Juicing

This week I had a nice treat. As some of you know I am into juicing. Earlier this year I bought a blender which allows me to pulverize whole fruits and vegetables with a little water and other goodies.  Every other week or so I put the blender to good use and enjoy making and drinking berry smoothies and green smoothies.

I seldom buy whole pineapples due to the cost.  But I found one on sale this week for $2.99. I thought it would make a nice change for juicing.

I added several slices of pineapple to a half a head of  romaine lettuce, ground flax seeds, a bit of ice and water. I pulverized it altogether in my blender and  made a green juice. It was nice and refreshing. Not too sweet because I only used a few slices of pineapple.

Pineapple has many wonderful vitamins and I know a lot of my friends who live in the tropics get a lot of pineapple in their diets.  But for those of us in Canada, a pineapple is a rare treat.

Pineapples are loaded with Vitamin C, B1, and smaller amounts of B2, B3, B5 and B6. It is also a great source of manganese, copper, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid, dietary fibre and an enzyme called bromelain.

I won't go into all the benefits of these vitamins, minerals and enzymes.  I will just say that a pineapple's nutrients are good for digestion, many inflammatory conditions (like gout, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel, etc.), respiratory conditions (it dissolves excess mucous) and sore throats.

Pineapple is very sweet and must be taken in moderation by those who have blood sugar issues so if you are diabetic you will want to use it sparingly.

Enjoy!