Meatless Monday Blog Hop #2: Juicing for the Whole Family

Something I like to do- especially in preparation for spring -is to juice cleanse. If you have a good juicer, it's relatively easy to do (although clean-up not so much) and what can be better than freshly squeezed juice? Here are some of my favorite combinations:

1-2 Granny Smith Apples
3 carrots

2 carrots
1 red apple (like Braeburn or Red Delicious) 
1 stalk celery
1 small piece fresh ginger (about 1 tsp)

1-2 cups cubed watermelon
1 small/medium sized aloe vera leaf (skinned)
Sprig of fresh mint

1-2 carrots
1-2 apples (any type)
1 handful spinach

These are all healthy and delicious combinations that we have tried and enjoyed in my home. We have a Juiceman Jr. that a dear friend of mine was thoughtful enough to give me while I was pregnant with Lily. The idea behind that being that it would help me lose any unwanted leftover "baby weight" I'd accumulated and also help me get back onto a healthy diet if need be.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Luckily enough for me (and please don't be jealous!), I was able to lose the extra weight after giving birth pretty quickly, but having the juicer was quite nice. We enjoyed many glasses of watermelon juice and aloe vera with fresh mint from the garden, and freshly squeezed orange, apple and carrot that summer following my little child of spring's birth :)

Carrot and Granny Smith apple juice

Lily likes the juice too, as long as fruit as involved. She is not too crazy about vegetable juices (neither am I...)- not even carrot! But, she loves some freshly juiced oranges and apples.


You can juice just about anything, although a lot depends on what kind of juicer you have. If you don't own a juicer, here are some great ones that can help you get started. Juicing benefits in many, many ways. It helps to cleanse and detoxify your body from the day-to-day stress and toxins we put into it. It provides healthy sugars and natural energy. It provides a multitude of nutritional benefits, including antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients. You can use it to help and maintain any function of the body, depending on what fruit or vegetable you choose to juice. 


One thing you should keep in mind when giving fresh fruit or vegetable juice to a small child, is that there is a large amount of high-energy natural sugars in most of them, especially in carrots, apples, pears and pineapple. You should only give children under 5 years old about 4 ounces  of fresh juice at a time; otherwise, the strong sugar content may be too much for them to handle and they will surely be bouncing off the walls! Also remember that these are healthy, beneficial sugars, but it is one of the good things you can have a bit too much of. It is not the same as when you buy juice in the store that is watered down, overly processed and pasteurized. Six ounces of fresh fruit juice is equal to one adult-sized serving of fruits and vegetables, so you'll want to give children a little less, depending on their weight and age.

I hope you enjoyed this change of pace with today's Meatless Monday recipes. You may not own a juicer yet, but this may entice you now. Once you drink fresh juice, it's hard to go back to the bottled kind!

Now it's time to share! Please link up a meat-free recipe at the bottom and visit some of the other blogs too. It can be a recipe for anything- soup, dessert, beverage, entree, whatever -as long as it doesn't use meat products. You can also link up multiple recipes if you'd like. Just follow me, your hostess, and please pass along.