I think I have a juicing problem. To the point I perhaps need to stand in front of a body of my peers, raise my right hand, and say the words. “Hi, my name is Kerry, and I have a juicing problem.” It might be that bad.
My husband is a rock star juicer and makes us juice nearly every morning. I can’t put my finger on it, but I just feel so much better when my day kicks off with a giant juice.
There are a lot of juicers on the market and if I had a lot of money, I’d probably buy a really, really nice juicer. But we’ve found a great Breville juicer that works perfect for our family without breaking the bank. If you have a nicer one, please share it 
Which makes me think… juicers are a GREAT gift idea. Your Anniversary, Your Birthday, Valentine’s Day. What a great way to give (and get) the gift of health this year!
We’ve made quite a few concoctions, but this is by far our favorite. We call this favorite our Citrus Crimson Cleanser. You’ll need the following:
1 cucumber, 3-4 kale leaves, 1 orange, 1 lemon, 1 green apple, 3 carrots, 5-6 celery pieces and 1 beet.
Obviously, the beet is what gives the C3 such a deep, rich crimson.
Cut your fruit to make it easier to add to the juicer.
Remove *most* the peel from both the lemon and orange, like so…
Then, juice it up…
Mix up the glorious rainbow of colors…
Pour…
And devour…
This recipe makes roughly 42-48 ounces of juice, enough for 3-4 good-sized servings. If you are making juice for yourself only, modify the recipe accordingly.
With the recipe as is, both Justin and I have a mammoth glass and Finn usually has a small glass. I’ve given Evie a few sips of mine and I’m not kidding when I share that she instantly smiles and starts reaching for the glass for more!
If you’ve never had a true juice before, this isn’t the jug you buy at the grocery store for $2 made from concentrate. This is life-changing juice! Don’t trust me? Try one each day for a week and let me know how you feel. Throwing that many micronutrients into your system puts your body in GO mode. If you’re in Des Moines, check out Natural Thirst or Fresh Cafe and Market.
Some words on juicing:
1. Because the juice is so quickly going into your system, use organic produce whenever possible!
2. Juicing is not meant to replace intake of fruits and vegetables, it only adds to it. For instance, juicing does not give your body the necessary fiber found in raw produce. Don’t replace a meal with juice, simply add it to your routine.
3. Limit your fruit intake with juice. Your body can’t handle that much fructose (fruit sugar). Try to stick to vegetables with a small amount of fruit for flavor.
4. Only prepare as much juice as you plan to drink at that time. Do not prepare juice, store it in the fridge and then go back hours later to drink it. If you must do this, make sure it is in an air-tight container.
CHEERS to our health!
Citrus Crimson Cleanser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Keywords: Juice dairy-free egg-free soy-free peanut-free tree nut-free Kale beet orange lemon
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 3-4 kale leaves
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 green apple
- 3 carrots
- 5-6 celery pieces
- 1 beet
Instructions
Cut fruit/vegetables
Juice
Mix
Pour
Devour
Do you juice? What is your favorite recipe?
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love juicing and the best i felt in my life was when i juiced. i didnt mind the clean up at all. unfortunately budget cuts have made it impossible for me to juice anymore and i really miss it.
Kerry: Yes, a Vitamix is a fantastic juicer–in fact, another advantage is that many fruits and veggies do not need to be peeled, just cleaned. It literally pulverizes everything, right down to the seeds. It is also great for making nut butters, etc.
Love Juicing !!! We try to keep up with it but of course, it’s a ton of work. Use a Breville and love it. I typically will do a juice detox every few months, for a few days-1 week. I was on vacation last week and indulged entirely too much, so this week I am substituting juice for one meal per day (lunch). Green smoothie in the AM with greek yogurt for protein, juice for lunch along with a piece of fruit and/or handful of almonds in the afternoon for a snack, then a regular dinner (chicken, brown rice, and veggies or salad). Doing this for a week and then eating 100% clean for a second week will make me feel back to normal in no time!
