Your liver filters everything you take in, and it needs the right nutrients to keep up. These juices lean on beetroot, radish, cucumber, celery, Meyer lemons, leafy greens, wheatgrass, Brussels sprouts, sea buckthorn, fresh herbs like coriander, globe artichokes and ginger to support it, lightly and without the faddy stuff.
Meyer lemon, apple and cucumber is the newest addition, and the note is the same honest one. Meyer lemons are a citron and mandarin cross rather than true lemons, sweeter and far less sharp, so two of them carry a glass without any sugar at all. Lemon juice does not clean anything, but it does contain citrate, which genuinely inhibits calcium oxalate crystals forming in urine, and the best trial of that just missed significance at two years on 120 ml a day, which is far more than a glass holds. The artichoke recipe before it is a choleretic, which means it encourages the liver to release bile into the gut, a digestive thing rather than a cleaning one. Same honest note as the wheatgrass and sea buckthorn recipes, your liver does the filtering, so drink any of these because you like them and not because they clean anything.
All our detox juices
Green Revitalizer Juice
A clean, cucumber-forward green juice with ginger and lemon that tastes like a reset in a glass.
Check out this recipe
Kale Kiwi Grape and Cucumber Juice
A mellow green juice where sweet green grapes smooth out the kale, with cucumber keeping it light.
Check out this recipe
Apple Beetroot Carrot Juice
The classic ABC juice: apple, beetroot and carrot working together to support your liver.
Check out this recipe
Pineapple Spinach Juice
Sweet pineapple with a big handful of baby spinach, sharpened up with lime and lightened with cucumber. The pineapple does the talking, the spinach just quietly tags along with the vitamins. Ten minutes, two glasses, and the easiest way I have found to get greens in before lunch.
Check out this recipe
Broccoli Apple Juice
Broccoli has a reputation in juice that it does not deserve once two sweet apples get involved. Celery adds a savoury edge, lemon and ginger keep it bright, and ten minutes later you have two cold green glasses and no broccoli left in the drawer.
Check out this recipe
Watermelon Cucumber Juice
Watermelon and cucumber are both around 92 per cent water, which is why this glass goes down so easily when it is warm. One lime lifts the whole thing and adds a hit of vitamin C. It is light, low in calories, and it gives you fluid and potassium rather than anything faddy.
Check out this recipe
Dandelion Detox Juice
Dandelion leaves are bitter, and there is no point pretending otherwise. A sweet apple carries most of that, cucumber keeps it drinkable, lemon lifts the finish and ginger rounds off the last of the edge. Best very cold, in a small glass.
Check out this recipe
Pineapple, Turmeric and Ginger Juice
Fresh pineapple carries this one, with turmeric and ginger adding a warm bite underneath and a squeeze of lime stopping it going syrupy. Five minutes, one juicer basket, two glasses. It is the drink I reach for when my knees are stiff and I want something that tastes like a treat rather than a vegetable.
Check out this recipe
Celery Apple Ginger Juice
Celery on its own is a hard sell, so the apple does the work here and the ginger keeps it from tasting like a dessert. Sharp green apples, a decent knob of ginger, half a lemon to stop it turning brown, and a proper amount of celery underneath it all. Ten minutes, one juicer basket, two glasses. This is the one I make the morning after a heavy weekend, when my stomach feels bloated and I want something clean that still tastes of something.
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Cucumber, Apple and Fennel Juice
Cucumber, apple and fennel is one of those combinations that sounds like it belongs in a health shop, and it tastes a great deal better than that. The cucumber does the cooling, the green apples bring the sweetness that stops it ending up like a savoury drink, and the fennel sits behind both of them with a faint aniseed edge that comes through more with every mouthful. Two glasses from one go. I make it on the mornings after a heavy dinner, when I want something cold and green rather than another coffee.
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Courgette, Apple and Lemon Juice
Courgette in a glass sounds like a punishment and it tastes nothing of the sort. What you get is a pale green, faintly sweet juice with a soft vegetable note sitting behind the apple, and the lemon is the thing that stops it tasting like a green smoothie that lost its way. Two medium courgettes and two Granny Smiths make two good glasses. I make it in late summer, when the courgettes in the fridge are multiplying faster than I can cook them, and a cold glass is a better use for a glut than another tray of roasted vegetables.
