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Our CSA is officially back for the seasons. (Hip-hip-hooray!) Because of the harsh winter we had last year, the vegetables this year came late. Nothing makes me happier than having a bowl of fresh and locally grown strawberries on my kitchen counter.

This week I got lots of greens – kale, arugula, romaine. And at the store we got turnip greens and spinach.

Why so many greens? Well, we’ve started juicing!

I’m an avid reader of The Food Babe, and then we watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, a documentary about a man on a juicing fast, recently. We’ve started juicing every morning before work and it’s been good so far. I’m excited to try more options – we’ve started with a Green-Celery-Cucumber-Carrot-Apple-Ginger combination, and it’s actually a lot better tasting than I would have guessed.

The juicing basics I’ve learned so far:

– Wash your vegetables beforehand! Especially if you get veggies from your local CSA – they come with a little more dirt 🙂

– When juicing, start with your greens. The other flavors will blend into the green juice

– Before you drink your juice, skim off the foam. These nutrients have already oxidized.

– Drink your juice within 10 minutes of making it

– Drink your juice first thing in the morning to absorb the nutrients. Eat breakfast 15 minutes later. (Juicing is not a meal replacement, it’s like a vitamin).

– Don’t use a lot of fruit to keep sugars low. I use an apple or carrots to sweeten my juice.