A Juicy New Year!

 

Ahhh, the holidays! This year, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all take place during the same week. While these may be different holidays, they share quite a few things in common: time with friends and family, gift exchanges, candles, lights, and food...lots and lots of food. 

Making Resolutions

Coming right on the heels of equally food-centered Thanksgiving, this season is definitely one that gives us a little too much permission to overindulge. As such, it is hardly surprising that the number one New Year's resolution in 2025 (and most years) for most adults is to improve health via better fitness, weight loss, and healthier eating. Second to these goals, people list money management and stress relief as their primary resolutions.

These aspirations are very much related to one another.  After all, stress can induce overeating and lack of motivation to exercise and eat right, which can then create a sense of malaise and a lack of energy to accomplish one's goals. This can in turn induce more stress, and the cycle continues. In fact, Forbes did a recent study which revealed that most people quit their resolutions before the summertime, after only 3.74 months. 

We need tools to help us navigate the choppy waters of making and failing at New Year's Resolutions, so that we can see them through. Studies have shown that it's easier to add to your daily routine than restrict your habits, and one of the easiest ways to do this is by adding more water, fruits and vegetables to your existing diet.  And one of the easiest ways to get a variety of fruits and vegetables regularly--with the added bonus of critical hydration-- is by drinking them!

How Juicing Helps Literally Everything

Remember how resolutions are interconnected? By strategically targeting nutrition and hydration, other challenges such as stress and weight management start to ease all by themselves.  There is a proven stress-diet connection that can be addressed proactively. Better eating and greater hydration bring on a better sense of well-being, sometimes immediately, which in turn relaxes both mind and body for a less stressful mindset. From here, other life challenges can be faced from a healthier perspective, such as money, work, and relationship issues.  Heck, if everyone started juicing regularly, world peace might not feel like such a pipe dream. 

People often associate juicing with a bad taste and the calorie and carbohydrate density of store-bought juices. In fact, store-bought orange juice is not nearly as healthy as fresh-squeezed and often contains an additive to replace the flavor and nutrients lost during packaging, when dearation (the removing of oxygen to prevent the juice from spoiling) takes place. By contrast, freshly juicing your oranges and grapefruits results in a nutritious, hydrating, and deeply satisfying flavor powerhouse! Another consideration that makes folks reticent to make their own juice is the myth that it is a labor-intensive process. While there are indeed fancy juicing machines available to buy and complicated recipes to explore, it can be a very simple and inexpensive process to juice. But how to do it?

Citrus Juicing 101

If you have a juicer or a reamer, great! However, it is important to note that unless you need to make gallons of juice, no equipment is required. If you have some oranges, grapefruits, or any other varieties of freshly picked citrus, a knife, and a bowl, you are ready to go! 

First, wash the fruits well. Then cut them in half, quarter the halves and simply squeeze each quarter into the bowl until no more juice comes out. If there are seeds, it can be helpful to place a mesh strainer or piece of cheesecloth over the bowl to catch them, so you don't have to fish them out later. Here's a little-known tip: if you heat the orange quarters or halves for ten seconds in the microwave, they become more pliable and thus much easier to squeeze! You can also make incisions throughout the flesh of the fruit (not the rind) before squeezing to help break up the fibers and release more juice.

The above equipment-free method is perfect for a cup or two of instant delicious nutrition. Plus, the citrus essential oils that are released during the squeezing process are proven mood-lifters!  Finally, taking a few minutes to ritually prepare the fruit, squeeze the juice and savor the result can be a powerful mindfulness exercise that takes only minutes out of your morning but can have sustaining effects on your peace of mind. 

Here's to your happy, healthy New Year, from all of us at Florida Fruit Shippers!

Sources:

What are Americans’ New Year’s resolutions for 2025? | YouGov

New Year’s Resolutions Statistics (2024) – Forbes Health

New year, healthier you? Here's how to gradually improve your eating patterns | American Heart Association

Keep your New Year's resolutions: 8 expert tips

The Stress-Diet Connection - Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter

The Truth About Store-Bought Orange Juice: It Doesn't Actually Taste Like Orange Juice

How To Juice Oranges Without A Juicer - Foods Guy