One of the many great advantages of the Vitamix is how very easy it is to clean. If you have been using a conventional juicer, the difference is remarkable–all you do when you are finished juicing is fill the Vitamix container halfway with hot water, add a couple of drops of dish detergent, cover, and turn on for 10 seconds or so….rinse, and let air dry–that’s it!!
Can a Vitamix juice, though, or is it a smoothie? I’ve heard the clean up is amazing!
I know this is probably a stupid question…but is the beet you add…raw or precooked?
Cute! Not silly at all. It is raw and peeled.
This looks amazing! I’ve been wanting to get into juicing, but I’m aprehensive about spending a bunch of money on a juicer PLUS all that extra money for so much more produce each week. I’m continuing to read reviews on juicers so I’ll keep this one in mind for when I finally make my big purchase.
Yes… it is an investment. Sometimes we go overboard and have to reign it in the following week! Let me know if you get one and the model. I have envy for the uber nice ones!
Trisha,
Kitchen Collage in the East Village has a lot of options from the Breville Juicer used here to a Hurom and a Vitamix which can juice too! They are a great team and very knowledgable about the products they sell.
I am intrigued! I’ve heard about juicing a lot lately, and my guess is that in a year we’ll finally get around to trying it. That’s kind of how we roll
Question for you: When Finn reacted to cow’s milk, did you consider other milks? Goat’s milk? Would you ever give Evie milk, if you found she is not allergic? The reason I ask is that Roo is a month and a half from turning 1 and I’m trying to anticipate what we might transition her to instead of formula. Eric and I don’t drink milk ourselves, although we do eat cheese. We are not dairy-free by any means, but we certainly don’t eat much of it on a regular basis. I’m not sure if you’ve written about this or not, or thought about it…just curious.
We love juicing! Try one of the local places first and see if you like it. I bet you’ll love it
We did try raw milk with Finn and he reacted. We just assumed goat’s milk would do the same thing and we knew the accessibility of that wasn’t like almond milk, therefore we never tried it.
I am sure we will try milk with Evie at some point… mainly to see if she reacts…. but it won’t be a regular drink for her. We will have her drink almond milk, as well, and water.
Thanks for this post! I will be trying this soon! I got a Vitamix for Christmas and have been “juicing” in that. Makes more of a smoothie than juice, but I love that I am getting all that fiber. I just have to add a bit of extra water or ice! Thanks again!
We LOVE smoothies, too!
There was a vitamix demo at Whole Foods the other day making soup and a sorbet. Both were AMAZING!!!
LOVE my juicer! I use the Omega Vert 350. And you’re right, a big glass of juice in the morning is my favorite choice for breakfast and it does leave you feeling.. just…great!, for lack of a better word.
Looks yummy, Kerry! I love the color!
Juicing is not something I have ever been able to get into. I think it just seems like too much of a process for me (cleaning the juicer, etc) on top of buying one.
I am curious how this fits into your daily food? I see you said it is in addition to your usual intake of fruits and vegetables. Is this your breakfast?
Thanks!
It is a process, you’re right… I hate the cleaning, too. BOO!
A juice for me is in addition to my breakfast. So, I will have a glass of juice with some eggs and a piece of toast or a glass of juice with a bowl of oatmeal. I’ve had it AS my breakfast before and I’m starving later.
I don’t find the cleaning bad. Just rinse it off (the big chunks), throw it in the sink to dry. you don’t need to get the grim off every time. Just do it once a month. It’s not meat so no bacteria to kill you. I haven’t done a good cleaning for a few months and the glass is tinted green but no harm done.
Of course you need to use the scrub brush every time on the strainer… can’t get around that.
We rinse it off and throw it in the dishwasher after we’ve scrubbed the strainer.
Lastly if you are into gardening you can use the dry material the juicer throws into the trash bin to make compost. Either with a tumbler or just throw it in the garden. If not you are throwing away your money!
Somedays throwing this in the compost is my favorite part!