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Radish, Carrot and Apple Juice
Radish is the one in the veg drawer that nobody thinks to juice, and it works better than you would expect. The pepper stays in the glass, but carrot gives it body and colour, apple softens it, and lemon keeps the finish clean. This is an everyday glass rather than a treat, and it takes about ten minutes to make two of them.
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Coriander, Apple and Lime Juice
A green juice where the herb is the point rather than a handful of leaves thrown in at the end. Coriander is sharp and a bit grassy on its own, so the apple does the sweetening and the lime keeps it clean instead of flat. The ginger is there for warmth, not heat. It is quick to make, it costs very little because a bunch of coriander is pennies, and it tastes like a proper green juice rather than a punishment.
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Brussels Sprouts, Apple and Lemon Juice
Raw Brussels sprouts are a hard sell in a glass on their own, so this one leans on green apple and lemon to make it genuinely drinkable. The reason it is worth the bother is the glucosinolates: they only turn into sulforaphane while the myrosinase enzyme is still intact, which is exactly what boiling destroys and juicing keeps. Sharp, green and best drunk cold. Two glasses, and each one carries about 19 g of sugar, so treat it as a drink rather than a diet.
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Wheatgrass, Apple and Cucumber Juice
A proper green glass rather than a 30 ml wheatgrass shot. Two sweet apples and half a cucumber carry the grass so it tastes fresh and green instead of muddy, and the lemon keeps the finish clean.
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Sea Buckthorn, Apple and Orange Juice
Sea buckthorn is the sourest berry in the hedgerow and one of the richest in vitamin C, around 400 mg per 100 g, which is roughly eight times what a sweet orange gives you for the same weight. Straight, it is far too sharp to drink on its own, so it gets cut with sweet apple and a fresh orange and lands as a bright, cloudy apricot-orange glass. The one thing worth knowing before you buy it is that almost all the research on sea buckthorn is on the oil pressed from the seeds, not on the juice, so drink it as a genuinely good winter glass rather than a supplement.
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Artichoke, Apple and Cucumber Juice
Artichokes are the one thing in the veg aisle I buy mostly because I like looking at them, and this is the simplest way I have found to actually drink one. The hearts press into a mild green juice with a faint bitter edge, the apple and cucumber soften it out, and the lemon keeps it from browning in the glass. It is a small glass to have before dinner rather than a pint with lunch, and the bitterness is the reason it is worth making at all.
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Meyer Lemon, Apple and Cucumber Juice
A short-season citrus juice that actually works as a drink. Meyer lemons are sweeter and much less sharp than true lemons, so two of them carry a whole jug without any sugar, and cucumber keeps it light. About 92 calories and 14 g of sugar a glass, which is roughly half a straight apple juice.
Check out this recipe
Green Revitalizer Juice
A clean, cucumber-forward green juice with ginger and lemon that tastes like a reset in a glass.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer or blender and nut milk bag
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a great value alternative
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 3 stalks celery
- 2 green apples cored
- 1/2 lemon peeled
- 1 inch ginger peeled
- 1 handful parsley
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash everything and chop the cucumber and apples to fit your juicer.
- Juice the celery, cucumber and parsley, then the apples, lemon and ginger.
- Stir and serve over ice.
Blender method
- Blend all ingredients with a splash of water until smooth.
- Strain through a nut milk bag and serve chilled.
Notes
Cucumber and celery are mostly water, which makes this the lightest juice in the bunch and a good one for an afternoon reset. Parsley adds chlorophyll and a clean, green note. Nutrition is an estimate per glass.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 110kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSodium: 120mgPotassium: 700mgFiber: 6gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 4000IUVitamin C: 60mg
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Kale Kiwi Grape and Cucumber Juice
A mellow green juice where sweet green grapes smooth out the kale, with cucumber keeping it light.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer or blender and nut milk bag
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a great value alternative
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale stems removed
- 2 kiwi peeled
- 1 cup green grapes
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 lemon peeled
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash everything, peel the kiwi and lemon.
- Juice the kale and cucumber first, then the grapes, kiwi and lemon.
- Stir and serve chilled.
Blender method
- Blend all ingredients with a little water until smooth.
