Welcome back! I know that lots of us here in the south are about to start back to school and that means it’s almost fall, but I’m fighting it. It seems too early for the end of summer to me! So I’m hanging on to all the bounty of summer and enjoying the fruits and veggies that are everywhere right now. This week I’m going to share two of my new favorite juice recipes. Ok, so yes, I did say in an older post that I don’t like juices. But I’m not so rigid that I can’t enjoy some fresh fruits and veggies made into brightly colored juice sometimes! Besides, the reasons I don’t like juice as routine isn’t applicable to everyone or every situation. So why do I say I don’t like juice? Here’s the recap:
- Most juice is highly processed. This means that the vitamin and mineral content is diminished because of the age and heat applied to the juice in processing. Yes, I’m talking about most commercially produced juices.
- Juice is often high in sugar and low in fiber. If you eat the fruit or vegetable you’d get the fiber, which helps your pancreas to get to process the sugar load more slowly.
But… You can make your own fresh juice and capture all those vitamins and antioxidants in a glass. If you consume the juice in 1-2 days after making it, you’ll get most of the goodness from it. The fresher, the better, but we can’t always make juice everyday, no matter how easy it is to clean your juicer! (If you want to read about the juicers I use, go to To Juice or Not To Juice). Also, depending on what kind of juice you make, you can blend up the whole fruit or veggie and get the fiber too. If you’re having trouble getting enough fresh fruits in your diet, this is one way to get some more. I wouldn’t substitute juice for chewing the fruit, but it can be another way to get what you need…
So what kind of juice am I making now? The first is a watermelon cooler and it’s incredibly easy and delicious! Because the watermelon is mostly water anyway, I just blend it up without adding more liquid. If you want a creamier drink, more smoothie-like, you could add almond milk (or your milk of choice). This drink is light, full of vitamins A and C (immunity and antioxidants), lycopene (good for the heart and bones), may soothe the GI tract (good for reflux), and is a natural diuretic (which may help you relieve unwanted bloating and lower blood pressure). Try it out!
Watermelon Cooler
1/4 small watermelon, cut into chunks
mint leaves (10-20, depending on your taste)
juice of one lime
Put it all in the blender and blend it up. Enjoy!
The second juice requires a juicer or you may need to strain the pulp out with a jelly bag if you blend the veggies with a high speed blender instead. I love carrot juice! If you have a juicer, you can enjoy this earthy sweet juice easily and quickly. If you want it a little more sweet, you can blend in the pineapple as I did in this version, but you may not need it – the carrots are pretty sweet alone. Carrots are full of vitamin A, beta carotene, lutein and a variety of trace minerals. This can benefit eye health, immunity, heart health and fight cancer risk. Because carrots grown in the soil, this is a veggie I always buy organic. The healthier the soil, the better off your food is for you. Pineapples are wonderful for digestion because of the digestive enzyme bromelain that they contain. Try this one out!
Carrot-Pineapple Juice
8-12 whole carrots depending on size, scrubbed
1/3 cup frozen pineapple chunks
juice of one lime (or lemon if you prefer)
Juice the carrots. Add the lime juice to the carrot juice. If you want the pineapple, blend it into the carrot juice mixture. Frozen pineapple will blend up completely and will give you a little fiber too! I’ve tried to put it through my juicer – it just comes out in the pulp like ice cream, so I just add it to the blender. It’s a bright and sunny juice!
How are you enjoying the last days of summer? Please share in the comments below!