If you’re a fan of juicing, you may have wondered if you can juice strawberries. Juicing is a popular way of extracting vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables, but it works better with some produce than others.
Ripe strawberries can be juiced and combined with other fruits and vegetables. However, some of their key health benefits are lost in the juicing process. This means that although strawberries may be a flavorful addition, juicing them may not be effective in terms of diet and nutrition.
Strawberries’ sweet and tangy flavor and boost of vitamins and minerals make them great additions to any juicing diet. However, there’s more to these berries than just their micronutrient makeup, including key benefits that get lost in the process of juicing. This article explains the process of juicing and how it affects the nutritional benefits of strawberries so that you can decide for yourself which method is your preferred way of enjoying them.
In This Article
The Pros and Cons of Juicing Strawberries
Juicing is a process that extracts the liquids from fruits and vegetables and discards the solid pulp of the produce. Although this method has been used for a long time, particularly with citrus fruits, it has also been popularized in recent years as a weight-loss method.
The theory of this diet is that by extracting the juice, we can get all of the important nutrients without the added calories that come with eating the same amount of fruits or vegetables.
- A juice fast that includes a variety of produce can help dieters lose weight as a result of a calorie deficit while providing the body with essential vitamins and minerals.
- Juicing in addition to standard daily food intake is not likely to produce the same benefits
Juicing is, however, an easy way for those who are not fond of eating many fruits and vegetables to include them in their diet and still obtain the vital nutrients that produce provides us with.
It Takes a Lot of Strawberries to Make Juice
Strawberries are, on average, relatively small fruits, so it takes a lot of berries to render a decent serving. This is why it is more common to find strawberry juice in combination with other fruits and vegetables rather than just strawberry juice on its own.
It is possible to make just strawberry juice if that’s what your heart desires, but a recipe for a full serving of approximately 8-12 ounces or will commonly be diluted and stretched with water.
The Fiber Gets Lost When You Juice Strawberries
Furthermore, the benefits of juicing fresh strawberries fall short to those lost in the process of juicing. Whole strawberries are a great source of fiber and are relatively low in calories at an average of only 53 calories per cup.
The fiber content of strawberries is found in the pulp, which gets discarded in the juicing process. The theoretical benefit of reducing calories in the case of these berries is then actually only the calories lost along with the high fiber content.
Oragnic strawberries produce delicious juice and can make the perfect flavor addition to many creative juice concoctions, but when considering them for their health benefits, it is more logical to just eat the whole berry.
The Nutritional Values of Strawberries
Strawberries are perhaps one of the healthiest fruits you can regularly find in a grocery market across North America, but what is it that sets them apart?
Vitamins are high in some key nutrients that help the body fight off and recover from illness or damage. In fact, strawberries have been shown to aid in ways related to things such as:
- Heart health
- Bowel movements
- Blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Cancer
That’s why this article counts them among the world’s healthiest foods!
Vitamin C and Antioxidants
Strawberries contain high levels of vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps maintain body tissues as well as strengthens the immune system. Only one cup of strawberries provides about 150% of an adult’s daily needed vitamin C intake. Strawberries also contain high levels of several other types of antioxidants, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, all of which help fight free radicals in the body.
Water and Fiber
For being relatively small and containing a decent water content, strawberries also come with a surprisingly high fiber content. Fiber improves bowel movements and keeps you full longer, both of which aid in weight management. Furthermore, it regulates blood sugar by managing glucose levels, making them an especially good sweet treat for those with diabetes. But remember, to benefit from the high fiber content of strawberries, be sure to eat the whole fruit instead of juicing it.
Macronutrients
Lastly, strawberries have relatively low amounts of macronutrients resulting in a low calorie count. These macronutrients are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, any of which can make some other fruits and vegetables surprisingly high in calories. One cup of sliced strawberries, however, only comes out to approximately 50 calories. It would take a large number of berries to play any significant role in weight gain.
For more detailed information on the nutritional values of strawberries, SELFnutritiondata provides a complete list of their vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Tips for Juicing Strawberries
Although there’s not much of an argument against eating strawberries, they can still be a delicious choice in your next juice. Just a few small details to watch for can make a world of difference in creating the most flavorful juice with the least amount of waste.
- Choose the plumpest, ripest strawberries possible. Not only will these yield more juice per berry, but they will also produce a sweeter juice, cutting out the need to add any sugar.
- Choose your pairing. Fresh Strawberry juice is often found in combination with other fruits because even the largest, plumpest strawberries would require a large quantity to yield a drinkable amount. While it is possible to add water to strawberry juice in order to stretch it, adding other produce instead creates unique flavor profiles along with providing you with a variety of additional nutrients.
Some popular pairing choices include kiwi, cucumber, apple, and tropical or berry mixes. By combining strawberries with these other fruits, it is possible to yield more combined juice while still gaining the benefits of strawberry juice.
Strawberry Juice Recipe
If you’re craving some ripe strawberry juice, but aren’t quite sure to begin, here is an easy and delicious strawberry juice recipe to get you started. This homemade strawberry juice recipe yields a light and refreshing juice, perfect for a hot summer day.
Keep in mind that this is just one of many possible combinations, so don’t hesitate to get creative and experiment with other fruits and vegetables!
Strawberry juice recipe yields approximately 10 oz.
Ingredients:
- 6 medium strawberries (or approximate equivalent)
- 1 apple
- 1 cucumber
- 1 bunch mint leaves
Directions:
- Add all ingredients into the juicer and let the fresh strawberry juice pour into a glass with ice. Alternately, blend all ingredients well, then pour the mixture into a glass through a fine-mesh strainer, nut milk bag or a cheesecloth.
- Throw in a few ice cubes, sip and enjoy; it’s that easy!
Tip: Add the mint leaves in the middle of your ingredients because they will yield the least juice. This way, the juices from the other water-heavy produce will help to flush the minimal mint juices into your cup. This trick works well for all ingredients that don’t have a high water content, including other popular ingredients like spinach and carrots.
Conclusion
While you may not be squeezing all of the nutritional content out of your strawberries, you may still decide to juice them for their fresh, summery flavor and their ability to pair with almost any other fruit or vegetable.
There are of course other great recipes for delicious fresh strawberry juice so get creative! They are a delicious way to add sweetness to almost any fresh fruit juice recipe. Pure strawberry juice isn’t a great choice because pure strawberry flavor can be a little overwhelming so I think it makes a better pairing for a delicious drink. Strawberry pineapple juice for instance is a great combination.
As a final bonus tip adding a little lemon juice goes a long way to keeping it fresh. And serving with ice cubes can elevate the flavor.
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