- Strain through a nut milk bag and serve.
Notes
Green grapes are the secret weapon here: they round out the kale without piling on sugar like mango or pineapple would. Nutrition is an estimate per glass.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 130kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSodium: 70mgPotassium: 650mgFiber: 6gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 7000IUVitamin C: 160mg
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Apple Beetroot Carrot Juice
The classic ABC juice: apple, beetroot and carrot working together to support your liver.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer or blender and sieve
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a great value alternative
Ingredients
- 1 apple cored
- 1 beetroot scrubbed
- 2 carrots scrubbed
- 1/2 lemon peeled
- 1/2 inch ginger peeled
Instructions
Juicer method
- Core the apple, scrub the beetroot and carrots.
- Juice the beetroot, carrots and ginger first, then the apple and lemon.
- Stir and serve immediately.
Blender method
- Chop everything and blend with a little water.
- Strain through a fine sieve and serve.
Notes
Beetroot is rich in betaine, which supports liver function, while the carrot and apple bring beta-carotene and vitamin C. It's the kind of juice your skin thanks you for. Nutrition is an estimate per glass.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 3gSodium: 120mgPotassium: 700mgFiber: 7gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 9000IUVitamin C: 40mg
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Pineapple Spinach Juice
Sweet pineapple with a big handful of baby spinach, sharpened up with lime and lightened with cucumber. The pineapple does the talking, the spinach just quietly tags along with the vitamins. Ten minutes, two glasses, and the easiest way I have found to get greens in before lunch.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a great value alternative
Ingredients
Juice base
- 300 g fresh pineapple, peeled and cored about half a medium pineapple; the riper the sweeter
- 60 g baby spinach a generous handful, washed and shaken dry
- 1/2 cucumber no need to peel
- 1 lime, peeled peel it first; the pith is what turns juice bitter
- 100 ml cold water only if you are using the blender method
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash the spinach and shake it dry. Peel the lime, and cut the pineapple into chunks that fit your juicer feed tube.
- Run the cucumber through first, then about half of the pineapple.
- Follow with the spinach, the lime and the rest of the pineapple, feeding the leaves a few at a time so they do not spin around and clog the chute.
- Stir well, pour into two glasses and drink straight away. It settles as it sits, so give it a swirl if you put it down.
Blender method
- Prep everything the same way: pineapple chunked, lime peeled, spinach washed, cucumber roughly chopped.
- Tip it all into a high-speed blender with the cold water and blend on high for 60 to 90 seconds, until completely smooth.
- Pour through a nut milk bag or a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze out as much juice as you can.
- Taste, thin with a splash more water if it is thicker than you like, and serve over ice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 95kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1gSodium: 20mgPotassium: 450mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 2800IUVitamin C: 90mgCalcium: 50mg
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Broccoli Apple Juice
Broccoli has a reputation in juice that it does not deserve once two sweet apples get involved. Celery adds a savoury edge, lemon and ginger keep it bright, and ten minutes later you have two cold green glasses and no broccoli left in the drawer.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a great value alternative
Ingredients
Juice base
- 250 g broccoli, florets and stem, roughly chopped one small head; peel the woody outer layer of the stem first
- 2 medium sweet apples such as Gala or Pink Lady, cored the sweeter the apple, the less you taste the broccoli
- 2 celery sticks, scrubbed
- 1/2 lemon, peeled peel it properly; the pith turns juice bitter
- 15 g fresh ginger, peeled about a thumb-sized piece
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash the broccoli and celery. Cut the broccoli into florets, peel the woody outer layer of the stem and chop it, core the apples, and peel the lemon and ginger.
- Push the celery through the juicer first, then the apples. The wet pulp helps pull the broccoli through after it.
- Feed the broccoli through a handful at a time, alternating with the lemon and the ginger so nothing jams the chute.
- Stir the juice well, pour into two glasses and drink straight away. It settles as it sits, so give it a swirl if you put it down.
Blender method
- Prep everything the same way, then roughly chop the broccoli, celery and apples so the blender does not labour.
- Tip everything into a high-speed blender with 150ml of cold water and blend on high for 60 to 90 seconds, until completely smooth.
- Pour through a nut milk bag or a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze out as much juice as you can.
