needs {this is obviously a new addition}.

a coworker at school asked me about juicers a few weeks ago.  the other day she told me she got one recently and has been juicing most days.  she was asking me about the things i do and don't put in my juices.  this is what i told her {just in case you are thinking about juicing}.

sometimes you make a ton and need to pour it in a pitcher then mason jar it up.

*limit the number of fruits! some people put a ton of fruit in and then only 1 or two veggies. i'm sure it tastes delicious, but hello, eat your fruit! it's better that way, plus you need that fiber with the fruit to slow the digestion of all that fructose.  no need to drink a ton of fructose all at once.

*no spinach. it doesn't juice well. i make green smoothies everyday with my spinach, or eat it in a salad.   more fiber.

*worried about fiber because you think you aren't getting any from your juices?  juicing removes the insoluble fiber.  it also makes it much easier for the nutrients to get absorbed in your bloodstream.  just make sure you are getting your fiber from other sources, like chia seeds.

*all of my juices contain: celery, cucumber, ginger, lemons, parsley or cilantro

*most of my juices contain: carrots, beets, limes, cabbage, kale, broccoli {except i just gag when i think of kale or broccoli right now...oh pregnancy}.

*some of my juices contain: coconut water! {i would rather just drink this straight up} fennel//anise, parsnips, radishes, brussel sprouts

now you know why i juice.

why you should juice.

and a few of my non-expert tips.

enjoy.