Feeling like you could use some kale in your diet, but can’t quite stomach the dark green leaves?
Juicing, the latest nutritional fad to sweep across the country, might be for you.
Fortunately for newbie and veteran juicers alike, the North Shore is home to a slew of new juice bars: True Juice in Winnetka, Peeled in Evanston and soon-to-open Juice One and My Juice Fix in Highland Park, the latter of which will focus on home delivery. Whole Foods in Deerfield and Glenview both sell BluePrint juices, a favorite among the celebrity set, and Highland Park’s Sunset Foods recently added Evolution Fresh juice to its refrigerated case.
So what’s the skinny with juice? Many juicers, including myself, find that it’s a great way to pack in vegetables that might otherwise be difficult to fit into our busy lives. Drinking veggies such as kale, carrots and cabbage can also provide a boost to one’s immunity and overall health.
“Clinically, I’ve seen it help my patients; they have more energy and fewer digestive complaints,” says Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple, M.D., medical director of NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Integrative Medicine Program, and the co-owner of Mingle Juice Shop, set to open in The Glen Town Center this spring. “It’s empowering to know that everything you’re putting in your body is clean and only goes to the higher good. That’s medicine in and of itself.”
Green juicers take note: This is not your grandmother’s prune juice. True Juice’s executive chef Jona Silva says he applies the same approach to juice mixes as he does to food. A splash of lime boosts the acidity level of Silva’s greens-heavy juice, while a sprinkle of Kalahari Desert salt strikes just the right balance of acidity and sweetness in the spicy lemonade.
One downside to buying juice at a juice bar: The drinks can cost a whopping $9 for 12 ounces. Thankfully, many companies have come out with home juicers that make as good of a product, if not better.
Our favorite pick: the Omega 8006 Masticating Juicer ($299), which quietly grinds the produce, separates out the pulp, and creates a juice without any foam on top. Breville makes the JE900 juicer ($119) that fans say juices as well as the more expensive options, but is a little trickier to clean and produces that foamy top because of the heat generated from the motor. But if you don’t mind a kale “cappuccino,” this could be the perfect fit.
Get juicing! Each of these recipes makes 2 servings:
The Electric Green
- 10 kale leaves
- 1 cucumber
- 1 carrot
- 1 green apple
- 1 lemon, rind and pith removed
The Pink Crush
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 1 cucumber
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 red beet
- 1 lemon, rind and pith removed
- 1 green apple
