Intro
We love chatting to clients during our fruit box drops and hearing their opinions on all things fruit. A common complaint or issue they have is how to consistently reach the 5-a-day fruit requirement. We’ve been told that, regardless of their good intentions, it can become boring or pretty hard to achieve. At this point, we usually steer the conversation towards juicing. Juicing can be a fantastic way to consume large amounts of fruits (& veg) quickly and easily!
The Cold-Pressed Method
Juicing simply means the process of extracting the juice of fruits and/or vegetables. While many methods exist, the cold-pressed method sits at the top of the pile. Like the name suggests, this process involves the use of a hydraulic press where no heated element comes into play. Cold-pressed juicers come in many sizes, from small personal juicers that can fit on your kitchen top, to large industrial-sized ones that cost as much as a car! Check out this great video from one of our favourite juice bars, Green Beards Juicery, to see the process.
The benefits of the cold-pressed method over others include more nutrients and enzymes left in the juice. It is reported that the high speed blades of centrifugal juicers add heat and may destroy important enzymes. There can also be a difference in taste! Cold-pressed juices contain no pulp and tend to taste fresher due to a lack of oxidation. Green Beards have a great infographic on their website explaining more of these differences.
Benefits
Whatever method you choose, in general, juicing has many benefits. While we don’t recommend juice fasts and juice cleanses that celebrities and influencers often endorse, juices can play a healthy role in your diet. One obvious benefit is the ability to eat larger amounts of fruit or veg in a shorter amount of time. Eating 5 pieces of fruit in one sitting isn’t realistic, it’s simply too much volume! However, throw those 5 fruits into a juicer and the resulting drink can be gone in seconds. This makes it an ideal snack for those people who are on-the-go and are in a rush for a big meeting or appointment. Another benefit is that a lot of people simply don’t like eating fruit and veg but find the taste more palatable when in a juice.
Drawbacks
As with everything, moderation is important. Juices made from only fruit often contain a lot of sugar, so it can be best to add some veg into the mix. Vegetables are lower in sugar in general so if you’re making or buying a juice, aim for a 50/50 mix at least. Furthermore, because the pulp is often removed from juices, you lose a lot of fibre you’d get from eating the fruit whole. Fibre is an important nutrient that many people are deficient in so it’s good to keep this in mind.
If you live or work in Dublin, we’re excited to announce that we will be selling cold-pressed juices at the Merrion Square Markets for 4 weeks in August & September! Be sure to drop by this Thursday and keep an eye on our Instagram for some pics.
