Just Beet It

In my last post I introduced my go-to juice recipe for the Mean Green. I stated that it's the recipe that I juice most frequently, which is true, but variety is the spice of life and it's important to mix things up and try something new every now and then.

One of the advantages of juicing fruits and vegetables as opposed to eating them is that it's a easy way to take in foods (and their nutrients) that we might not normally eat. Not long ago I was at the grocery store looking for something new to juice. I try to buy organic as much as possible and when I was in the organic produce section I came across some beetroot. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever had beets in my life, but I figured the worst thing that could happen is that I'd hate them and that'd be the end of it. So I purchased some beets along with other produce and headed home to do some investigating.

I came across this WebMD article that discusses the health benefits of juicing beets. I read about how beet juice promoted heart health and blood flow, both of which are especially important to me because I've been dealing with hypertension (high blood pressure) for the last several years. (I used to smoke a pack a day, binge drink heavily, and live a sedentary/unhealthy lifestyle. I've been cig free for two years, only drink occasionally, and exercise fairly frequently, but hypertension is something I'm still battling.)

The next thing I had to do was find some tasty juice recipes that contain beets. I stumbled across this site, and this is where I've found the first two recipes that I listed below.

'Beeten Apple' Juice (recommended for people new to beets and juicing them)

• 3 apples
• half a beet

'Basic Beet' Juice

• 2 beets
• 2 carrots
• 1 orange
• 1 stalk (stick/rib) of celery
• small piece of ginger root

ABC Juice   (recipe found here)

• 3-5 carrots (depending on size)
• 2 medium beets
• 2 medium-large apples
• 1 lemon
• 1 small piece of ginger (optional)

Review: I really liked all of the recipes that I listed above. The beets have a really sweet taste and I'll definitely continue to juice these in the future. If you decide you want to try juicing beets I'd definitely start with the 'Beeten Apple' as a way to ease into juicing them. When you prepare the beets for juicing you'll want to remove the top and bottom of the beets (you can juice the leaves, but only if they're fresh and still firm.) I also heard that it's best to peel the beets because it's practically impossible to remove all the dirt from the outside of them otherwise.

One last disclaimer: don't panic if you see some red while you go to the bathroom (#1 or #2,) it's perfectly normal.