Up your intake! Juicer recipes for health

Some people love eating fresh fruits and veggies and some people don't. Regardless of which camp you fall in, juicing is a great way to help you meet your daily fruit and veggie quotient. This is especially true if you want to start taking advantage of the phytonutrients found in foods you generally dislike. Hate spinach, but love the flavonoids, antioxidants and vitamins it provides? No problem - just juice it with a few of your favorite fruits!

The combinations of juice flavors are practically endless, so you're sure to find a few you love. Check out these juicer recipes for health adapted from Omega Juicers to get you started. The combinations will help keep you well-hydrated and well-nourished while boosting your intake of fruits and veggies. Just remember to keep some of the juice pulp to add to sauces and other recipes - the pulp is an excellent source of fiber and additional vitamins and minerals.

Watermelon and Spinach Juice

It may sound like a gross combination, but the sweetness of watermelon helps balance out the bitter spinach flavor. Plus, the two foods combined offer powerful antioxidants and vitamins to fight inflammation and enhance energy.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cubed watermelon
• 2 handfuls spinach

Directions:

1. Run watermelon (including some of the rind for added nutrients) and washed spinach through your juicer.
2. Enjoy!

Apple, Cucumber, Celery and Carrot Juice

The great thing about juicing is that you can combine ingredients in such a way so as to achieve certain goals. For instance, if you're looking to rid yourself of bloat and help yourself look as lean and mean as possible before a vacation, a mix of apple, cucumber, celery and carrot juice just might do the trick. Celery’s balance of sodium and potassium helps remove excess water and uric acid from the kidneys. Apples are a good source of pectin which slows down the absorption of sugar in the body, also slowing the production of insulin - a contributing factor for fat storage. And cucumber works as a natural diuretic. Bingo, bango - you've got a juice that helps you look and feel healthy and toned!

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots
• 1 apple
• 2 celery stalks
• 1/2 cucumber

Directions:

1. Wash all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Cut the ends off the carrots before juicing.
3. Juice and enjoy!

Grapefruit and Orange

Grapefruit has been proven to help aid in fat loss when used as a part of a well-balanced nutrition and exercise program. You may hate the sour-bitterness of grapefruit alone, but the sweet tang of orange helps balance out the bite. Plus, the added sweetness in oranges may help prevent sugar cravings throughout the day.

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges
• 1 pink grapefruit

Directions:

1. Peel the grapefruit and oranges, but keep as much of the white skin on the fruit as possible.
2. Run the fruit through your juicer and enjoy the drink!

Cucumber, Apple and Ginger 

Fresh ginger can be hard to eat on its own, and even candied ginger's strong flavor can be more than a body can handle. Tone down the flavor, but take advantage of the intestinal-soothing, anti-inflammatory benefits by combining it with the crisp and cool flavors of apple and cucumber.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 apples
• 1-inch piece of ginger

Directions:

1. Wash cucumber and apples thoroughly.
2. Run all of the ingredients through your juicer and enjoy!

Juicing tips

In addition to keeping and using the juice pulp in other dishes (preferably the same day you juice it), here are a few extra juicing tips:

• Only make the amount of juice you plan to drink immediately - juice does not store well and can accumulate bacteria quickly
• If you don't plan to use the juice pulp immediately, freeze it and try to add it to a dish within a week
• Remember that even though juicing can be healthy, fruit juices are still high in sugar and may also be high in calories, depending on how much you're drinking - keep an honest account of how much juice your drinking and aim to combine more veggies in your juices than fruits
• Remember that juice does not fill you up the same way that solid foods do; if you're going to juice, include it as a part of a well-balanced meal, rather than foregoing food in favor of juicing alone