Poor Girl’s Juice OR Juicing Without A Juicer!

A fresh glass of happy!

About a year ago I saw Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, have you seen it? It’s a movie about a fat, sick & nearly dead man (ok, the nearly dead part may be a bit overdramatic) who goes on a juicing diet and travels the world trying to get people to try it for their health. Basically it’s a very long commercial for a very expensive juicer.

The commercial aspect aside, I was intrigued. I know I don’t eat enough fruits and veggies and I know taking a multivitamin is a very, very distant second best. I am a self-proclaimed fruit not liker (I don’t hate it but I don’t like it either) and juicing seems like a great way to get those nutrients I’m missing.

And then the commercial part came creeping back in.

Have you seen the cost of a juicer these days? The juicer they used in the movie costs OVER THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. *picks jaw up off the floor*

Now, I am sure a $60 juicer will work just fine but I’m really not keen on buying another kitchen gadget when I already have a cabinet full.

I am here to tell you that you DO NOT need to buy a juicer to make healthy, fresh juices. All you need is a good food processor or blender, which also make great fruit & veggie smoothies!

My current obsession is a citrus, carrot and ginger juice. I cannot get enough of this stuff.

My son likes to do the blending

3 large carrots
1 orange
1/2″ piece of fresh ginger
1 cup water

Peel carrots & orange and cut into large pieces (don’t worry about the orange seeds!) and place into your food processor/blender. I use a Ninja Master Prep.

Toss in the ginger and water. Process for a minute or two.

Place an old, clean dish towel over a large bowl or glass. Secure with a rubber band or grab a kid to help you with the next step.

Pour the contents of blender over the towel and watch the juice drain into the glass. Sure, you COULD use a metal sieve colander thingy, but if you don’t have one the towel method works quite well. When most of the liquid has drained gather the towel up and give the contents a few good squeezes to get as much liquid out as possible.

Viola, you now have juice!

Compost the leftover pulp if you can

Some other good combinations include:

Spinach, peaches, honey

Cucumber, apple, carrot

Red onion (really!), grapefruit, honey

NOTES:

It’s okay to use frozen fruit :)

Any of these combos can be made into a smoothie by using peeled fruit and discarding seeds & adding some plain yogurt and ice cubes. You can even add peanut butter (try banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, honey, plain yogurt and ice cubes!) My kids are much fonder of the smoothies and they make a great meal substitute.

Tangerines are a sweeter alternative to oranges, you can also use grapefruit if you like tart.

I like ginger, a lot. Ginger adds a bit of spice, use less if you’re not into spicy or use powdered. I suppose you could skip it if you wanted.

Don’t be afraid to try adding spices! Turmeric and cinnamon, especially, have great healing & anti-inflammatory power.

I found that water is essential when making carrot-based juice, you could add more oranges instead, or something else that is very liquidy. Cucumbers would probably be a good choice. When in doubt mix without water first and add it if you think it needs it.

Fresh juice makes a happy Meg :)