Basic Juicing Tricks and Tips Plus Juice Reviews

Juicing Poll

I guess the main “surprise” in this juicing mixture is the jicama, although the bell pepper is also a bit unconventional to drink in the morning. Jicama is quite usable because it is mild. You mostly see it julienned into salads and stuff. It makes a good juicing base upon which you can layer other vegetables and fruits. In this case, it’s standard apples and carrots. Maybe this isn’t so much of a morning mixture, but it is rather refreshing. Red Bell peppers are surprisingly sweet and are a nice complement here.

Ingredients:

4 jicama spears, skin on
2 medium apples
4 large carrots
1 red bell pepper


Continue reading “Sunrise Surprise Juice” …

MinuteMaid LimeI normally wouldn’t buy the Minute Maid brand of juice concentrates and mixers because they don’t have too much actual juice in them. They seem to fall into the category of “fruit punch”. However, a big store display caught my eye at the market (hey, advertising actually works) and I ended up with a half gallon carton of Minute Maid Limeade Limonada for under 2 bucks.

So, I really dig lime juice mixes, fizzes and anything with lime in it. Minute Maid actually makes an interesting Cherry Limonada as well, in addition to fruit punch and lemonades. The package fairly screams “Made With Real Limes”, but you have to look a little closer to see how MUCH of the juice is made out of limes. After all, you can have a drink that has 3% real lime juice that is Made With Real Limes.

Continue reading “Minute Maid Limeade” …

Juicing Rutabagas?? Are you serious? Well, maybe. Rutabagas look sort of like turnips and are actually derived from a cross between turnips and cabbages. They’re known by a host of different names, most commonly the Yellow Turnip in the U.S. and the Swede Turnip in England. It is known simply as a “turnip” in many other places.

Though commonly used similar to potatoes and carrots in stews, it’s also served mashed. So who ever thought of juicing these thick roots? Well, the juice from them is actually relatively mild and though the pulp is pretty much worthless it does contain a good amount of vitamins and minerals like folate and vitamin C. It supposedly is good for your kidneys and bladder and may help cleanse the liver.

I’ve never tried juicing one of these but I suspect it shouldn’t be all that different than doing potatoes or daikon.

Juicing Buddies: goes with carrots, spinach, cabbage, broccoli
Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin C, Potassium, Magnesium, Folate

This is quite a simple recipe, with only two fruits in it: Blackberries and Apples. It can easily be modified if you don’t have the blackberries at hand, but depending on the type of berry you may need to increase or decrease the amount of apples. This is because berries have a pretty intense flavor that needs to be cut with other juices.

Berries are usually the best in the summertime; in regions where berries grow wild like weeds juicing is a great way to use up a ton of the free fruit. Berries are also a helpful stimulant for digestion.

Ingredients:

1/2 pint of blackberries or other berries
2 large sweet apples
1 spear of pineapple (optional)


Continue reading “Blackberry Bonanza Juice” …

Welchs GrapeOk so I have to admit that I’ve always associate the Welch’s brand with either jam, jelly, or soda. But I never really bought their bottled juices before. Maybe because they never seemed to go on sale.

Anyhow, the other day I tried a bottle of their Organic 100% Concord Grape Juice and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. So first off, you know it’s going to be good for you… definitely with all the talk of antioxidants (supposedly twice the strength of that in orange juice), and 100% organic juice with no added sugar is always a plus. They also chuck in 100% vitamin C as well, so you can doubly skip the OJ.

Some people just aren’t big fans of the Concord and similar dark varieties of grape juice. I suspect it has something to do with bad memories from artificially flavored “grape” candies and sodas. Those things are about as far away from pleasant tasting grape juice as you can get.

Continue reading “Welch’s Organic Grape Juice” …

I made several similar variations on this drink featuring bok choy and celery that I’ve called the Green Dream juice drink before discovering it in another juicing book. Ok, the green apples are a bit of a stretch for an all-green drink.

Ingredients:

8-10 stalks bok choy
2 green apples
4 stalks celery
1 parsley bunch
1/4 pound of spinach


Continue reading “The Green Dream” …

If you’ve got citrus on the brain, then this juicing recipe may be for you. Featuring all citrus fruits like oranges, limes and lemons that are high in vitamin C, it may need to be sweetened a bit if you can afford to take on the sugar. Other possibilities which might be used in addition are grapefruits and kumquats, though you’ll have to adjust the balance of sweet to sour.

Ingredients:

4 medium oranges, peeled, white pith ok
1/4 lime, peeled, white pith ok
1/2 lemon, peeled, white pith ok
1 cup of water or less
sugar to taste, optional.


Continue reading “Orange You Glad Ade” …

Broccoli just seems like a great vegetable to eat, so why not juice it as well? This juicing recipe makes use of bell peppers as well, with some carrot for sweetness.

Ingredients:

2 stalks of broccoli
4 medium carrots
1/2 medium green bell pepper


Continue reading “Broccoli Bonanza” …

TJ GingLemThe other day when I was at TJ’s I took a chance on one of their juices. This is the Ginger Lemonade from Trader Joe’s and I’m actually sorry that I didn’t pick up more than one bottle.

I’ve actually had their 64 oz. Limeade bottled juice before and was quite pleased with it (though it was a bit on the extra acidic side, necessitating the addition of a bit of sugar to it). But they actually didn’t have any left when I went down there so I tried out this Ginger Lemonade in the same size bottle for $2.99.

The juice contains mostly water, organic sugar, organic lemon juice (and also from concentrate), and organic ginger juice. It’s interesting that I think there are bits of ginger inside or something so be sure to shake the bottle.

Continue reading “Trader Joe’s Ginger Lemonade” …

I found this grapefruit-centric mixer drink in a juicing book. It also centers around pineapple and rum, with some banana and strawberries to smooth things over. I think it’d be pretty good w/out the addition of rum as well. It sort of seems like a standard smoothie mixture except that the grapefruit gives it some extra zing. Remember, the banana isn’t meant to go in your juicer… use a blender for that.

Ingredients:

1/2 pink grapefruit, peeled but pith OK
3 pineapple spears, peeled
1 banana
2 strawberries
1 ounce of rum


Continue reading “Swirling Grapefruit” …

Read Juicer Reviews:





Black & Decker CJ525 CitrusMate Plus Citrus Juicer



Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain



Jack LaLanne's JFPJ-B Power Juicer Juicing Machine



Breville JE95XL Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus