From The Kitchen - Healthy Cocktails

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When my friends and I get together to cook and eat,  we try to include as many vegetables as possible.  Sometimes juicing is the best way to do just that.

When the kids were younger I would make apple juice and grape juice on the weekends because I had a couple of apple trees and several grape vines in the yard.  It was a tedious process using a food chopper/food mill and a clean cheesecloth for straining.  Some fruits could be heated  to make extraction easier but often it was just a matter of crushing or grinding the fruit.  In the 90s when the Juiceman was invented juicing became much easier.



The Beet Effect

For our get together we washed 8 carrots, added a few slices of beet, a small sliver of ginger, a few florets of broccoli and a bunch of kale, and cut up 4 granny smith apples.  The vegetables for this juice cocktail  were carefully chosen but you can juice any vegetables depending on what nutrients you need.  One bit of caution here is that you watch your carrot intake.  If you drink carrot juice on a daily bases and you notice your skin getting that suntan look without the sun, then you should probably cut back on your carrot consumption.  My research shows two carrots a day should be fine.

Whatever veggies you include will effect the color of your drink.  I like to include spinach because of its beta-carotene level.  All green leafy veggies are rich sources of carotenoids but spinach is the granddaddy of them all.  Think Popeye here.  The drink will be more green with this leafy addition.


The Juiceman  has a low speed and a high speed.  You need the high speed for carrots but soft foods like pears and apples are done on the low speed.  I am sure that there are plenty of other juicers on the market today.  If you do high-volume than the Juiceman is probably not the one you want.  It  gets noisy if I run it for too long.


Color changes depending on veggies used

Eventually you will have to face the clean up.  It only takes about 15 minutes and you should do it as soon as possible after using the equipment.  The pulp is collected in a stand alone container.  You can make muffins with the pulp so you don't have to throw it away. 

To accompany our juice and coffee we enjoyed almond/walnut muffins, peaches and salmon quiche.  And later to add to the ambiance of our lively event,  we enjoyed some dark chocolates with a glass or two of wine.    It was another great day with friends in the kitchen.  The art of conversation is always alive and well among friends.


I'm not sure who said it but it's true to me:  "There's nothing worth the price of winning save laughter and the love of friends".

    

Pulp