Fresh Apple Beet Juice

Our town's juice bar just closed. One of our favorite things to do on Saturdays was to go to the local market for a few items, & get a fresh juice at the same time. We made one final stop a few weeks ago on their last day open, & have been thinking about it since.

When I found myself with some extra produce, I decided it was time to try our juicer again. My mom gave us her old one & we had used it once, then put it away. I brought it up from the basement to try again.

It's fun to put in the chunks of fruit/veggies & watch the juice & pulp come out in 2 different spots. Juicers are pretty amazing!

Fresh juice is a great way to pack in vitamins & minerals from fresh produce without all of the bulk. Your body is easily able to assimilate the nutrients in juice form. While you wouldn't usually sit down & eat several fruits & veggies in one sitting, it's easy to drink them all.

It is a good idea to use organic produce when juicing. Since you are ingesting so many items at once, the pesticide content is more concentrated. If it's not possible to get all organic, at least try to buy organic for the Dirty Dozen. (For this recipe, the apples are highest in pesticides.)

My favorite part about fresh juice? The foam on top.

Just look at it! All frothy & delicious.

This particular juice is fairly sweet, perfect for beginning juicers. Although I think some cabbage or romaine lettuce would be great additions, we didn't have either to add. The lemon adds a nice tartness & the apples add enough sweet to counter the earthiness of the beets. The combination also produces such a pretty color of pink!

Fresh Apple Beet Juice

3 small beets
3 medium carrots
1 large apple
1 lemon

Trim stems from beets & carrots. Peeling is not necessary. Chop each into chunks small enough to fit into your juicer. Remove stem & seeds from the apple; chop into quarters. Peel the lemon & divide into quarters.

Feed chunks into the juicer, following juicer instructions. Drink immediately. Reserve pulp for future use or compost it.

If you do not have a juicer, you can still make fresh juice! Just use your blender to combine all of the ingredients & then strain through a cheesecloth, squeezing to release all of the juices. You could also make a smoothie, if you don't want to bother with straining.

Tasty Tidbits

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was relaxed - we got up, ate a small breakfast, did yoga, read, & then headed to my in-laws house for dinner. Afterwards, we came home & raked leaves & mowed the lawn, & then hung out around the house.

She loves to join us in the living room, especially if we have the fireplace on!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Katie's Chocolate "Protein" Milkshakes
• Peach & Raspberry yogurt with cherry & honey lentil granola 
• Trader Joe's Cinnamon Crumpets toasted & topped with pumpkin butter
• Baked pumpkin cranberry oatmeal
• Heidi's Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Loaf - I'm not huge into cheesecake, so I made this for the Bup. He said he likes it even more than pumpkin roll! Plus, it's pretty healthy as far as eating cheesecake goes, because it's balanced with the bread.
• Bananas & crunchy peanut butter

Lunches

• Leftovers
• Katie's Melty Pizza Hummus
• Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce with Oranges
• Grapefruit & oranges
• Fresh Apple Beet Juice
• Roasted chickpeas

Dinners

Saturday:

• Mama Pea's Coconut Curry Kale Stew - This soup has great flavor, a creamy broth, & required minimal chopping. Plus, it's made in the crock pot, so it's hands off.
• Yummly's Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread - After a failed attempt at sourdough bread in the bread machine, I tried this instead. It's a soft, but chewy, bread with the perfect amount of sweet from the honey.

Sunday:

• Spinach Salad: Spinach topped with pan-seared tempeh, carrots, red onion, dried cherries, & honey roasted sliced almonds, tossed in Mama Pea's Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette - This was pretty revolutionary. We had it twice this weekend & I think we'd both be happy to eat it daily. All of the flavors blend together so well!

Monday:

• Cream of potato soup with broccoli
• Pretzel bread bowls

Tuesday:

• Tortilla pizzas topped with bbq sauce, roasted garlic, broccoli, bell pepper, red onions, pineapple, kalamata olives & shredded smoked cheddar cheese
• Pan-seared Brussels sprouts

Wednesday:

• Kale salad with Mama Pea's Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Guacamole & chips

Thursday:  
Thanksgiving dinner!

• Appetizers: Fresh veggies, pickles, crackers, cheese
• Spinach lasagna with tomato sauce
• Roasted butternut squash & penne casserole
• Sweet potatoes
• Stuffing
• Kale salad topped with sunflower seeds & mandarin oranges
• Dessert: Apple pie & pumpkin roll

Friday:
Dinner with Mom & Pops

• Linguini with cauliflower pesto
• Green Salad

[Tink licked the bowl from the cream cheese icing for the pumpkin roll. She has a sweet tooth!]

Treats

• Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate (apparently we were in a hot cocoa mood this week!)
• Chocolate covered nut clusters
• Deb's Chocolate Sorbet - Usually I like a pretty big serving of ice cream, but this is very rich & perfect for a 1 scoop treat. It's super chocolatey, which I love! I've been wanting to make it for at least 3 years now, but didn't have the ice cream maker. It was worth waiting for!

Hot Apple Cider with Peach Rum

Last week, I posted about our dinner at Great Sage Organic Green Cuisine & I mentioned that the Bup had the Fireside Orchard to drink. It's been on our minds ever since, so I decided to try to replicate it.

I knew we had a random bottle of peach rum somewhere, & when I found it, I realized it had just enough to make us each 1 drink. Perfect!

To keep the cider from losing it's edge, I did not bring it to a boil. As soon as it started to steam, I turned off the heat & stirred in the rum. If you prefer your cider to have a smoother taste, you may want to boil it briefly.

I love the way the peach plays off the apple in this drink. It tastes just like summer mixed with fall, with the juicy peach & the crisp apple flavors blending perfectly.

This would make a great after dinner drink for with Thanksgiving dinner! It's light & warming, perfect for settling down with while visiting with family & friends, or for wrapping your hands around after coming in from the cold.

Hot Apple Cider with Peach Rum

Serves 2

2 c apple cider

1/4 c peach rum

2 cinnamon sticks

In a small pan over medium heat, warm the cider. When it starts to steam, remove from heat to prevent boiling. (This should take about 5 minutes.) Stir in peach rum. Divide evenly between 2 glasses or mugs & garnish with cinnamon sticks. Enjoy immediately - that's an order! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!