Okay, now most of you probably haven’t had your child yell this out to you… but it is one of my son’s favorite drinks! I have been juicing for about 9 years now. I started when my daughter was born. A friend of mine who just had her 5th child started talking to me about the benefits of juicing. She shared that as a nursing mom it was easier for her to get all those wonderful vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies into her diet which then went into her breast milk. So, I decided to give it a go and have been hooked since. After researching the various juicers out there, I decided on a Champion Juicer.

The Champion Juicer is a heavy-duty machine that utilizes the mastication process, which basically means it chews up the fibers and breaks up the cell of the fruits and veggies. By masticating the produce, you end up with more fiber, vitamins, enzymes, and trace minerals.

One of the benefits of juicing for children is that they can help you do it! My children love to cut up the fruit and/or veggies and then push them through the juicer. My son will taste-test the juice and then tell me if it is ready to drink or if we need to add more produce. By helping out from the beginning, they are more inclined to drink the final product. I love knowing that they are getting such a boost of all-natural goodness with no added sugar, food dyes, and other ingredients found in bottled juices on the shelves.

Since we have been juicing for such a long time, my kids are used to me handing them lettuce juice (1 head of lettuce plus about 3 apples) at dinner and telling them to drink their salad. On hot days, we love to make carrot lemonade, which is 1 whole lemon (peeled), 1 pound of carrots, and about 3-4 apples.

My husband, although not an avid juicer, will juice apples and garlic when he feels he is getting sick. It really helps him to fight off the illness! Juicing is also an excellent way to use up produce before it goes bad. Have extra spinach… juice it with some apples! A benefit of the Champion is that it can be used for more than just juicing. Freeze some bananas, run them through the juicer and voila! You have soft serve ice cream that tastes delicious! You can get the grinder attachment and make your own nut butter or grind your own flour. It is so versatile!

So if you are looking for ways to get fresh fruits and veggies into your kids diets (and yours too!), think about giving juicing a try. You may soon be hearing “more lettuce juice, please!”

Read Full Post »