Tag: juice

Blended Purple Carrot Memory Juice*

As promised in Ever Had Purple Carrots?  here is a recipe using purple carrots and carrot greens.  I’ve called it the Memory Juice because the anthocyanins that make fruit and veg purple are believed to help with improved memory, among many other benefits. Click the link to find out all about why you should not turn your nose up at differently coloured vegetables or discard your greens.

All ingredients are organic, so the peel is left on. If using non-organic or waxed lemons, peel them thinly so that you retain the pith where the micronutrients lie.

If you’re new to beetroot and not sure, you can peel them so they won’t be as earthy but you’ll lose a lot of nutrients.

Ingredients

2 Purple Carrots, washed, peel left on

1 Small Beetroot, ditto

2 Apples

A Small Handful of Carrot Greens, washed and cut up (they contain protein and are rich in magnesium, potassium and calcium)

1/2 Lemon

1″ Ginger (anti-inflammatory)

3″ Broccoli Stem (also a good plant source of calcium and B vitamins)

1/2 Celery Stalk

Juice all the ingredients, placing the greens, lemon and ginger in between carrots and apple to help them through, put the celery through last so it doesn’t block up your juicer.

Blend the juice with 1/4 Ripe Avocado to make a thicker, more satisfying juice and add more protein and essential fatty acids, good for the skin, good for the brain.

Look at the rich colour – your friends could be forgiven for suspecting you’re stocking up for the next vampire convention!

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*Disclaimer: it’s not really purple but the carrots are!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Green on Green: A Blended Juice (not a smoothie!)

Has anyone tried to tell you that if you blend a juice with some avocado you are either ‘cheating’ or you’re really having a smoothie. I have read this so often. A blended juice is neither ‘cheating’ (cheating whom or what?) nor a smoothie. It is a means of adding some essential fats and protein to freshly extracted juice in order to create a more nutritionally balanced meal-in-a-glass, if doing a prolonged juicing programme, or to make a juice more satisfying and keep you fuller longer. Either way, it will help prevent drops in blood sugar levels and also help keep you from reaching for processed sugary or fatty snacks during those mid-morning or mid-afternoon slumps.

Ripe avocados are easily digested and so versatile. I love them blended into cold-pressed juices, made into guacamole or a salad dressing or with lemon and black pepper on toast or crackers.

They are so good for your skin and are said to help prevent loose skin if you are losing weight. They provide essential fats for opimum brain function. They are also hydrating, as are cucumber and celery. Fennel is a good digestive aid and adds a touch of aniseed flavour to the juice.

All ingredients are organic and therefore have their peel left on (except the avocado!)

Always wash thoroughly whether organic or not.

Ingredients

2 Small Gala Apples

3″ Cucumber

Thick Slice of Wax-free Lemon

1″ Marrow (large zucchini)

2″ Broccoli Stalk

1/2 Stick of Celery

Small Handful of Baby Spinach

1″ Fennel

1/4 Ripe Avocado

Method

Start with an apple then juice all the ingredients except the avocado, finishing with the second apple.

Blend the juice with the avocado.

If you are new to juicing or this is just too green for you, add another apple or a slice of pineapple, but try it first.

If you sip slowly through a (preferably) metal straw it will protect your teeth, aid digestion and help the environment by using straws that are reusable, chemical-free and don’t end up in landfill or the water supply.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Lemony Sweet Potato Juice

Sweet potato juice always reminds me of sherbet for some reason and this is like sherbet lemons! Well, that’s what I think, anyway, don’t hold me to it. Refreshing and simple, with not too many ingredients. Good source of Vitamin A, C, B Vitamins, potassium, essential fatty acids, fibre.

Ingredients

(all organic)

1 Sweet Potato, scrubbed, peel left on

2 Carrots, ditto

Handful Oakleaf Lettuce, washed

1 Apple

1/2 Lemon, ditto (thinly peel if waxed to keep the pith)

1 Kiwi, peeled (don’t like the furry bits!)

Juice and ice if liked.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Juicemaster Retro Super Fast Juicer: Review

 

At long last, after a lot of soul-searching about how I could justify buying yet another juicer (see I’ve Been and Gone and Done It AGAIN!!), I decided to take one for the team and bought it so that I could review it on the blog and maybe help someone choose their first juicer.  Well, that’s my latest story anyway! (The previous one was that it was an early birthday present, but that didn’t wash as I had also said that of my new camera).

It only arrived yesterday, so we haven’t had chance to give it a thorough testing as I wanted to post the review before the discount price ends at the end of the current Juicemaster Free 7 Day Guided Juice Challenge.

