With her gorgeous book, Juice, out now, we asked Rosemary Ferguson to tell us her top tips to set us on the path to foolproof juicing.
1. Start Sweet
Some drinks are stronger tasting that others, so if you are just starting out, use the recipes that have a higher fruit content, especially berries, and then move on the other ones. It is true that some fruits and vegetables have a high natural sugar content, so in the book you will see that I use lots of low-sugar ingredients, such as kale, celery and cucumber, to counter this. I also use many fruits that have a high soluble fibre content. Soluble fibre does not get removed during the juicing process and it slows the absorption of any sugars into the bloodstream and therefore avoids a sugar spike. You can always have a handful of seeds with your juice as this slows absorption too.
2. Go Organic
I always use organic, if I can, to avoid pesticides. It means that there is no need to peel the produce first (unless using something like a mango, avocado or papaya), just rinse and you are ready to go. Organic produce can be much more expensive and is not always available so, if this is the case, you might need a little more preparation. For non-organic ingredients, peel what can be peeled and give everything a thorough wash because pesticides can be persistent. You’ll need to be ultra-careful in washing your leaves.
3. Freeze Your Fruit
Some ingredients are very seasonal and if they aren’t in season but still on the supermarket shelves, then they may be expensive and it will have taken a lot of air miles to get them there. This is when frozen foods are great. You can get all sorts of organic and non-organic fruits in the freezer section, picked and frozen straight away, which preserves their nutrients. Frozen berries or peaches are great in smoothies and juices and you could also try frozen summer leaves like spinach and spring greens.
4. Get Prepared
I tend not to core anything, but I do remove stones from any fruits that need it. Your juicer and blender will not thank you for putting a plum stone through them. A little tip for juicing small leaves like rosemary is to wrap them in bigger leaves, and pass them through the juicer in that way.
5. Do Your Research
Do a bit of research when you are buying new equipment. For both juicers and smoothies, it is generally better to get one with a higher wattage. This makes a difference to which vegetables and fruit the juicer can cope with. Ideally you do want to be able to juice things like beetroot and sweet potato easily. For smoothies I LOVE my NutriBullet because it is so compact and making a smoothie is so fast and straightforward.
Try Rosemary’s juice recipes
Clean and Strengthen
Great for skin and hair, the B vitamins in the greens help detoxify the body and leave the way clear to build healthy glossy hair.
Bloat Away!
Pineapple has helpful digestive enzymes, but the secret to this juice is the fennel and ginger. They combine to build up good prebiotic gut bacteria, which helps the gut deal with food more efficiently, and therefore reduces bloating.
Crystal Clear
The combination of these herbs will help the brain fog clear, and leave you feeling like you can take on the world!
Photography by Nassima Rothacker
