Can Juicing Help You Lose Weight? Facts Revealed
Bitter greens like kale, spinach and chard are loaded with antioxidants, phytonutrients and vitamins. However, their strong grassy or bitter flavor can be overpowering in juice.
Knowing how to cleverly mask bitter flavors with milder fruits, veggies and herbs helps make your juicing experience more enjoyable. Check out these chef-y tips to get the job done, straight from an expert of juicing classes: 1. Add a Cucumber or Celery.
1. Add a Cucumber or Celery
Leafy greens are nutritional rock stars — rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. But, when eaten in high quantities, their grassy, pungent flavor overwhelms juices and can leave your mouth with an unpleasant bitter taste. The key to mellowing potent greens is alternating or pairing them with milder veggies, fruits and herbs that help to balance the bitterness.
Cucumbers and celery are perfect additions to any green juice recipe because they are low in calories and provide a palate pleasing sweetness that helps to mask the bitterness of many other vegetables. They also add a healthy dose of vitamin C, folate and potassium to any drink.
Another good way to sweeten your green juice is by adding some kind of spice or herb. This will not only add complexity to the flavor, but it will also curb your appetite and increase your metabolism. Popular options for adding spices include ginger, cayenne pepper and basil. Not only do they add a deliciously spicy kick to your juice, but they are also full of health benefits like stimulating your digestive system, decreasing your risk for diabetes, and lowering cholesterol levels.
Other easy ways to reduce bitterness in your juice are by adding citrus and sweeter veggies. Fruits like apples, pears, pineapple and mango add juicy sweetness that help to counteract green bitterness. They also provide supplemental nutrition like vitamin C and soluble fiber, which aids in digestion and helps you feel full after drinking a smoothie or juice.
Incorporate sweeter veggies into your juice as well, like carrots, beets and oranges. Not only do they add natural sweetness to your beverage, but they also add vitamin A, which aids in eye health and is essential for skin health. Vegetables like cucumber and celery are also a great source of potassium, which lowers your blood pressure by balancing out your body’s sodium levels.
Adding celery and cucumber to your juice is an easy and effective way to reduce the bitterness of kale, spinach, and chard. Combine these vegetables with apple and ginger for a refreshing, healthy juice that is great to start your day with!
2. Add a Spicy Ingredient
If you’re used to sweeter fruits and veggies, a glass of kale or other bitter greens might not sound appealing. The best way to help your body get used to these leafy vegetables is to start small and add them gradually. Mixing them with other foods that have a more pleasant flavor and are rich in vitamins and minerals is key. Try mixing them with cucumbers, celery and romaine lettuce or with other fruit that is less bitter in taste like strawberries, blackberries, beets and oranges.
You can also hide bitter flavors by using spices that have strong scents and flavours. Ginger is a popular option that can give any juice an extra kick, while turmeric has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and can help balance blood sugar. Other great options include cinnamon, which is also rich in antioxidants and has been linked to improved blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol.
It’s a good idea to use a variety of bitter greens in your juice, but it’s especially important to use the bitterest leafy greens like chard or kale with other softer vegetables. The softer, more watery vegetables will help to dilute the strong taste of the bitter greens and make them more drinkable. This is why it’s a good idea to juice them together with the watery vegetables first and then follow up with the thicker, bitter leaves.
Adding lemon, lime or vinegar to any dish with bitter greens is a great way to add an acidic flavor that can balance the savory and bitter flavors in the dish. This can help the body digest the bitter vegetables better and help absorb the plant-based iron that they contain.
Bitter greens are a rich source of plant-based iron, which is essential to good health and well being. These nutrients can improve your immune system, cardiovascular health and metabolism. They can also help you ward off cancer, improve your skin and help with digestion. But they’re not always the easiest to eat, especially when they’re straight from a juicer. These simple tricks can make a big difference in how much you enjoy your juice and can encourage you to keep drinking them every day.
3. Add a Sweeter Veggie
Juicing greens can be a challenge for new juicers. It’s best to ease into it with baby spinach, romaine lettuce, or Swiss chard, which have a milder flavor than mature kale and collard greens. Try mixing them with a variety of other veggies and fruits that have sweeter, mellower flavors like cucumbers, carrots, parsley, or apples to hide the bitter taste.
Another option to balance out bitterness is to add an ingredient that will add a punch of spice. Ginger is popular for this but you can also add cayenne pepper, chili powder, or fresh cilantro. These additions aren’t just good for adding a kick of flavor, they can also help boost your immune system and suppress appetite.
A surprising but delicious way to add sweetness and a pop of color to your juice is by incorporating a sweet potato into the mix. Sweet potatoes are available year round, and while they might seem out of place in a green juice, the result is surprisingly sweet and refreshing.
You can also add a small piece of orange or lemon (rind OK) to your juice, as these will naturally add sweetness. Just be careful not to overdo it with the citrus, as too much can make your drink too acidic and bitter.
Leafy greens are packed with important nutrients, including Vitamins A, C, K, E, and B2 and folate. They’re also high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. These minerals support bone health, boost the immune system, and aid digestion and blood pressure regulation.
When combined with a balanced diet, regular consumption of leafy greens can help prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, and even reduce the risk of cancer. So be sure to get your daily dose of this powerful superfood by incorporating them in salads, raw and warm green smoothies, soups, stews, and curries. If you’re not a fan of raw vegetables, try cooking them in casseroles and soups or folding them into whole grains, pasta, and sauteed dishes to improve their texture and flavor. Leafy greens are also excellent for boosting your gut bacteria.
4. Add a Citrus
Bitter greens like kale, collard greens, chard and swiss chard are nutritional rock stars but their potent bitter flavors quickly overpower juices. To tame these powerful herbs, use them in smaller quantities and pair them with other, naturally sweeter veggies and fruits. Apples, pears and other sweeter fruits like figs and raisins can add a subtle sweetness to green juices.
Citrus fruits like lemon, oranges and grapefruit provide a light, bright flavor. Their peels also contain a host of vitamins and minerals, so don’t be afraid to include them (just be sure to remove the pith).
Other naturally sweet ingredients include cranberries, pomegranate, dates and figs. These superfoods are loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K, B6, potassium, calcium and iron, among other vital nutrients.
A simple way to add a mildly sweet taste to any green drink is to use cucumbers and zucchini. These low-calorie vegetables are a great source of Vitamin K and A, and they work well in combination with leafy greens.
The secret to juicing greens without the bitterness is using a high-quality juicer and preparing your ingredients properly. A masticating or twin gear juicer, such as the models from Kuvings and Tribest, are best for juicing greens because they feature dual stainless steel discs covered in razor-sharp teeth that literally chew through plant cell walls to extract every drop of goodness.
Another effective manual prep strategy is to “sandwich” your kale, spinach or swiss chard between chunks of other hydrating veggies and fruit during the juicing process. This technique helps to naturally rinse away any residual clumps of leaves and prevents premature clogs in your juicer.
If you’re new to juicing, it’s a good idea to start with less intense bitter greens like romaine, butterhead and baby bok choy. These lettuce varieties offer more water volume, making them easier to juice than other leafy greens with thicker stems and tougher fibers.