NB This is a centrifugal or fast juicer not a cold press or masticating juicer. It won’t produce quite as much good quality juice as a cold press machine and you can’t keep the juices for as long. Cold Press juicers are heavier and much more expensive. However, this is one of the better fast juicers currently available.

The Positives: First, the Parts

  • At 3.4 kg, the Super Fast is one of the lightest juicers we’ve tried! Some are so heavy, you’d risk a hernia or putting your back out every time you tried to move it. You can’t always place a juicer where you’re going to use it every day, so it needs to be easily manoeuvrable. We had to return one brand because we couldn’t even lift it out of the box!
  • It is by far and away the easiest juicer to assemble and disassemble. Everything just slots together lightly. No twisting or turning or getting a spoon handle to prise out the basket. With some juicers, if you’re not tall enough or strong enough to get hold of it at the right angle, it can be a problem to pull it out without the assistance of a strongman/woman or resorting to utensils to lever it out (not recommended). This one is so easy. It has an indentation at either side of the unit where you can place your fingers to get leverage and more easily remove the basket.
  • Two big pluses for us are that it has a central cord at the back and it is ambidextrous: the juicer can be placed anywhere within reach of a socket and the bowl goes onto the unit so that it can be used by both right-handed and left-handed people. As a family split down the middle in this respect, I applaud the designers of this machine. We also had to return a different juicer that wouldn’t sit on our counter top because the plug was to one side and we needed it at the other.
  • The Super Fast has a sleek stainless steel bowl and basket.
  • The chute is wide enough to take whole apples.
  • It has a large 2L waste compartment.
  • The switch is an easy to use, well-situated rotating knob at the front that goes from Off to Low to High, and that’s it. Couldn’t be simpler.
  • Like the Cold Press, the spout on the Super Fast has a lid so that you can close the spout to prevent drips when not in action. When we had the Phillips 1861, we had to keep a small glass under it after we finished juicing as no matter how convinced you were that it was empty, there would always be a small pool of juice on the counter top when you’d finished cleaning up!
  • Suction feet prevent it moving when working.
  • It comes with its own cleaning brush.
  • It couldn’t be easier to clean, though you may need to use a toothbrush for the inside of the spout.

Photos show how the Super Fast can be used left- or right-handed, and the cord at the centre back of the unit. 

Slight Minuses, but not deal-breakers:

  • First off, the colour. I chose cream to go with the two other Retro machines, the Retro Cold Press and the Retro Super Blend (both available on the Juicemaster and Retro Juicer websites). The colour of the Super Fast unit doesn’t quite match the other two, although the waste basket is closer,  but this is just about the only real niggle so far. We’ve placed it next to the Cold Press in some of the photos so you can judge for yourself and also so that you can see the relative sizes. Apologies for the shadows, there was no natural light today, another very gloomy day.
  • The locking arms are thick rigid plastic, rather than metal like the Phillips 1861 and although they are robust, I’m a little nervous about how long they will last with heavy use or if they get caught while moving the unit without the lid locked in place. There is, however, a 1 year warranty and Juicemaster customer service are among the best I’ve ever dealt with.
  • None of the parts are dishwasher safe, but it really is so easy to rinse and clean and it is best to wash out juicers straightaway so that food doesn’t dry or build up causing bacteria to form or parts to stop functioning.

One last pointer: if you’re used to starting the Retro Cold Press with the stopper initially closed in order to optimise the complete juicing of all the mashed veggies or fruit in the bowl – then don’t with this one! If you do, it will leak through the bottom of the bowl when it overfills (you can’t see the amount of juice in the bowl like you can with the Cold Press).

Oh, and make sure you peel pineapple before juicing!

Overrall, on first use, we really like this juicer. It is so fast and we didn’t have any trouble either setting it up, using it or taking it apart, while cleaning was a doddle.

The bonus in ordering this product is that currently you also receive all this:

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Since I already have some of these items – the Super Juice Me! Dvd, 28 Day Plan book and a Funky Fresh Juice recipe book, I will be offering these as a prize in a competition, see next post!

Ps. If you’re thinking of buying a juicer and want to compare this with some others, see Which Juicer?

Copyright: Chris McGowan

I’ve Been and Gone and Done It AGAIN!!

