LOCAL VENUE Apple Annie’s Orchard Willcox, AZ
GET JUICED W
e all know someone who swears by juicing. But many of us have never tried this trend and it always seems like you need some fancy expensive equipment to get started. And is it really healthy or should you just stick with whole foods? Here’s the squeeze on the juicing trend. Step into autumn at Apple Annie’s Orchard. Explore fruit orchards, produce farms and an authentic country store. Pick your own fruits and vegetables or stock up on freshly picked, ready-to-go options of apples, pears, peaches and more. Check the official calendar for special events such as craft fairs, the Sunflower Spectacular and My-Oh-My Apple Pie weekend. Celebrate the venue’s all-out harvest season with pumpkin picking, hayrides and a 12.5-acre corn maze with more than 600 stalks. Get an early start to the day to beat the heat and fill up on a pancake breakfast at the Orchard Grill. Source: AppleAnnies.com
Drinking freshly squeezed juice from fruits and vegetables does provide you with most of the vitamins, minerals, and healthy phytochemicals found in fresh produce, according to experts and studies. However, by only drinking juice, you’re not getting the fiber found in fruits and vegetables. And we all know that fiber is important for your digestive system and it helps you to feel full. Pure juice is also high in sugar, which isn’t great. So, yes, for those who do not eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, juicing may be a good way to get nutrients into their diets. For people who already eat lots of veggies, juicing may not be beneficial. If you are going to try juicing, remember these tips. Fresh juice needs to be consumed quickly as it can develop bacteria (that’s why fresh juice at the store has to be pasteurized). So don’t let it sit around in the fridge for too long. Next, rather than simply extracting the juice, try blending your produce into a smoothie. This retains the edible parts of the fruits and veggies. Experts say this is much healthier than simply drinking juice. Also, try to stick to green smoothies. Many green juice blends contain kale, Swiss chard, spinach, cucumber, wheatgrass, and celery, which are then mixed with some sweeter fruits to make the drink palatable (think apples, berries, or kiwis). A minimal amount of sugary fruit should suffice. If you’re trying juicing, you may need a special juicer to extract the juice and separate out the unwanted parts of the fruits and veggies. These can range in price from simple less pricey manual juicers to large expensive machines. If you’re blending smoothies, any blender can be efficient though pricier machines such as Vitamix can tackle even tough veggies such as kale into a smooth puree in no time at all. Overall, although juicing shouldn’t replace eating a healthy diet of whole foods, healthy green juice smoothies can provide you with vitamins and minerals and an easy way to get greens into the diet of picky eaters.
LIFEWISE
