Are you juice-curious but not sure where to start? Juicing fruits and vegetables can seem like a complicated ordeal. Which fruits and veggies should you use, and how the heck do you make it taste good? Grab some inspiration from these simple juice recipes that are balanced, healthy, and easy to make.
Why Add Juices To Your Diet?
Juicing is a process that extracts healthy juices from fresh fruits and vegetables. Provided you avoid high-sugar fruits, juicing can be included as part of a healthy diet. If you find it difficult to get your daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, juicing may be a convenient way to increase your intake. One study found that people who supplemented their diet with juice increased their levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, folate, and more.1
Fruit And Vegetable Juices Are Linked To Many Health Benefits
It’s important to note that juicing fruits and vegetables removes their fiber content. However, fiber may be to thank for many health benefits.2 So, while a daily-juice shouldn’t replace regular intake of fruits and vegetables, there may still be notable health benefits.
Fruit and vegetable juices contain nutrients like vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, polyphenols, and antioxidants that have been shown to have varied health benefits.3
Depending on the type of fruit or vegetable you select, the juice they provide may help your health in various ways.
- Juices from vegetables that contain nitrates, like beets and leafy greens, may support gut health.4,5,6
- Certain juices may support healthy blood sugar levels and cardiovascular health, especially juices that contain a variety of polyphenols, such as strawberries and spinach.
- The bioactive components of fruit and veggie juice, like melon and carrot juice, may help support the immune system.9,10,11,12
Juicing Ideas: Fruits And Vegetables To Use
When it comes to juicing, you’ll want to make sure that the sugar content doesn’t get out of hand. Otherwise, your drink may end up doing more harm than good. Choose low-sugar fruits and veggies. Here are a few ideas:
Fruits
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Lemons
- Limes
- Kiwi
- Grapefruit
- Melon
- Oranges
- Peaches13
Vegetables
- Kale
- Carrots
- Beets
- Cabbage
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Parsley
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Swiss chard
- Wheatgrass
- Bell pepper14
Other Ingredients You Can Add For More Nutrition Or Flavor
- Aloe Vera
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Cacao nibs
- Cayenne
- Chia seeds
- Cinnamon
- Turmeric
- Coconut oil
- Flax seeds
- Goji berries
- Hemp seeds
- Maca powder
- Nutritional yeast
- Spirulina15
How To Make Juice Without A Juicer
If you love the idea of juicing, but you aren’t quite ready to invest in a juicer, don’t worry. You can still get in on the fun. Here’s how:
- Wash your ingredients well, and cut them into large chunks.
- For citrus, remove the peel and pith.
- Remove any other tough exteriors, like pineapple skin.
- Place your items in your blender. Put your delicate items at the bottom before adding greens and sturdier items.
- Blend your items together. You may need to add water, coconut water, or other liquids to get things going.
- Pour your mixture through a mesh strainer that is set over a bowl.
- Press it with a spatula or the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as you can.
- Clean your strainer right away so the pulp doesn’t get stuck.
- Drink up!16
Eight Delicious And Simple Juice Recipes
1. Carrot Orange Ginger Juice
The ingredients in this juice bring equal parts sweet, sour, and a bit of spice. The result is a great-tasting, refreshing beverage that may help support a healthy immune system.17
Ingredients
- 7 oranges
- 4 carrots
- 2.5 inches fresh ginger
Instructions
- Cut the oranges in half and squeeze the orange juice into your blender or juicer.
- Cut the ends off your carrots and roughly chop them.
- Scrape the skin off the ginger with the back of a spoon, and roughly chop it into a few pieces.
- Add the ingredients into your juicer.
- If you are using a blender, follow the instructions for making juice without a juicer.
- Pour the juice into glasses and drink right away.18
2. Refreshing Orange Peach Carrot Juice
This juice is simple to make, and it results in vibrant orange-colored juice that is pretty to look at. You can almost see all of those healthy phytonutrients.
Ingredients
- 2 peeled oranges
- 2 peaches, quartered, pits removed
- 4-5 medium carrots, halved
- Juice from one lemon
- 1/2 inch ginger (optional)
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Slowly add all of the fruits to your juicer and blend.
- If you don’t have a juicer, use a blender and follow the instructions for making juice without a juicer.
- Pour into glasses and drink immediately.19
3. Cucumber And Lime Juice Agua Fresca With Mint
Agua fresca is a refreshing fruit drink that’s popular in Mexico. It’s sweet, cooling, and a great accompaniment to spicy food. The base of this juice, cucumber, is high in water content and low in calories.20 Plus, it’s delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large cucumbers, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup of lime juice from fresh limes (5-10 limes, depending on how juicy they are)
- 1¼ cup mint leaves, woody stems removed
- About 1¼ cup of water
- Agave or stevia (optional)
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a blender.