- Taste, add a splash more water if it is thicker than you like, and serve over ice.
Notes
Broccoli is at its sweetest from late summer through autumn, but this works all year. If the glass tastes at all sharp, the usual culprit is lemon pith, so peel the lemon rather than just halving it.
Sulforaphane, the compound broccoli is best known for, forms when the plant's cells are damaged, which chopping and juicing does plenty of. The research on what it does in the body is still being worked out, so treat this as a pleasant green top-up rather than a promise.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSodium: 90mgPotassium: 800mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 1500IUVitamin C: 125mgCalcium: 60mg
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Watermelon Cucumber Juice
Watermelon and cucumber are both around 92 per cent water, which is why this glass goes down so easily when it is warm. One lime lifts the whole thing and adds a hit of vitamin C. It is light, low in calories, and it gives you fluid and potassium rather than anything faddy.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a great value alternative
- 1 Budget blender if you are just starting out
Ingredients
- 500 g watermelon flesh about a quarter of a small watermelon, rind and seeds removed, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cucumber about 150g, roughly chopped; peel it first if the skin is thick or waxed
- 1 lime peeled, so the pith does not turn the juice bitter
- 100 ml cold water only if you are using the blender method
Instructions
Juicer method
- Chill the watermelon first if you can. Cold fruit goes through the juicer more cleanly and the juice is ready to drink straight away.
- Cut the rind off the watermelon and chop the flesh into chunks that fit your juicer's feed tube. Chop the cucumber to the same sort of size and peel the lime.
- Feed the cucumber and the lime through first, then the watermelon. Watermelon is almost all water, so sending the firmer pieces through ahead of it keeps the pulp moving.
- Stir the juice, then pour it into two glasses over ice.
Blender method
- Blend the watermelon, cucumber and lime with 100ml of cold water on high for 45 seconds, until there are no lumps left.
- Pour it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve into a jug, pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon to get all the juice out.
- Serve over ice, or keep it in an airtight bottle in the fridge and drink it the same day.
Notes
Buy a watermelon that feels heavy for its size and sounds hollow when you tap it. A creamy yellow patch where it sat on the ground is usually a sign of a sweet one. Cucumber skin carries a little vitamin K but can taste bitter, so peel it if yours is thick or waxed. The juice settles as it sits, so give the bottle a shake before you pour the second glass.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 95kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 400mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 900IUVitamin C: 27mg
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Dandelion Detox Juice
Dandelion leaves are bitter, and there is no point pretending otherwise. A sweet apple carries most of that, cucumber keeps it drinkable, lemon lifts the finish and ginger rounds off the last of the edge. Best very cold, in a small glass.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a good value alternative
- 1 Budget blender a good value alternative
Ingredients
- 60 g dandelion leaves young leaves only, about three loose handfuls
- 2 sweet apples about 300g, such as Gala or Pink Lady, cored and quartered, peel left on
- 150 g cucumber half a cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1 lemon peeled, white pith removed
- 15 g fresh ginger a thumb-sized piece, no need to peel
Instructions
Juicer method
- Rinse the dandelion leaves properly. They grow close to the ground, so grit hides down in the stems. A bowl of cold water and a good swish beats rinsing them one at a time under the tap.
- Core and quarter the apples and chop the cucumber into chunks that fit your feed chute. Peel the lemon and leave the pith behind, because pith is what makes a green juice taste bitter in the wrong way.
- Feed the ginger and lemon through first, then the apple and cucumber, then the dandelion leaves last. The watery fruit pushes the greens through with it and stops the leaves clogging the mesh.
- Stir and drink it cold. It keeps for two days in a full, airtight bottle in the fridge, though the first day is the best of it.
Blender method
- Chop the apple, cucumber, peeled lemon and ginger, then put them in the blender with the dandelion leaves.
- Add 100ml of cold water and blend on high for a full minute, until there is no sign of leaf left.
- Pour it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve and squeeze the pulp properly. If it comes out too thick, loosen it with a splash more water.
- Serve over ice, or bottle it and keep it cold for up to two days.
Notes
Use young dandelion leaves: the small ones from the middle of the plant, or the first leaves of spring. Older leaves turn woody and bitter enough to take over the whole glass. If you are picking your own rather than buying a bag, take them from an unsprayed garden or a quiet field, never from a verge, a path or anywhere a dog has been.
