13 Motivating Juice and Smoothie Accessories: Blend, Press, and Chug in Style
You’ve finally bought into the juice and smoothie craze, and you’re ready to make some viable changes in your dietary lifestyle. However, a blender or juicer is not always all it takes to blend and press with ease.
Of course, you could get by with the basics, but nothing is more motivating than a few extra gadgets and otherwise essential accessories that make your morning beverage a fun and exciting daily ritual. Here are 13 juice and smoothie accessories that will inspire your palate and your technique.
13 Juice and Smoothie Accessories
If you don’t have the time to sit back and enjoy your smoothie at home, a smoothie tumbler will change your life. Blend, pour, and go with the stainless steel travel tumbler by Savvy Drinkware. The container holds 2 cups worth of your blended concoction and is sealed shut with a no leak lid. Sip away from a stainless steel straw and rest assured the your smoothie vessel not only will keep your beverage chilly but also is BPA-free! It is currently available as part of EcoSalon’s 2016 Mind & Body Box.
2. Glass Straw
Avoid sipping on your juices and smoothies through standard plastic straws, which contain harmful chemicals and are not recyclable. Switch to 100% reusable and recyclable Glass Dharma straws to contribute to a healthier environment and a healthier you.
What’s a juice without citrus? Lemon and other citrus fruits have a hard rind that can harm your vegetable juicer or make it difficult to extract the most juice from citrus fruits thrown in the chute. If you want to make your life a whole lot easier, get this Tribest CitriStar CS-1000 Citrus Juicer, which is equipped with a one-touch operation and allows maximum extraction from the smallest limes to the largest grapefruits. Small lemons and limes, especially when they’re rind is very tough, are hard to squeeze by hand, or even with a mechanical juicer. An electric citrus juicer brings the necessary pressure to get the most for your money!
4. Book: “The Big Book of Juices” – Natalia Savona
Get your proportions right and your creative juices cooking – or rather, juicing – with this book. Its name speaks for itself, offering more than 400 recipes for juice, smoothies, and other thirst quenchers. It also indexes recipes by key ingredients, nutrients, and health benefits; and it provides a simple five-star system that rates the effectiveness of the drinks in boosting energy and detoxifying the body, as well as potential benefits for the immune system, digestion, and even skin quality.
5. Fruit and Vegetable Cleaner
These days, a simple rinse just won’t do when it comes to cleaning fruits and vegetables. Especially when you are going to consume a juice or smoothie, it is important that you utilize only the cleanest, organic produce. FIT Produce Wash is a USDA certified organic product that removes 98% more pesticides, waxes, human-hand holding residue and contaminants than water alone.
Skrub’a gloves are a multi-purpose savior in removing dirt and loose skin from tough-skin produce, like carrots, beets, and other vegetables. Even if you use a vegetable cleaner and soak and rinse your produce thoroughly, you still may be missing excess dirt that requires more elbow grease to remove. These gloves are one size fits all, made with durable nylon, are washer machine and dishwasher safe, and FDA approved.
For low-glycemic green juice ingénues, stevia may be your saving grace. It’s generally a chore to sip a green juice when it features little if any fruit in the mix. Fruit masks the bitterness of the greens and can make any green juice taste like a treat. However, if you’re cutting calories and trying to balance your blood sugar levels, it’s imperative that you cut down on even the sugars found in fruit, especially in fruit juices. Without fiber to slow down the release of sugar into the bloodstream, fruit juice goes straight to the blood and spikes blood sugar levels. Liquid stevia is a zero-glycemic way to add a touch of sweetness to your juices without adding in fruit. NuNaturals Stevia is my favorite brand and is always in my purse to not only sweeten my juices but also my teas and coffees.
8. Book: “The Art of Blending” – Tori Ritchie
The Vitamix is the kingpin among all other blender brands on the market, and this book outlines the incredible potential that lies in the machine’s blades. Over 40 foolproof recipes show you how to make not only smoothies but also nut milks, juices, purées, dips, butters, spreads, hot and cold soups, sweet and savory sauces, dressings, batters, creams, foams, and even frozen desserts.
To me, this is groundbreaking. Whenever I am on vacation or off my regular schedule, I am forced to give up my healthy morning rituals, including my green juice or smoothies. But now, it’s possible to take the smoothing-making magic on the road! The TVTimedirect Shake N Take Sport Bottle Blender instantly blends smoothies and protein shakes on the go. You can even blend and drink from the same bottle! It’s powerful enough to crush ice and has a flip top straw that makes it easy to sip. Fill it with produce and take it with you to the gym, waiting to blend it all post workout for a more refreshing, nutritionally-potent concoction.
10. Superfoods
No smoothie is full equipped without superfoods in the mix. Take advantage of the plethora of raw, vegan superfoods on the market that are now easily accessible at just about any grocery store. Navitas Naturals offers an excellent and comprehensive selection of superfoods while Vega One reigns in the clean vegan protein powder department.
Enjoy your juices and smoothies in a cup designated to, and only to, them. Doing so makes the experience far more authentic, comforting, and ritualized. This The Cupture 12 Vintage Clear Mason Jar Tumbler Mug makes for a durable and environmentally-friendly way to chug your fruits and veggies on the reg. It comes with a stainless steel lid and a reusable straw and is equipped with a heavy duty double wall insulation and a strong carrying handle. It’s easy to clean and safe to carry around near the pool and to be handled by children.
Who says eco-friendly has to be boring and bland. These colorful reusable straws from Crate & Barrel get you (and your kids!) excited about greens. The straws are made from acrylic and come in yellow, orange, pink, and blue.
13. Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray
Freeze your juices and smoothies in ice cube trays for safe storage or for fun presentation. During the week, I rarely have time in the morning to gather a bunch of ingredients and whip up a smoothie. Instead, on Sunday night, I prepare a huge batch of my favorite smoothie and fill all my ice cube trays up with it. In the morning, I pop out a few cups and blend them together just before I run out the door. That way, my smoothie is always fresh and always thick! You can do the same thing with juice ice cubes as well! Sometimes I put a few juice ice cubes into my water for an essence of fruits and veggies in my water. This Onyx 18/8 Stainless Steel # ICE001 18 Slot Ice Cube Tray is a throwback to the ‘50s. It is BPA-free, so you don’t have to worry about plastic toxins.
Related on Organic Authority
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