I’ve mentioned before that the spouse and I got a juicer for Christmas and that we kind of stared at it with our heads tilted like confused puppies, wondering what to do with it. Well, I’m here to report that after a few more months of head-tilting, we actually got around to making some juice with it. And it was delicious.
First off, I should mention that you can make simple, no-brainer juice anytime. I dragged home an 8-pound bag of oranges one hungover Saturday morning and whipped up an amazing couple batches of homemade 100% orange juice. You can use decent quantities of filler like carrot or apple to add extra vitamins without changing the flavor or color too much. (Bonus recipe! If you have bunnies, you can make 100% carrot juice and they’ll drink it and get all excited and get little carrot juice droplets on their whiskers. True story.) The only caveat is that many juicers (mine included) filter out most pulp and rind by design, so you do lose a lot of nutrients in the process.
Still, if you’ve tried the easy stuff and are looking to get a little sassy with your juicing, I’ve included a few fun recipes below. In case you’re wondering, yes you could easily add booze to these or any homemade juice recipe. It would taste amazing and the nutrition in the juice would go a decent way toward canceling out the harm the alcohol will do ya (note: I am not a doctor).
And, finally, credit where credit is due. I’m working with the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer, and these snazzy recipes are all from the little book that came with it. It’s not Joy of Cooking, but dang if it doesn’t have some good ideas about how to whip up juice.
Fruit Fizz
½ pound raspberries
1 medium orange (peeled)
¼ lime (peeled)
½ pineapple (top removed, skinned)
Seltzer, ginger ale, or champagne
South of the Border
¼ large red pepper (stem removed)
1 celery stalk
½ lime (peeled)
A few sprigs cilantro
1 small apple (core removed)
Juice ingredients in order. Stir and serve
Juicer Ginger Ale
1-inch piece ginger root
½ cantaloupe (peeled)
½ pint strawberries
1 orange (peeled)
Juice all ingredients. Add 1 cup sparkling water.
Photo: Getty
3 replies on “Make Your Own Juice”
Oh, man, now I kind of want to get a juicer just to make that ginger ale.
Yum! My Dad has a juicer and he makes a delicious concoction with green apples, celery, carrots, parsley and kiwis. It is so good. These recipes look great!
This makes me want a juicer. Like… I own a blender, so I can make smoothies, but juice is just so delicious.
How much of a pain in the patoot is it to clean?