Dandelion is a mild diuretic, so drink it earlier in the day rather than last thing at night. If you take diuretics, blood thinners or lithium, or you are pregnant, check with your GP before making it a habit.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 115kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSodium: 26mgPotassium: 450mgFiber: 2gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 3210IUVitamin C: 31mg
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Pineapple, Turmeric and Ginger Juice
Fresh pineapple carries this one, with turmeric and ginger adding a warm bite underneath and a squeeze of lime stopping it going syrupy. Five minutes, one juicer basket, two glasses. It is the drink I reach for when my knees are stiff and I want something that tastes like a treat rather than a vegetable.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing a batch
- 1 Budget cold press juicer the cheaper option if you are just starting out
- 1 Budget blender works fine here, just strain it a little harder
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium pineapple about 400g peeled weight, cut into chunks that fit your chute
- 15 g fresh turmeric about a 4cm piece, peeled
- 15 g fresh ginger about a 4cm piece, peeled
- 1 lime peeled, pith removed
To finish
- 1 pinch ground black pepper stirred in at the end, optional but it makes a real difference
Instructions
Juicer method
- Peel the pineapple and cut it into chunks small enough for your chute. Keep the core if your machine can handle it, because that is where most of the bromelain sits.
- Peel the turmeric and the ginger with the edge of a teaspoon. It takes the skin off without wasting half the root.
- Feed the pineapple through first, then alternate the turmeric and the ginger with a few chunks of pineapple so they do not just smear around the basket.
- Squeeze the lime in at the end, stir, and pour into two glasses. Add a crack of black pepper if you are drinking it for the turmeric rather than the taste.
Blender method
- Put the pineapple chunks, the turmeric, the ginger and the peeled lime into a blender with 100ml cold water.
- Blend on high for about 60 seconds, until the pineapple has completely broken down and there are no stringy bits left.
- Tip it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve and press the pulp with the back of a spoon. Pineapple pulp holds a lot of juice, so give it a proper squeeze rather than letting it drip.
- Stir in a crack of black pepper and divide between two glasses.
Notes
Fresh turmeric stains. Wooden boards, pale worktops and blender jugs all pick it up, so stand the glass on a plate and wash up straight away. If you cannot get fresh turmeric, half a teaspoon of ground turmeric stirred into the finished juice works, though it tastes flatter and settles at the bottom. This juice separates after ten minutes or so, which is normal for pineapple. Give it a stir before you drink it. Kept in an airtight glass bottle in the fridge it holds for two days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 108kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 1gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 240mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin C: 85mg
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Celery Apple Ginger Juice
Celery on its own is a hard sell, so the apple does the work here and the ginger keeps it from tasting like a dessert. Sharp green apples, a decent knob of ginger, half a lemon to stop it turning brown, and a proper amount of celery underneath it all. Ten minutes, one juicer basket, two glasses. This is the one I make the morning after a heavy weekend, when my stomach feels bloated and I want something clean that still tastes of something.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating or centrifugal
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve to strain the blender version
- 2 Airtight glass bottles for storing a batch
- 1 Budget cold press juicer the cheaper option if you are just starting out
- 1 Budget blender works fine here, just strain it a little harder
Ingredients
- 6 sticks celery about a whole head, roughly 350g, leaves trimmed off
- 2 green apples Granny Smith or any sharp green apple, cored and quartered
- 15 g fresh ginger about a 4cm piece, peeled
- 1/2 lemon peeled, white pith left behind, added last
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash the celery properly. It grows in sandy soil and grit hides between the ribs, so give each stick a rub under cold water before it goes anywhere near the machine. Trim the leafy tops off and keep them for a stock.
- Cut the celery sticks into lengths that fit your chute, core and quarter the apples, and peel the ginger with the edge of a teaspoon. The spoon takes the skin off without shaving away half the root.
- Feed the celery through first. It is the wettest of the four and it primes the basket, so the apple and ginger move through instead of clogging it. Then alternate the apple, ginger and lemon.
- Stir the juice, pour it straight into two glasses and drink it while it is cold. It separates within about fifteen minutes, which is normal, so give the glass a swirl before you start.
