Incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet is good for you. Everyone knows that. Sometimes though, in today’s hectic lifestyle of grabbed meals and lunch on the go, it’s easier said than done. Juicing is a great way to put some natural goodness into your body without having to think too much about lifestyle changes, or drastically altering the way you feed yourself or your family.

Why Juice Is Good For You

Fruit and vegetables are packed with the vitamins and enzymes we need to stay healthy. In fact, around 95% are found in plant-based foods. Turning them into juice reduces their bulk, so you can get more vital goodness in one delicious drink. In fact, in one 16-ounce juice drink you get all the nutrition provided by 10 to 12 apples or around eight pounds of spinach. No matter how much you like apples, eating 10 to 12 in one sitting would be a challenge.

A healthy diet is vital for well-being, for several reasons:

• It fortifies the immune system, making us more resistant to germs and diseases
• It helps us build strong bones and teeth
• It puts a healthy glow in complexion
• It keeps internal organs functioning correctly

Can Juicing Help You Lose Weight?

The answer to this is both yes and no. Eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits is definitely healthier than a diet packed with hotdogs and donuts.

Fruits definitely have a calorie content, however, so if you’re using juicing as part of a weight loss strategy you need to be aware of how many calories your juice beverages contain and factor them into daily calorie allowances. Sweet fruit juices help satisfy a craving for sugar and provide more nutrients than refined sugar alone. Vegetable juices contain fewer calories, so if you’re counting they may be of more benefit. You can add an apple or kiwi to veggie juices for a little added sweetness.

Doctors don’t recommend that you try to lose weight by going on a juice-only diet as you may not get enough protein or fiber to stay healthy. Many juice machines remove the pulp from fruit and vegetables, and this is where the fiber is found. If you’re making your own juice at home in a blender, you can incorporate some of the pulp into the juice, or use it in other cooking.

Not everyone wants to spend time peeling and chopping that home, however. Happily, in Montrose, we are blessed with several businesses that make consuming healthy fruit and veg a piece of cake.

Juicy in the Sky

For deliciously healthy all natural beverages, Juicy In The Sky creates everything from basic juices and smoothies to their own special signature beverages including super shots of concentrated nutrition.

You can also create your own custom beverages, choosing two or three fruits and vegetables and adding in special little extras such as nut butters, raw brown rice protein, coconut oil or flaxseed, to name just a few.

They also create non-dairy shakes for people with food intolerances. Dedicated to promoting good health through wholesome eating, you will find Juicy in the Sky in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston.

Beet Box Blend Bar

Open every day of the week including Sunday, you can watch the fruit and veggies being prepared right in front of you.

Choose either vegetable or fruit-heavy juices, including the delicious sounding ‘Rise N Shine’ with carrot, orange, mango, ginger and water from the veg selection, or go fruity with juices such as ‘Sweet Beets’ that mixes beet, carrot, strawberry, banana and dates with unsweetened vanilla Coconut milk.

Beet Box Blend Bar also does meal replacement juices that include protein, fats, fiber and omega-3. There is also a range of snacks and salads, and small sized ‘Little Blendies’ just for kids.

You’ll find them 1909 W Gray St, Suite B in Houston, Texas.

Flow Juice Bar

With each juice containing 8 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables, you can be sure you’re getting lots of goodness in a relatively small package.

The Flow Juice Bar menu is conveniently sectioned according to the benefits offered by each juice, so you can either choose juices for a specific boost or simply go for the flavor you fancy.

Whichever you choose they all sound delicious, from ‘Pearrific’ that contains pineapple, pear, organic cucumber and mint for hydration plus digestion, to the romantic sounding ‘I Dream of Ginger’ to give metabolism, digestion and immunity a boost. It contains grapefruit, organic apple, carrot, lemon and ginger.

In Texas, Flow Juice Bar is based at 214 Fairview St, Houston, and they’re open every day and 7 AM to 7 PM.

Whether you’re juicing for good health or simply for pleasure, you’re bound to enjoy some of these delicious options.