- Pour in enough water to fill ¾ of your blender.
- Purée until smooth.
- Place a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the purée through it, pressing against the sieve with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible.
- Add a handful of ice cubes to a pitcher and pour in the juice.
- Serve with slices of lime and sprigs of mint.21
4. Green Juice With Kale, Cucumbers, Celery, Lemon, Ginger, and Honeydew Melon
If you’re looking for a light, refreshing juice that’s perfect for sipping any time of day (or night), give this tasty green juice a try.
Ingredients
- ½ head of celery, chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1 handful parsley, chopped
- 1/2 bundle of kale, chopped
- 1 3-inch piece ginger, chopped
- ¼ of a honeydew melon, seeds and skin removed
- 1 medium lemon (peeled and sliced)
Instructions
- Rinse and dry your produce.
- If you don’t have a juicer, follow the instructions for juicing without one.
- Turn on your juicer and slowly add the ingredients. Start with celery, then cucumber, herbs, greens, ginger, melon, and lemon.
- Serve and enjoy immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 48 hours.22
5. Purple Vegetable Juice
This pretty purple juice is packed with antioxidants, phytonutrients, and vitamin C.22,23,24,25,26Plus, its striking color makes it pretty enough to photograph, if you’re into that.
Ingredients
- ½ small beet
- Beet greens from your beet (optional)
- A dozen raspberries
- A dozen blackberries
- A handful of kale leaves
- 1 cup of spinach leaves, packed down to add as much as possible
- 1 rib of celery
- 1 lemon
- 1 handful of cilantro or Italian parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare all of your vegetables according to your juicer’s instructions. For example, peel your lemon and chop the celery if your juicer can’t handle large pieces.
- Run the ingredients through your juicer.
- If you don’t have a juicer, follow the instructions for juicing without a juicer.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.27
6. Strawberry Peach Drinking Vinegar
Are you curious about incorporating apple cider vinegar into your diet but hesitant due to its intense flavor? This may be the juice recipe for you.
Apple cider vinegar may support heart health, and potentially help you reach your weight loss goals.28,29,30,31 Those are pretty impressive benefits for a juice you can whip up in your own kitchen. Adding strawberry and peach mellows the flavor of the apple cider vinegar.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- ¼ cup of raw, organic apple cider vinegar
- 16 oz. container of organic strawberries, stems removed
- 2 medium organic peaches, cut into quarters
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- Stevia or agave syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Add water, apple cider vinegar, strawberries, peaches, lemon juice, and sweetener into a high-
speed blender. - Blend on high for one minute or more until smooth.
- Taste and add additional vinegar or sweetener.
- Strain the pulp with a nut milk bag or a fine sieve.
- Enjoy immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.32
7. Hot Pink Juice
This healthy pink juice draws a lot of health benefits from kale and beets. Kale is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. It’s packed with vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin C, along with various flavonoids and polyphenols.33,34
Beets are also full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and have been found to help support digestive health.35,36
When combined with ingredients like cantaloupe melon and lemons, the veggie-forward flavor of kale and beets is masked quite well.
Ingredients
- 2 beets
- 3 carrots
- 1 lemon (peeled)
- ¼ cantaloupe, seeds scooped out and rind removed
- 5 kale leaves
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 inch ginger
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients according to your juicer’s requirements.
- Add the ingredients to your juicer and juice.
- If you don’t have a juicer, follow the instructions for juicing without a juicer.37
9. Sweet Green And Orange Juice
This simple recipe is great for juicing newbies. It has limited ingredients, so it’s easy to make. 38
Ingredients
- 1 lb. carrots
- 2-3 handfuls of leafy greens, like red lettuce or kale
- 2 peeled oranges
Instructions
- Wash and prepare all ingredients to be juiced.
- Add the ingredients to your juicer and then stir to blend.
- If you don’t have a juicer, follow the instructions for juicing without one.
- Serve and drink immediately.39
Experiment And Have Fun
The best part about making your own juice is that the sky’s the limit when it comes to flavors, textures, and even colors. Feel free to tweak these recipes and have fun creating a juice that is perfectly catered to your tastes and nutritional needs. Just make sure to watch the sugar content, and talk to your doctor before incorporating any new foods into your diet. Also Essential Skin Food reviews share how it complements a health-conscious lifestyle.