Drinking juice is an easy and delicious way of increasing your intake of vitamins and nutrients and will help to protect you from seasonal bugs but it is also the simplest and most healthy way to stay hydrated in hot weather. These three recipes not only pack a healthy punch, but taste great too.
Bright eyes
Don’t dismiss parsley as just a frilly garnish to be moved to the side of your dinner plate and ignored, as this favourite herb not only aids digestion, it also acts as an effective diuretic.
Juiced with the refreshing combination of carrot, orange and apple, it’s a great way to kick-start your day, especially if you suffer the miseries of bloating caused by water retention.
Ingredients
Makes 500ml (18 fl oz)
- 225 g (8oz) carrots
- 1 apple
- 2 oranges
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Method
1. Top, tail and chop the carrots. Twist the stalk off the apple and cut into quarters. Cut the rind off the oranges using a vegetable peeler.
2. Juice the carrots, apple and oranges, pour into glasses and sprinkle the parsley on top.
Power punch
It might not give you the muscles of Popeye, but spinach is very definitely a body builder. Overflowing with vitamin C, iron and beta-carotene, the rich green leaves contain oxygen-boosting chlorophyll, are a good source of fibre, and boost the circulation system.
However, spinach is also high in oxalic acid, which if taken in large quantities, affects the body’s ability to absorb calcium, so the leaves need to be mixed with other fruit and vegetables rather than juiced on their own.
Ingredients
Makes 350 ml (12 fl oz)
- 115 g (4 oz) spinach leaves
- 1 apple
- ½ cucumber, plus extra to garnish
- 1 kiwi fruit
Method
1. Coarsely shred the spinach leaves if large. Twist the stalk off the apple and cut into quarters. Chop the cucumber into chunks and peel the kiwi fruit.
2, Juice the spinach, apple, cucumber and kiwi fruit, pour into glasses and garnish with strips of cucumber.
Up-beet
Beetroot gives juices a real health boost as it’s full of minerals and vitamins that cleanse the blood and help fight fatigue after an exhausting day. Try partnering it with sweeter tasting produce, such as apples or carrots to balance its strong flavour.
Beetroot will also give a juice a gorgeous, jewel-like hue but, be warned, if you drink a lot, the colour will pass straight through you so don’t panic when you go to the loo! Use well-scrubbed raw beetroot and cut it into small pieces so its fibrous texture passes more easily through the jaws of the juicer.
Ingredients
Makes 200 ml (7fl oz)
- 225 g (8 oz) carrots
- 1 medium beetroot
- 115 g (4 oz) watercress
- 1 cm piece of fresh root ginger
Method
1. Top, tail and chop the carrots, cut the beetroot into small wedges (reserving any small leaves for garnish) and discard any yellow watercress leaves. Thinly slice the ginger, leaving the skin on unless it is shrivelled.
2. Juice the vegetables and ginger and pour into small glasses. Serve garnished with any reserved beetroot leaves.
These recipes are from Wendy Sweetser, author of Juice It! which contains 85 recipes, divided into six chapters: Energy Boosters, Super Soothers, Instant Revivers, Liquid Snacks on the Go, Let’s Celebrate and Time to Detox. Her book is available in hardback online from Amazon for £15.37.
If you enjoyed Juice it! Stay hydrated and healthy this summer, you’ll find lots of expert healthy eating tips on our Nutrition channel.
About the Author / 50connect editorial
