Give It a Squeeze: Fresh Juice {Recipes}

Food Fridays: 

Special Note:
With my current mamachallenge, the Shred diet, one of my daily beverage options is fresh juice. So when I needed to look up some juicing recipes, I went back to a post from April 2012 and my first experience with a juicer. So I'm sharing this post again with some tasty juice recipes along with a special offer of a whole month's offering of new juice recipes when you LIKE Omega Juicers! 

With spring time in full swing, I enjoy everything Mother Nature offers like al fresco dining, working in the yard and consuming fresh fruit. Unfortunately, my vegetable intake is not exactly what it should be, although I have very good intentions when I purchase produce for my family. Undoubtedly, I end up throwing some of it away since I can’t always get to cooking something with it before it goes south. It’s a never-ending cycle that many times the cost outweighs my want for fresh vegetables and fruit, and I end up with frozen and canned versions instead (despite the flavor, color and quality.) 

Blushing Orange Juice with
strawberries.

Trying to provide some suggestions to my “taste it vs. trash it” conundrum, someone suggested I juice my produce. Of course, I immediately struck down the idea. All I needed was another huge appliance to take up space that would be hard to clean and from what I had heard in the past, would probably not work well anyways. But when I got my hands on the Omega juicer, the size of the juicer surprised me - it was small although was little heavy (due to the amazing motor I would find out later). Now ready to juice, I purchased several different fruits and vegetables and waited for the “right time” to make it and then clean up the mess.

So when my husband asked for some orange juice, I immediately thought this was a good opportunity to test it out. The kitchen was already a mess from Saturday breakfast preparation, so it wouldn’t be a big deal. And since the kids were all up, I didn’t have to worry the loud sound from the juicer would wake anyone up. Best of all, I had some help if I couldn’t figure out how to put it all together. So I decided to take the plunge. In only three minutes I was able to put it all together without any instructions, I was pleasantly surprised. Not bad. Next I turned it on ready to have the kids look at me in horror of the noise, but there was no real noise. Just a little hum of the motor. Even better. Then I let my son put in the fruit and in just a few moments, we had fresh, delicious orange juice that was amazing. So being huge fans of strawberries, we opted to try another. Again, in just a short bit, we were all sharing our version of a Blushing OJ with strawberries, raspberries, apples and oranges.

Fresh and fantastic.

With the small amount of leftover juice, as requested by my three year-old, we put them in ice cubes and made popsicles. Healthy and delicious treat for later. But knowing that there wasn't a secret maid button on the juicer, I knew the clean up was going to take forever. I “womaned” up to the sink and only five minutes later, everything was clean and drying.
Excellent.
I definitely am now one of those people that appreciates what a good, quality juicer can do. For instance my juicer is the Vert VRT330 Juicer - equipped with a 2-horsepower equivalent single-phase induction motor. This masticating juicer thoroughly chews up plant fibers to extract vitamins, enzymes, and minerals from fruits and vegetables, including wheatgrass and leafy greens. The Vert VRT330 Juicer dual-stage juicing system ensures maximum juice and extremely dry pulp, the first crushing stage extracts and the second pressing stage squeezes. Its Low Speed Technology System (LSTS) and low rotation speed of 80 RPMs result in minimal heat build up and oxidation which means higher quality juice, flavor, and nutrients. Best of all, the automatic pulp-ejection function allows for continuous juicing - compost the pulp, or better yet, use it to flavor soups, cakes, and more.

The Vert VRT330 Juicer also features an Automatic Wiping System that utilizes a silicone wiping blade, similar to a car's windshield wiper, to help keep the juicing screen free of excess pulp. Other highlights include built-in reverse mode to prevent food from getting stuck, heavy-duty construction, and quiet operation due to squeezing slowly rather than grinding at high speed like centrifugal juicers.

I’ve included the recipe we made as well as my next conquest, Sweet Spring Mix, which is a lot like the Dr. Oz’s Green Drink.

Blushing Orange Juice
3 oranges
1 apple
1 handful raspberries

Juice together in the order given; stir the juice to mix the flavors.

Sweet Spring Mix 

Sweet Spring Mix 
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1 green apple
¼ cup parsley
¼ cup mint
1 stalk of celery
½ inch of fresh ginger
½ lemon (peeled)

For more recipes or information about the Omega brand of juicers, visit http://www.omegajuicers.com.

I also have posted several juice recipes on Pinterest!

Disclaimer:
I received an Omega juicer and examples of recipes for purposes of this review. However, the opinions are all my own.