Blender method
- Chop the celery and apples into rough chunks and put them in the blender with the peeled ginger, the peeled lemon and 150ml cold water. Celery is mostly water anyway, so you do not need much.
- Blend on high for a full 60 seconds. You want the celery completely broken down with no strings left, or the straining step turns into a wrestling match.
- Tip it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug. Press the pulp with the back of a spoon and then squeeze the bag properly, because celery pulp holds more juice than you would expect.
- Pour into two glasses. The blender version comes out slightly thicker and cloudier than the juicer version. If you would rather keep the fibre, skip the straining and drink it as a thin smoothie.
Notes
Two things worth knowing. Green apple browns fast once the juice is exposed to air, and the lemon is the only thing slowing that down, so do not leave it out. And juicing strips most of the fibre out with the pulp, so this is a drink alongside your vegetables, not a replacement for them. If you want the fibre, use the blender method and do not strain it.
Celery is one of the higher-sodium vegetables, which is why this tastes savoury rather than sweet. If you are watching your salt, go easy on added salt for the rest of the day. It keeps in an airtight glass bottle in the fridge for 24 hours, though it is at its best in the first ten minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1glassCalories: 108kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1.5gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 118mgPotassium: 520mgFiber: 1.8gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 150IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 0.4mg
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Cucumber, Apple and Fennel Juice
Cucumber, apple and fennel is one of those combinations that sounds like it belongs in a health shop, and it tastes a great deal better than that. The cucumber does the cooling, the green apples bring the sweetness that stops it ending up like a savoury drink, and the fennel sits behind both of them with a faint aniseed edge that comes through more with every mouthful. Two glasses from one go. I make it on the mornings after a heavy dinner, when I want something cold and green rather than another coffee.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer a slow juicer gets much more out of the cucumber
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or a fine sieve
- 1 Airtight glass bottles only if you are taking it with you, it is better fresh
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a cheaper slow juicer handles cucumber and apple easily
- 1 Budget blender fine here, as long as you strain it well
Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers about 400g, or 1 large one
- 2 green apples cored but not peeled
- 1 small fennel bulb hard core removed, fronds kept if you like
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 100 ml cold water for the blender method only
Instructions
Juicer method
- Rinse the cucumbers and cut them into batons that fit your feed chute. There is no need to peel them unless the skin is waxed, in which case peel it off.
- Quarter the apples and cut out the core and seeds. Cut the fennel bulb in half through the root, slice out the hard core at the base, then cut each half into wedges.
- Feed the fennel through the juicer first, then the cucumber, then the apple. Alternating the vegetables with the fruit keeps the pulp moving and stops the basket clogging.
- Squeeze the half lemon straight into the jug at the end, stir, then pour into two glasses and drink it cold.
Blender method
- Peel the cucumbers if the skins are thick, then cut them into rough chunks.
- Core the apples and cut them into chunks. Cut the fennel into pieces and discard the solid core.
- Tip everything into the blender jug with the 100ml of cold water and blend on high for about 60 seconds, until there are no solid pieces of fennel left.
- Pour the mixture through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug. Let it drain first, then press it gently with the back of a spoon and no harder.
- Squeeze in the lemon, stir the jug, and pour into two glasses to serve.
Notes
Fennel is the fussy one here. Cut the bulb in half through the root, then slice out the solid core at the base, which is tough and tastes of very little. Keep the feathery fronds if you want them as a garnish, or just feed them through the juicer with everything else.
Cucumber carries a lot of water, so this can come out thin. If you want more body, run one of the apples through last and let it push the fennel pulp out of the machine, or make it in the blender and strain it a little less firmly. Do not press hard on the pulp either way, or you will pull bitterness through with it.
