Translate

Monday, February 4, 2013

Just Juice It (Then drink it, then eat it)!


Do any of you out there have a juicer that you never use? If so, I used to be like you. When Greg and I got married, he already owned a juicer.  I always knew we had it, but I never had any interest in using it. About a year ago I got inspired to try it out, and I discovered how much I love to juice. You can juice almost anything with a juicer (of the fruits and veggies variety)! I have juiced carrots, apples, spinach, kale, ginger, grapes, oranges, and more! It is so much fun.

I was having a conversation with my coworker the other day and she told me that she thought drinking juiced carrots would not taste good. I had to prove to her how DELICIOUS juiced carrots taste. My coworkers and I all got together for a scrapbooking party (or eating party) last weekend, and I decided to juice for everyone while they were being crafty. I have absolutely no artistic ability, and I really have nothing to scrap book about. So I juiced. The coworker who doubted the yumminess of juiced carrots - well, she thoroughly enjoyed the carrot juice (with apple). I thought I would share some of my favorite juicing combinations here. If you have a juicer, get it out and juice! It makes you feel so healthy & it IS really healthy! The taste of freshly juiced carrots, spinach, or kale mixed with fruit is sweet and earthy. Drinking homemade juice compared to store bought juice tastes better and it gives your body much more of the nutrients that it needs and deserves. Now, let's get juicy! 

A few of my favorite homemade juice combinations are:
Wondering what to do with the leftover pulp? Make some muffins! Recipe below.
Carrot-Apple-Orange-Ginger
3 cups of baby carrots
1 sweet apple (I use Gala, Braeburn, Fiji, or Rome)
1 orange, peeled
1 inch piece of ginger

Kale-Apple-Ginger 
6 - 8 cups of kale (I use packaged kale greens)
2 - 3 sweet apples
1 inch piece of ginger
2 Tbsp. of almond milk or regular milk
2 Tbsp. of honey

Spinach-Apple-Grape 
4 cups of baby spinach leaves
2 1/4 cups of seedless red grapes
1 sweet apple

DIRECTIONS:
Put the thoroughly washed fruits and veggies into the feed tube of the juicer & juice. Stir in honey and almond milk into the kale drink. Drink the juice right away for optimum health benefits. Each recipe makes a 10-ounce glass of juice.

*I use a Juiceman Junior to make my juices. It is not fancy or fast, but it does the trick. You can spend between $50 - $500 on a juicer. However, you probably would only want to spend a lot of money on one if you are planning to open your own juice bar!*

Okay, so you just juiced. What do you do with all of the extra pulp from the fruit and veggies? I have let it go to waste for too long. But I decided to make muffins with the pulp - and they are amazing! I think the pulp from the carrot, apple, orange, and ginger juice would be best for the muffins - but you can do whatever you want!

Recipe for Carrot-Apple-Orange-Ginger Muffins  (makes 10 - 12 muffins)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of pulp from carrots, apple, orange & ginger
3 Tbsp. of expeller-pressed canola oil
1/3 cup of pure cane sugar (or real sugar)
2 Tbsp. of light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1 cup flour (3/4 cup all-purpose, 1/4 cup whole wheat)
1 tsp. of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. of baking powder
2/3 cup of raisins
1/3 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a large bowl, mix together the pulp, oil, eggs, sugars, and vanilla. Combine well. In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and beat together to form a batter. Stir in the raisins and pumpkin seeds.
Spoon the batter into the lightly greased muffin tins. Bake muffins for 18 - 20 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Let the muffins cool slightly in the tin, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Each muffin has approximately 150 calories. Not too shabby, but I wouldn't recommend eating three in a row like my husband did!

Muffin Recipe Adapted from: $5 Dinners

2 comments:

  1. Hello,

    My blog is about my journey on becoming healthy. I have had my blog for quite a few years as I search for the right path to acquire healthiness. In my search I have come across your blog and would love to incorporate a few of your healthy recipes in my blog. I will definitely link back to your website and make sure that the credit is given to your blog. Feel free to email me at need2behealthy@gmail.com to let me know if it is ok. Happy sailin!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course it is okay! Good luck on your journey :0)

      Delete

I would love to hear from you!