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So, this parcel arrived this morning. You’ll never guess what was in it! I’m feeling a bit guilty and very over-excited. Also a little embarrassed, not sure I dare say… but let’s open it up and you can share the surprise

Here goes:

imageI’ve only been and gone and bought the new Retro Super Juicer!*  I know, I know, how many juicers can a person use? I tried so hard to resist when this first came out: I have a Retro Cold Press Juicer and a Fusion Fast Juicer for back up, but it just looks so good and by all accounts gives even bettyer results than the much-mourned Phillips 1861 (see Which Juicer?).

Despite 2 fantastic discounts since it came out, I had resisted its temptations. Then I signed up for the Juice Master 7 Day Juice Challenge and last week realised I needed to order some Bacterial Culture supplements and some Juice Bars for my emergency rations. I held off and held off, because I knew I couldn’t trust myself. Then I received an email offering £80 off the juicer for the duration of the juice challenge – £80!!! Panic set in. No … it was sooo tempting, but I couldn’t justify it. And no-one in the family needed a juicer so I couldn’t even say I’ll pass the Fusion on.

Then late Saturday afternoon, I absolutely had to order the bacterial culture capsules, it’s the one supplement I must have when doing a juice-only week: the body gets a good clear-out and it’s necessary to replace the friendly gut bacteria afterwards. I have been so much healthier since I started taking them and have fought off all the viruses my family have thrown at me over the past 2 years.

(The biggest part of your immune system is in the gut, and it’s important to keep it healthy).

So, with a heavy heart, telling myself I was strong enough and intelligent enough not to fall for this latest sales gimmick (but subconsciously feeling a tiny bit excited in anticipation of a quick fix!), I went to the website to place my order. No bacteria capsules. No juice bars. I decided to have a quick look at the juicer to see if there were any reviews. Couldn’t find it other than in a bundle with the blender. Weird, I thought, they must have sold out because of the Challenge and the huge discount.

I picked up the phone. Got the juice bars. Ordered the bacterial capsules to be sent as soon as they came in. ‘Oh, and by the way, I can’t find the new Retro Super Fast Juicer, have you sold out?’ ‘No,’ came the puzzled reply, ‘They’re on the website, down at the bottom of the page’ ‘Really?’ I just happened to have the web page open and quickly scroll down and yes, there they were!

Before I knew what was happening, I was handing over the discount code, selecting the colour – cream to go with the Cold Press and Super Blend – and Bob’s your uncle!

Well, it’s my birthday soon … except I said that when I bought my new camera last week!

I was so excited this morning waiting for the delivery! I wasn’t disappointed.

imageI’ll give a full review when we’ve used it properly, but it looks really sleek, is lighter than many juicers we’ve tried and a big plus is that it can be used left-or right-handed and as the cord is in the centre of the main unit, there is no problem siting it near a socket on the kitchen counter. It was also easy to assemble and disassemble.

(The waste compartment isn’t fitted properly in the photo, just resting in place, it fits more snugly in reality).

It came with lots of freebies too, books, dvd, wall planner for the 28 day Super Juice Plan.

As I said, more in the review proper. Now, let’s see what she can do …

*http://www.juicemaster.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Pink Oats, Anyone?

imageThis is my second post on savoury oats and this one might throw you for a loop: people tend to either love them or hate them but beetroot should be your new veg friend.

It has been shown that regular juicing with beetroot can improve your circulation and lower your BP by dilating your blood vessels. It certainly worked for my husband. I wasn’t too sure about using beetroot when I first began juicing, but now I have it every other day. If you add lemon or pineapple, or a couple of apples along with other veg, it makes a refreshing and very healthy juice. (See post and juice recipe here).

All well and good, you might say, but adding it to porridge is going a little bit far!

I wasn’t sure either, but I had tried courgette (zucchini) oats (recipe here) and was pleasantly surprised, so in for a penny, in for a pound! Don’t forget, the benefit of having veg for breakfast is you have one of your daily portions of veg to give you a head start and it keeps you fuller for much longer.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Oats

1/2 Cup Home-made Almond Milk (see recipe)

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 to 1/2 Small Beetroot, peeled and grated

2 Medjool Dates, chopped

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds*

1 Dsp Açaí Powder*

Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

*

Method

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Add all ingredients except chia seeds and açaí powder to a pan and warm up stirring occasionally, then cook for 5-10 minutes, keep giving it a stir.

Add chia seeds and açaí powder.

Stir well.

Transfer to a bowl.

Top with the fruit of your choice. I had plum and banana with raw chocolate mulberry chips.*

Add a drop of milk if you like it thinner.

imageBon Appetit!

Convinced? No? My husband will make it for me but won’t go near it himself. Although he has a daily beetroot juice, he draws the line at beetroot porridge. He prefers his plain, nothing added.

