Do you juice?

A huge part of my life that I haven't blogged about yet is how I attempt to keep healthy. It all started with swimming 3 mornings a week before work a few years ago and has grown into gym classes, weights and running. Last year my new year's resolution was to make as many meals completely from scratch. This really opened my eyes to some of the chemicals and 'stuff' added to food.

It was my Mum who introduced me to Jason Vale and the benefits of juicing. She bought a juicer and blender and it gave her a new lease of life.

So I had to find out more about her miracle juices. We ordered a juicer and blender a year ago too and haven't looked back. If you only have room for 2 appliances in your kitchen, make it these! Every morning we juice 4 apples and blend the juice with a handful of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries (much cheaper if you pick the berries up from the frozen isle).

The past few weeks juicing has lapsed a little. Cold and dark mornings are not luring me out of bed. But when you are juicing consistently I cannot explain the difference it makes! You feel more awake, it kick starts your metabolism, suppresses your morning office hunger, improves your skin and hair, gives your more energy....the list goes on. Now of course you can be as 'obsessed' or as little with juicing, but once you start you'll be hooked. The recipes in Jason Vale's book are delicious too.

What prompted me to write a post about my juicing routine was a product I tried in Waitrose this weekend...Coldpress juice;

What is so special about this juice is that has not pasteurised using heat. All juices in cartons and bottles are heated at really high temperatures to help shelf life. This means a lot of goodness is 'cooked' out of juice. Essentially you end up drinking sugars. Coldpress uses no heat, preservatives, no cconcentrates or sugar or sweeteners, no colour, no added flavours.

This is going to be my new lifesaver. On the cold, dark mornings when I'm not in the mood for juicing I can add Coldpress to my blended berries. One less appliance to wash up! Oh and it tastes exactly like the fruit! Once you've tried it, it will make you think about what is in other ordinary juice for them not to taste like Coldpress/real fruit.

Find out more about Coldpress here or follow them on twitter @ColdpressJuices
Or find out more about Jason Vale here.

L x