It’s currently Juice Week over at Williams-Somona and I was invited to share one of my favorite juice recipes and the story behind it. I don’t currently own a juicer (though it is next of my list of kitchen items I’m dying to get my hands on!) so I thought it would be a great chance to share with you all how I make juice – without a juicer.
The process for making juicer-less juice is actually quite quick and straightforward – albeit a little messy – and the end product is well worth the little bit of effort required.
All you need is a blender (it works best in a high-powered blend such as a Vitamix, though I have had some success using my old less-powerful blender as well) and a nut bag and you’re set to go. Basically, the idea is that you add your veggies – and or fruit – to the blender with a little water, blend away, and then strain out the pulp to leave you with delicious fresh juice. The process can get a little messy when you’re straining the pulp, but overall it’s quiet quick and easy and the results are very impressive – even with the added water I can’t tell the difference between juice made this way in my blender and that made with a juicer.
My favorite combination at the moment is beetroot, carrot and kale (plus an apple if you prefer it a little sweeter) – but to really enhance the flavour and kick it up a notch I add some fresh lemon juice, ginger and mint. This makes a zesty, tasty juice that’s super healthy and flavourful – the perfect refreshing beverage to enjoy heading into those warmer summer months.
- 1 large beetroots
- 3 carrots
- 2 large kale leaves
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 2 slices of ginger
- 4-5 mint leaves
- 1 apple (optional, for sweeter juice)
- 1.5 cups water
- Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth - the timing of this will depend on your blender. It should resemble a thick smoothie at this point.
- Hold a nut bag in a large bowl or jug and carefully pour half the juice mixture into the nut bag.
- Squeeze as much liquid out as you can, and then remove the dry(ish) pulp, then repeat with the second half of the mixture.
- Enjoy straight away, or store in an airtight container in the fridge a day or two.
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Wondering what to do with that leftover veggie pulp? I mixed mine with a can of chickpeas, a little garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and turned it into hummus! The colour was a little off-putting at it resembled meat pate (!!) but the flavour was delish, and a great way to use up the veggie pulp instead of just throwing it straight in the big.
Yum, what a wonderful tutorial. I didn’t know you could do that :) Thanks for sharing!
Yeah, pretty nifty isnt it! ;) Thanks Josefine x
Great post and tips! Thanks for sharing.. I love making fresh juices so this was such an informative post for me.
Thanks for stopping by Thalia – glad you found it useful :)
Congrats on connecting with William Sonoma! I love that you’re making fresh juice accessible whether people have a juicer or not. And fantastic idea with the veg pulp. I’m usually lazy and throw mine away, because honestly it doesn’t look so appetizing, but now I’m keen to turn it into hummus. ;-)
Thats very true, its not the most appetising thing! To be honest mine usually gets mashed in with the dogs food or given to our worms. But this dip was surprisingly good, despite that fact that it slightly resembled meat pate!!
Ha! Dog food, now that’s a good idea. ;-)
What a great idea! I never thought of making juice in a blender before but it makes sense :)
Holy crap! This worked wonders…I didn’t use the recipe because I thought I would just test it out. My blender is not high end so I didn’t think it would blend beets and carrots but I added a bit of water and spinach and it worked perfectly! Then I strained it through two reusable mesh produce bags and the pulp was so dry and my juice was perfect! My juicer is old and it just hasn’t been working well at all…the pulp is always wet and juice it always pulpy….but I couldn’t afford to buy a new one so I tried this method. I’m astonished at how well it worked. I’ve never made such a high quality juice even with a juicer. Now I’m not even considering buying a better juicer anytime soon. Thank you so much!
So glad to hear this method worked so well for you (and saved you a few dollars too!) :)