Starting your day with a big glass of green juice is a hot health trend, as these emerald blends can give you a big boost of important nutrients. But juices and smoothies loaded with kale and spinach arent necessarily the other kind of greenthe eco-friendly kind.
Dont get me wrongI love juicing. It helps me get more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and drinking it makes me feel virtuous. Below are some tips for making a juice that’s healthy for both you and the planet.
Make your own
Skip the store-bought juices with all their disposable packaging. Even if you put the bottles in recycling, it still requires a lot of energy and water for the recycling process. Instead, use a juicer or blender at home to not only have more control over your ingredients, but also to save money and cut down on trash.
Or if the prospect of washing and chopping all that produce is too much for you to bear, consider bringing your own reusable bottle to your local juice shop.
Be sparing with superfoods
Acai? Cacao? These exotic tropical species might be very nutritious, but so many superfood trends come from far away lands. These well-traveled ingredients have a bigger carbon footprint than produce thats grown closer to home.
Now, I know most people arent going to give up on chocolate, tea or coffee if its not produced in their region. However, it will still be friendlier to Mother Nature if you choose more of the nutrient-packed produce thats grown in your area. Here in New York, I love to make a seasonal juice with local winter vegetables, like carrots and beetsand naturally sweeten it with apple.
Go organic
Many juice experts recommend organic juice for health reasons, butorganic agriculture is arguably even more important for the health of the planet. When you buy organic fruits and veggies for your juice, youre supporting farmers who use fewer harmful pesticides and less synthetic fertilizer. If you care about avoiding genetically modified foods, buying organic also takes care of that.
Get ugly
Ugly produce that is! What matters here is the quality of the juicenot the physical beauty. Go ahead, buy that twisted carrot, that bulbous cucumber or the bruised apple. Some grocers are even offering discounts on their less beautiful produce. Looks wont matter once everything is blended into your smoothie, and youll be helping cut down on food waste.
Also, greens that are just a touch too wilted for salad are often still suitable for use in juice.
Compost
If you use a juicer like me, youre going to end up with a lot of pulpand even blender users will have their fair share of cores, peels and stems. Be sure tocompost these food trimmingsinstead of putting them in the garbage.
by Margaret Badore, from Treehugger
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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