Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

At our house juice is consumed almost as much as water. It is the beverage of choice on hot days when we’ve been working hard in the garden or in the barn. It gives us a little extra burst of energy with all vitamins and natural sugar it contains. The problem is, commercially made juices are expensive and full of unwanted chemicals, corn syrup and preservatives; and juicing machines are more money than this frugal farmer wants to spend. The answer: making juice using my blender or food processor.

You can make virtually any kind of juice with your blender, and what’s more, a blender won’t separate the healthy fiber found in the peels and pulp like a commercial juicer can. The fiber in the peel and pulp helps your body regulate the absorption of sugar, vitamins and minerals.

Making your own blender juices is simple and fun, and allows you to combine several different fruits to make a juice blend.

To make your own homemade fresh juice:

• Wash fruit thoroughly.
• Remove thick peel on fruits such as pineapple, mango or papaya.
• Remove any large seeds. Smaller seeds can be strained out later.
• Rough chop fruit and add to blender with a small amount of water so it will blend easier.
• Flip the switch and blend away.

While the fruit is blending, place a strainer over a bowl or 4-cup measuring cup. When juice is blended well, pour it into the strainer, and using the back of a spoon mash the juice and pulp through, leaving the peel and seeds in the strainer. If you prefer a clearer juice, strain it again through a layer or two of cheesecloth.

The interesting thing is that you will get more juice and less pulp from the blender process than when using a traditional juicer. In fact, you may get as much as 50% less pulp.

If your juice needs a bit of sweetening add a small amount of honey or some apple juice. Apple is one of the sweetest fruits, and is perfect for adding natural sugar to your juice mix. Most juices can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two. When making larger batches, freeze in small containers for later use.

There you have it…simple, fresh, homemade juice.

photo credit: taka_horri