I’m not one to waste organic food… ever. So, when I’m done juicing, I make crackers with the leftover pulp, or I stir some into my dog’s food, or I give it to the bunny’s in my neighborhood.
Breville
Warming Plant Blood – Ginger Is the Trick
Today I made Warming Plant Blood (recipe at the end of this post), which includes one of my all-time favorite ingredients – Ginger. I always have fresh organic ginger in my house. I love adding it to juices, smoothies, salads, and other Raw vegan dishes (it’s so nourishing). I’ve often referred to garlic as the king of spices. The queen spot goes to ginger. It rocks.
Ginger offers multiple health benefits. It has warming qualities, as noted in the recipe title Warming Plant Blood. When I feel cold in the winter, I start adding more ginger to my diet. Even though most of my food is Raw (and sometimes a little chilly by nature), adding ginger helps make my digestion and body feel like it’s warming up. Speaking of digestion, ginger is a major helper in that department. Next time you have an upset tummy, try drinking some warm water with a little fresh grated ginger, lemon juice and maybe a dash of raw agave nectar or a drop of stevia. Or, simply drink some ginger tea from a box. I just picked some up at Whole Foods last night from the company Traditional Medicinals. They have a nice tea called Organic Ginger. If I think I’ll have a meal that might challenge my digestive system, I often drink a cup of this about a half hour before the meal.
Ginger is a rich source of powerful antioxidants which have anti-inflammatory properties, and there is evidence that ginger’s antioxidants might help fight/inhibit the growth of certain types of cancers. Not only that, but studies show ginger can also help boost the immune system.
Storing ginger is easy. Fresh ginger can be stored for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator (or up to 6 months in the freezer) when tightly wrapped.
Warming Plant Blood
Kristen Suzanne of Kristen’s Raw
Yield 1-2 servings
1-inch piece of fresh ginger*
4-5 carrots
1 medium/large-ish beet
1 bunch of baby red Swiss chard**
I used my Breville juicer to juice the ingredients.
* This is a lot of ginger and it definitely gives the juice a kick and immediate warming sensation. You might try half this amount and taste the juice. Then, decide if you want to add more.
** The baby red Swiss chard I used today was from the farmer’s market (locally grown, organic – YAY!). The leaves were little, which is why I referred to it as “baby” Swiss chard. If I was using a regular, full grown bunch, I probably would have juiced 1/2 – 3/4 of the bunch.
For more information on great juicers, check out my blog post, My Favorite Juicers – GreenStar and Breville.
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My Favorite Juicers: Green Star & Breville
I was asked recently which juicer I use. The answer is that I actually have two, and I love them both for different reasons. Nothing – and I mean nothing – beats juicing. Like the vegan version of being a vampire, you feel absolutely super-human when you drink down pure Plant Blood.
1) Green Star
This bad boy isn’t cheap, but it’s life-changing. Wanna go hardcore? This is it! This machine is great because it’s extremely durable, reliable, can also juice wheatgrass (most juicers cannot do this, so you often have to buy a separate wheatgrass juicer), plus more. Because this juicer uses twin gears which gently and slowly extract the juice, it doesn’t degrade or oxidize nearly as fast as it does with a centrifugal juicer (below). Green Star juice can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days without much oxidation, which makes it perfect for people who can only juice once a day or less.
This juicer squeezes out every bit of juice, leaving you with very dry pulp, so you’re really getting your money’s worth from your organic produce. Here are other tricks this juicer can do: make ice cream from frozen produce such as bananas or mangoes, as well as homogenize nuts, seeds and grains for pate and butters, and it’s great for making baby foods, apple sauce, etc.
The Green Star takes longer to use and clean up, but it’s still amazing and well worth the money (and the time if you have it).
2) Breville Fountain Juicer
This juicer has a special place in my heart. I LOVE my Breville Fountain Juicer (and pretty much use it daily) because it’s lightening fast and SUPER EASY to clean. This machine inspires me to juice multiple times a day due to its ease of use. It’s considerably less expensive than the Green Star, but because it’s centrifugal, you should drink the juice within 15 minutes of making it to prevent oxidation and nutrient loss.
This is the perfect juicer for people who plan to do a lot of daily juicing, and want it to be fast and efficient — just be sure to drink right after juicing. The other thing to note is that the pulp from this juicer is quite moist, so you know that you’re not extracting all of the juice like you do with the Green Star. However, I usually add the pulp to my dog’s food or put it on top of my salad or feed it to the bunnies in my yard or make raw dehydrated crackers from it (so, you can see, it doesn’t go to waste).
All in all, I love both of my juicers and I’m happy to have and use both. I find that I drink a lot more juice having the Breville due to its ease of use and cleaning, but I love having my Green Star for times I juice wheatgrass, make other things besides juice, or for those days that I need to make my juice made ahead of time.
For those of you looking for great juicing and smoothie recipes, I have a terrific ebook loaded with fresh raw vegan beverage recipes.
UPDATE! A new juicer is on my scene! Check out the video I did comparing it with the Breville and Green Star here.