Sour Fruit Punch
This tart and refreshing recipe can really put some sparkle in your morning. It's the antidote to too-sweet commercial juices with added sweeteners. Dilute it with clear or sparkling water for a delicious spritzer or drink it straight for a juice that'll wake you up. You can reduce the acidity slightly by choosing pink grapefruit and Meyer lemons, or increase it with white grapefruit and Key limes. This juice is an excellent natural remedy for urinary problems, but it also makes a great day-to-day beverage.
Ingredients
2 juicing oranges, such as Navel, Valencia or Moro
1 medium grapefruit
1 Persian lime or two Key limes
1 medium lemon
1 ½ cups fresh red cranberries
Peel all the citrus fruits, setting the peels aside for later use as zest. Wash the cranberries thoroughly to remove dust and chemical residues. Place the peeled fruit and berries into your juicer or blender and process thoroughly. Strain to remove excess pulp if desired. Garnish with a thin strip of lemon zest and enjoy.
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Strawberries and bananas are a classic combination that provides gentle sweetness and plenty of energy. The high carbohydrate content of the banana provides extra calories to help you keep going through the day, making this the perfect breakfast beverage or mid-afternoon juice snack. Look for fully-ripe yellow bananas to provide plenty of flavor. In fact, it's okay to use bananas with some spotting or browning in this recipe. Avoid green bananas, which can make the smoothie seem bitter or astringent.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups strawberries
1 large or 2 medium bananas
1 vanilla bean
Rinse and hull the strawberries, discarding the tops. Peel the banana and add both fruits to your blender or juicer, along with the vanilla bean. Process until the juice develops a thick, rich texture. The vanilla bean adds a sweet scent along with attractive tiny black flecks.
Tropical Starfruit Punch
Also called carambola, the starfruit is a tropical native from Southeast Asia. When ripe, it is soft, bright yellow and has a sweet-tart flavor that produces delicious juice. When combined with the unique flavor of fresh kiwi, this fruit truly shines, producing a memorable punch that makes an ideal breakfast beverage. Look for golden starfruit with smooth, thin skins and no brown spots, and tender kiwi with a fragrant smell. Avoid tired-looking fruits that seem soft or mushy. For a slightly sweeter flavor, choose mellow golden kiwi instead of the standard green variety.
Ingredients
3 starfruit
3 kiwi fruit
Wash both fruits and remove the fuzzy skins from the kiwis. Add all fruit to your blender or juicer and process until the entire mixture is smooth. If necessary, strain out any seeds or large pieces of pulp. Enjoy slowly over ice.
Mango Watermelon Juice
This sweet juice makes a great dessert beverage and provides most of the vitamins C and A you need in one day. Since watermelon is so high in moisture, you shouldn't need any additional water to produce a drinkable juice, but you can thin the result with sparkling water for a lighter drinking experience.
Ingredients
1 large mango
1 cup cubed watermelon
Peel and pit the mango, discarding all but the pulp. Cut the pulp into large cubes that will fit easily into your juicer. Remove all seeds from the watermelon. Process both fruits at once to produce an opaque, sunrise-colored juice.
Creamy Tropical Smoothie
Tropical flavors are appealing and traditional. They also make a great-tasting juice that's perfect as a breakfast beverage or quick snack. The extra carbohydrates from the banana provide this juice with more calories and energy potential than many other juice fast recipes. They also offer plenty of vitamin C, vitamin A and a little calcium.
Ingredients
1 mango
1 small banana
½ cup pineapple
½ cup papaya
Peel and pit the mango, discarding all but the pulp. Peel the banana. Cut the pineapple and the papaya into large cubes, removing seeds, core and skin. Add all ingredients to a powerful blender or juicer, adding water to achieve the desired thickness. Serve cold for best results.
Rich Berry Smoothie
This recipe is great for anyone whose juice fast includes dairy elements. It provides plenty of vitamins A, C and D, as well as calcium and protein. While the best berries are organic and local, you can use both fresh and frozen fruit. Look for low-fat yogurt from cows or goats that have received organic feed to reduce the possibility of chemical contamination. This smoothie is an excellent choice if you feel tired during your juice diet, and the natural cultures can help keep your digestive system healthy and happy.
2 sweet juicing oranges
1 large tart apple
¼ cup red or yellow raspberries
¼ cup strawberries
½ cup plain yogurt with live cultures
Peel the oranges and remove any seeds. Wash the apple and berries thoroughly. Hull the strawberries, discarding the leaves. Remove the seeds from the apple. Juice all fruits together and mix in the yogurt or add all ingredients to a blender and process until completely smooth.
Berry Mint Cooler
This drink is a great choice whenever you see fresh berries on sale and in season. The delicious natural sugars make this an excellent choice to provide a little bit of an energy boost first thing in the morning. Alternatively, add some ice and blend it with the juice to produce a delicious evening dessert or afternoon snack.
1 pound whole strawberries
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups fresh peppermint or spearmint
2 medium green kiwis
Wash all the fruit. Remove the peel from the kiwis and hull the strawberries, discarding the leaves. Pluck the mint leaves from their stems to reduce discoloration of this rich, purplish beverage. Process all ingredients together in a juicer with a large screen or a powerful blender. You'll be delighted by the sweetness that this juice has to offer.
Tropical Berry Treat
This quick recipe provides the great taste of tropical fruits combined with the tang of blackberries and the comforting flavor and texture of pear. You can enjoy it as is at breakfast, or try adding a few ice cubes in the blender for a bright-tasting smoothie you'll have again and again. The pears can make this drink a little grainy and opaque, but they provide a smooth background for all the other flavors, along with plenty of fiber.
Ingredients
3 medium green or golden kiwifruit
2 ripe Asian pears
¼ fresh pineapple
1 cup ripe blackberries
Peel the kiwifruit and pineapple. Remove the seeds and stem from the pears along