There are so many reasons to embrace juicing and why I often recommend clients to add it into daily life or to do a juice fast, depending on what they need. Juicing immediately solves the often pressing problem of being overfed and undernourished and is a great tool to kick start a weight loss program, do a seasonal cleanse or address some of the toxic overload I talked about in “4 Signs You Need to Detox.”

But often, the merits of juicing and juice fasting are not what stop people from trying it, TIME and EFFORT are what get in the way.  

Everyone is different and with all the different lifestyles, juicing can be more challenging for some versus others. When you have family commitments, work, commuting, etc. then time is a element you might need help with so that it does not become another excuse.

Here are some time saving strategies to help juicing fit into a busy life. Choose the tips that work best for you:

1. 1.Shop for 3-7 days of produce for your juices at a time. Too much produce at once will age, but not having enough if you can’t shop again will leave you without food. Always use the most perishable produce first.
   

2. 2.Keep your juicer on your counter. It is a tool you will use regularly, so don’t bother to hide it away (juicers that I use: 1, 2, 3).
   

3. 3.Prepping strategies:
   

4. •Wash your produce ahead of time. Some people like to wash all their produce at once or for a few days at a time, then store it. If you do this, then make sure you are storing the produce properly to avoid mold, etc.
   

1. •Wash, cut and pre-bag your produce based on the juice you want to make so you can grab a bag and juice. This can be a real time saver, but once you start cutting vegetables, they begin to lose nutrients. Remember that time saving strategies are about trade-offs, so pick what helps you the most.
   

4. 4.Make-ahead strategies:
   

5. •Make all your juices for the day at once.  A morning session provides maximum freshness and nutrition, but if you can’t do that, make them the night before (see storage guidelines below).
   

1. •Make a double batch that will last you two days (see storage guidelines below).
   

1. •Make and freeze a larger supply. When juicing even every 2 days is too challenging, you can make as much as 7 days of juice and freeze anything that you will not drink in the next 2 days (see storage guidelines below).
   

5. 5.Storage Guidelines. Nutritional levels of juices begin to deteriorate after 15 minutes due to temperature, oxidation or light, but will still be usable and maintain nutrition if properly stored for a limited period of time. Here are best ways to minimize losing the nutrients in your juices:
   

1. •Quick cooling is key. Start with cold produce to help get juices that will be stored get to a cold temperature fast. Other quick cooling ideas are to add 1-2 ice cubes to your juice or cool/freeze your jars before filling.
   

1. •Juices need to be kept cold or frozen to store. Refrigerate juices for up to 48 hours or freeze up to 7 days. And don’t forget to take a cooler with you when you are traveling with your juices.
   

1. •Store juices in glass containers or BPA-free plastic that are the portion size you would normally drink. For most people, this is 16 ounces. Storing in a portion size container allows you to open the juice once and consume it immediately.
   

1. •For refrigerating, fill juice containers to the very top of the container, even spilling over, so that there will be no air. Oxidation is the primary reason for deterioration of juice quality and loss of nutrition. If you do not have enough juice to top-off the container, add ice cubes, coconut water, or plain filtered water.
   

1. •For freezing, fill juice containers, leaving about 1 inch of space to allow for expansion.  Wide-mouth canning jars are best for the freezer because the expansion area is greater. Then the day you want to use them, defrost frozen juices in a refrigerator before drinking, not out on the counter.
   

Fresh juice provides so many benefits that helping it fit into your life is the key goal. We all know that freshly made is best, but when you help juicing fit into your life by preparing ahead and storing for easy grab-and-go, then you are still giving yourself tons of benefits. Storing juice does not increase the sugar content, as many people believe, but it does need to be done properly so that the live nutrients are there for your benefit.

See more of my articles for FitLife.tv here.

Need help or want to comment? Email me at blog@gladforhealth.com or contact me.

welcome    about    services    stories    contact    blog    reviews    oils    resources