April 2014
Want to wake up and feel your body start to wake up as well? Beyond fruits and vegetables, there are other useful ingredients to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of your juice routine. A few sips of this Citrus & Spice Juice, and you’ll feel your body start to emerge from that morning fog.
Health Benefits of Turmeric
“Curcumin [turmeric] has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities and thus has a potential against various malignant diseases, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and other chronic illnesses.” from Advanced Experimental Medical Biology
For more health benefits, check out this article.
Benefits of Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne stimulates digestion and muscle movement in the intestines, which helps restore deficient digestive secretions and aids absorption of food nutrients.
Cayenne also stimulates circulation and blood flow to the peripheral areas of the body.
Cayenne warms the body and stimulates the release of mucus from the respiratory passages. Hence that “wake up” feeling I described.
To learn more, check out this article.
Mind you, I’m not a nutritionist. Nor is this recipe based on extensive research. However, even if these spices do not deliver these health promises, they still shake up juice routines and flavor profiles, so spice up your morning!
Citrus & Spice
yields approximately 2 quarts
Ingredients
4 lbs organic carrots, rinsed & ends removed
12 organic Meyer lemons, supremed/peeled
4 organic grapefruits, supremed/peeled
~4 oz fresh ginger, peeled (this amount creates a noticeable gingery spice. Use less if you want a more subtle flavor)
Dash of Turmeric, to taste
Dash of Cayenne, to taste
Directions
Combine according to your juicer’s instructions.
Note: I usually add the spices to my individual serving size, rather than the entire batch, to make sure I don’t overdo it. It helps to use a jam jar or a glass with a lid so you can shake the juice to incorporate the spices thoroughly.
Juice of the Week documents my goal to drink fresh juice daily (made in batches weekly).