Watch out for my next version of Zoats, which turned out the best I think. It really does need practice to work out the right combination for your tastebuds.

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright Chris McGowan

Juicy Sweet Potato Surprise

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Sweet Potato Surprise made in my Retro Super Juicer* and stored in my Grip and Go* glass bottle.

Many of you will know from earlier posts that I love sweet potatoes: I love them baked whole with a nut roast, or as healthy chips tossed in coconut oil or even toasted!… But best of all, I love them juiced. Sweet potatoes are good sources of Vitamin A, B vitamins, iron, potassium and fibre.

*

Juice the following ingredients:

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2 Sweet Potatoes, with skin on, scrubbed and chopped

2 Carrots, ditto

1 Apple

1 Pear

1 Kiwi, peeled

Several Romaine leaves, washed

(Did you know romaine lettuce contains protein?)

Blend with 1/4 of a ripe Avocado (for extra protein, fibre, Vitamin E – good for your skin and keeps you fuller longer).

Serve with ice, if desired.

(The Suprise? That you’ll like it!)

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*http://www.retrojuicer.com/

*http://gripandgo.co.uk

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Green Lady Blended Juice

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This blended juice was my husband’s improvised creation. Anyone who knows our family understands that this can be a tricky situation. He has always maintained a love-hate relationship with cooking: he loves to eat but doesn’t like the process of getting it to his plate!  He has generally lived by the mantra cook high, cook fast, done when smoke alarm sounds! He tries but must be supervised at all times especially if you are the one he’s cooking for: an ambulance once made an appearance when he added 2 heaped teaspoons of ground black pepper to pasta sauce instead of basil and I collapsed on the first mouthful.

He does, however, make our juices every morning, but strictly according to Jason Vale’s recipes, and, apart from the occasional beetroot explosion, these turn out well. Improvisation is not encouraged and I approached this morning’s juice with some trepidation.

*

We generally use cheaper organic Gala apples for juicing and save the larger, tarter apples for eating on their own or as desserts. Today we had run out of Galas and so HB used one of my favourite large Pink Lady apples. Sacrilege in my book, so he didn’t ask first. It did, however, make quite a difference to the flavour of the juice.

I loved it. He is very proud of himself.

*

All ingredients are organic, if the lemon is not organic, pare thinly to leave as much pith as possible. Pears are best used for juicing before they ripen.

Ingredients

1 Large Pink Lady Apple

1 Pear

A Thick Slice of Unwaxed Lemon

1 Celery Stalk, chopped

4″ Cucumber

1 Small Carrot

1 Kiwi Fruit, peeled

2″ Broccoli Stem

Handful of Spinach

Third of a Ripe Avocado

*

Juice all fruit and veg except avocado, then blend with chopped avocado for about 30-45 seconds in a high speed blender until creamy smooth.

Add ice if liked.

P.S. HB vetted this before it was published!

*

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Earth Day Comp: And The Winners Are…

Drum roll please …

Riot Grrill and Alexander West!

Congratulations!

If you will get in touch via

contact@gripandgo.co.uk

and leave your details plus the colours you would like in each of the 350ml, 500ml and 1 litre bottles as well as a travel mug, they will send off your prize asap.

But wait…

Grip and Go don’t want anyone to lose out, so they have generously given you all a

25% Off Discount Code:

Use STILLWINNERS at the checkout

Please Like and Follow @GripandGoUk on Twitter Or on Facebook

This code must be used by midnight on Friday, 6th May, 2016

(sorry  UK residents only)

Visit the Grip and Go website and look at their range of stylish glass bottles and double-insulated travel mugs!

Treat yourself or buy someone a gift. Great for storing juices, nut milks and water. Much better for you and the environment than single-use plastic water bottles.

Thank you all for taking part and to Grip and Go for a great prize!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Last Day of our Grip and Go Competition!

Today is the last day of our Earth Day Competition!

You can win 3 Grip and Go leakproof, dishwasher-safe glass bottles plus a fabulous double-insulated glass travel mug in whatever colours you choose.

They are great for storing juices and nut milks or carrying water around, much better for you and the environment than single-use plastic water bottles which inevitably end up in landfill and in our oceans.

All you have to do is Like and Follow Grip and Go on Twitter and/or Facebook and use #earthdaycomp.

That’s it!

Here are the links:

@gripandgouk on Twitter

Grip and Go on Facebook

Hurry!

The competition ends midnight tonight, Friday, 29th April, 2016.

Ditch the plastic!

Good luck!

Copyright: Chris McGowan