Juice Pairings: Complementing Your Cold-Pressed Juice with Balanced Meals

We learn more about the importance of a balanced diet as we grow older. As little ones, we didn’t even think about it too much - our parents did that for us. 

So now we’re curious. Can we pair our juices with the right food? We’re sure we can, but what would the pairings be? How would we even start? Do we start with the juices and work from there? Do we start with the dishes and then decide what works?

Our brains are going into overdrive. But wait. We can start by finding out what a balanced meal even looks like!

First Things First: What Does A Balanced Meal Look Like?

Depending on your age (my goodness are we old?), you may have grown up learning all about the food pyramid. Fun as that was, even that got an upgrade. The all-new Food Plate was launched in 2011 to give the dated Food Pyramid a refresh. Yes, it was launched in 2011, but you’d be surprised to know many haven’t heard of it at all!

To really simplify things, your new Food Plate is broken down into these categories: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy and Fortified Soy Alternatives. That means your ideal breakfast, lunch, or dinner has all of those components. 

Notice how they didn’t just say meat for proteins and added soy alternatives to the dairy category? That’s because they’ve accounted for folks with food allergies and restrictions. There’s also more flexibility for diets like veganism or vegetarianism. The older Food Pyramid didn’t consider those as much then. So it’s a good thing they made an update, huh?

And do note that, like the Food Pyramid, the Food Plate acts as your balanced diet guide. It’s not a strict list that must be followed. Your doctor or your nutritionist may tip the scales and ask you to eat or drink more of one component if they feel you need to. Everyone’s bodies and needs are different.

Juice Pairing Guide: Let’s Talk Flavor

With all of the above being said, we think one of the best ways to start our juice pairing guide is with flavor. These can be sweet, salty or savory, and even umami. 

We’re skipping the bitter and sour for the most part because is there even a purely sour and bitter meal? A bitter char to a roast or a sour dipping sauce to complement, we’re sure. But to eat an all-bitter or sour meal is niche! And just to cover our bases, no, a bag of sour candies isn’t part of a balanced meal.

Pair with Savory Meals

Orange Juice

Think of your standard, all-American breakfast. You’ve got toast, eggs, and bacon! What else is usually served with that? Good ‘ol orange juice. We know veggies or grains may not make an appearance just yet, but you can offset those easily when lunch rolls right along. As for dairy, a knob of butter can always work! 

If you cook, you know that adding some citrus to salty dishes can help balance it out. This juice pairing works similarly. Drinking OJ could cut through that possibly salty batch of scrambled eggs.

Watermelon Juice

How about we go to a backyard barbeque? You’ve got your grilled proteins and you’ve got your greens and salads. We know sticky and sweet ribs are, well, sweet. But the whole meal is often thought of as primarily savory. 

So that summer meal could use the sweetness of refreshing watermelon juice. Some folks even grill slices of watermelon to have with their barbeque. It just works!

Pair with Sweet Meals

Green Juice

With fruits often tasting sweet, they make great accompaniments to pancakes or waffles. To not overstimulate your sweet tooth, why not balance the flavors out with an earthy, veggie-forward green juice? 

Again, a balanced meal is always the goal but not always immediately doable for many. If you skipped out on some major food groups, just make that back on your next meals. 

Beet Juice

Another semi-neutral juice would be the nutritious beet juice. If you want to keep things healthier yet still want to enjoy a little sweet treat, this is the way to go. And when we say sweet treat, we don’t mean those guilty desserts. We mean a bowl of oatmeal or maybe even cereal. 

Many people don’t know how to add grains to their diets and often struggle to identify what they are. They’re rice, wheat, oats, millet, and maize. So rolls of bread and power bars are part of that!

Also Read - Juicing for Every Mood: How to Pick Right Juice?

Plate Up!

Juice pairing is easier when you think about flavors. It’s a great place to start and then you can get down to the details. If you want cold pressed juices, Little West is always here. These are practically as good as fresh, your fruits and veggies come from the farm and are bottled in 48 hours!