About a year ago I talked my husband into investing a nice fruit and vegetable juicer (made by Breville). I’d read about the general health benefits of fresh fruit and vegetable juices and had a friend who was incorporating fresh juices into her son (living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder - ASD) and her neurotypical daughter’s daily diet. After talking to her about the machine itself and whether or not her kids actually drank the juice – which they did, I was sold!

While my son Ethan lives with Asperger’s Syndrome and is on a Gluten-Free and Casein-Free (GFCF) and mostly Soy-Free (SF) diet, we are blessed that he will eat a variety of foods and actually enjoys a range of textures. Even so, since so many kids with ASD have absorption issues, I tend to worry that he is not getting adequate nutrients on a regular basis. While I don’t put a lot of stock into our nation’s current USDA dietary guidelines (primarily because I think the USDA suggests that we eat far too many grains/carbohydrates than is truly healthy and because dairy is off limits for my guy) I do work hard to incorporate a wide selection of foods, including several servings of fresh vegetables and fruits (heavier on the vegetable end) each day.

I don’t know how many of you fit in the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables a day, but I’ll be honest, we have to really work on it! And, while eating vegetables at breakfast is a wonderful way to kick off your day, not many American families I know feed their child a hearty vegetable soup or green salad at 7am. I can just imagine our breakfast table conversation…“Eat your spinach, Young Man, or you will lose your Nintendo time after school!”

When I started looking for ways to increase our intake of vegetables specifically, every day (knowing that a big salad for breakfast wouldn’t “cut it” at our house), I realized that fresh juice is a great way to work in some veggies just as our day is beginning. (While the fruit and vegetable juices on the shelves of our local markets are quick and easy, they’re typically greatly depleted of important nutrients and enzymes when they’re prepared for bottling and a lengthy shelf-life.) After hearing Jenny McCarthy share last fall that her son Evan – as part of his ongoing GFCF diet – drinks a “shot” of fresh spinach juice each morning, I was inspired. I actually spoke to Ethan about Evan’s willingness to drink spinach juice each morning because Evan knows that it helps his brain and his body to perform optimally throughout the day; Ethan was very interested and motivated. Since that time I have introduced fresh organic spinach juice (often mixed with fresh pineapple juice) into our morning routine. Gradually I’ve reduced the amount of pineapple mixed with the spinach so that we aren’t over-doing the fruit juice (high in natural sugars – which can affect Ethan’s delicate intestinal yeast balance). While I don’t manage to juice every single morning (yet), when I do, I make enough for all of us to have a small glass of fresh juice. We all feel better and think more clearly on the days I manage to get it done.

Now, you might be wondering if I have to tell Ethan, “Drink your spinach, Young Man…” but the truth is – not so much! The spinach doesn’t have a strong flavor, so it mixes well with other fruits and veggies. Once a child gets over the vivid green color, it tastes pretty mild. And, the sky’s the limit in terms of what you can create. Just this morning when we were out of fresh pineapple, I grabbed some carrots, apple and grapefruit (everything but the grapefruit was organic) to add to our spinach and voilà! We had a refreshing and delicious way to drink our veggies and start the day out on the right foot! If you’d like to whip up this recipe at home, scroll down for details.

Often, I involve Ethan in shopping for our organic fruits and veggies and have him help me select and prepare juice from a known recipe or create a new one together. (To learn more about which fruits/vegetables are best to buy organic and why, read my post Should You Buy Organic or Conventional Produce?)

The more I learn about the benefits of fresh juice, the more inspired I am to make this a part of our daily routine. Over the weekend I read The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health and found it to be very informative and interesting. The Author, Cherie Calbom, shares great information about the benefits of specific juices for a variety of health issues, including ADD and ADHD, which is a common issue for many children (not just Ethan) these days. She even includes specific recipes ideal for use with each medical disorder, illness or disease (including cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis and many, many more). Now more than ever I believe that not only will I be helping my son by providing fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices on a regular basis, but I’ll be helping my husband and myself as well.

Here’s what I used this morning to make our Last Day of January Juice:
4 (large) organic carrots
1 organic Fuji apple
1 grapefruit
5 handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves

Do you juice? Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

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Leigh Attaway Wilcox is a writer and editor for the projectLD family of companies. Leigh is Assistant Editor of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007. Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.