Nutrition
Calories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 2.5gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 45mgPotassium: 700mgFiber: 2gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 350IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1.2mg
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Courgette, Apple and Lemon Juice
Courgette in a glass sounds like a punishment and it tastes nothing of the sort. What you get is a pale green, faintly sweet juice with a soft vegetable note sitting behind the apple, and the lemon is the thing that stops it tasting like a green smoothie that lost its way. Two medium courgettes and two Granny Smiths make two good glasses. I make it in late summer, when the courgettes in the fridge are multiplying faster than I can cook them, and a cold glass is a better use for a glut than another tray of roasted vegetables.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer a slow juicer gets more out of a courgette than a fast one
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or a fine sieve
- 1 Airtight glass bottles only if you are taking it with you, it is better fresh
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a cheaper slow juicer handles courgette and apple easily
- 1 Budget blender fine here, as long as you strain it well
Ingredients
- 2 medium courgettes about 400g, cut into batons
- 2 green apples Granny Smiths, cored but not peeled
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 100 ml cold water for the blender method only
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash the courgettes and top and tail them. Leave the skin on unless it is waxed, which is rare here but worth checking on imported ones. Cut them into batons that fit your feed chute.
- Quarter the apples and cut out the core and the seeds. Cut around the core rather than through it, and keep the peel on.
- Feed the courgette through the juicer first, then the apple. The apple goes last because it pushes the courgette pulp out of the machine and you get more juice for the same two courgettes.
- Squeeze the half lemon into the jug, stir it through, then pour into two glasses and drink it cold.
Blender method
- Top and tail the courgettes and cut them into chunks. Peel them if the skins are thick or waxy.
- Core the apples, cut them into chunks, and tip everything into the blender with the 100ml of cold water.
- Blend on high for about a minute, until there are no lumps of courgette left at the bottom of the jug.
- Pour it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve into a jug and squeeze gently. Do not press hard on the pulp, or you will pull bitterness through with it.
- Squeeze in the lemon, stir, and drink it cold. It will separate if it sits, so give it a stir before the second glass.
Notes
Courgettes carry a lot of water, so this one gives up its juice easily and you get more from two of them than you would expect. Feed the apple through after the courgette and it will push the last of the courgette pulp out of the machine, which is worth doing.
If a courgette tastes bitter when you cut a slice and chew it, throw it away and start again with a different one. Occasionally a courgette ends up with a high level of cucurbitacin, the compound that makes the bitter taste, and eating or drinking one like that can give you stomach cramps and sickness. It happens more with homegrown ones grown near ornamental gourds. It is rare, but bitterness is the warning sign and it is not worth pushing through.
Either way, drink it the day you make it. It is best within an hour of pressing, good for 24 hours in a sealed bottle in the fridge, and flat after that.
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 20mgPotassium: 730mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 500IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 0.9mg
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Radish, Carrot and Apple Juice
Radish is the one in the veg drawer that nobody thinks to juice, and it works better than you would expect. The pepper stays in the glass, but carrot gives it body and colour, apple softens it, and lemon keeps the finish clean. This is an everyday glass rather than a treat, and it takes about ten minutes to make two of them.
Equipment
- Nut milk bag
Ingredients
Vegetables and fruit
- 8 red radishes about 150g, tops and tails trimmed, quartered
- 3 medium carrots about 250g, scrubbed and topped, no need to peel
- 2 sweet apples about 300g, Gala or Braeburn, cored and cut into wedges
- 1/2 lemon peeled, or leave the peel on if your juicer handles it
Instructions
Juicer method
- Scrub the carrots rather than peeling them, then top and tail them. Cut everything down to a size that fits your feed chute before you start, because stopping halfway through to chop is what makes juicing feel like a chore.
- Juice the radishes first, one or two at a time. They are small and hard and they rattle around the drum if you tip the whole handful in at once. Push them through with a piece of carrot if they need help.
- Follow with the carrots. Carrot is the slowest thing in this recipe and it is what gives the glass its colour, so give it time and do not rush it through with the apples.
- Core the apples and juice them with the skin on, then finish with the peeled lemon. The lemon clears the last of the pulp out of the machine and keeps the flavour from tasting flat.
- Stir once, pour into two glasses and drink them within about fifteen minutes.
Blender method
- Chop everything smaller than you would for the juicer: radishes halved, carrots into coins, apples into chunks, lemon peeled and quartered.
- Blend with 150ml of cold water for 45 to 60 seconds on high. Carrot takes longer to break down than fruit does, so keep going until you cannot see any gritty pieces left.
- Tip it into a nut milk bag or a fine sieve over a jug and squeeze the pulp properly. Carrot pulp holds a surprising amount of juice, so squeeze it harder than you would for a fruit only blend.
- Serve over ice. It separates as it stands, so give it a stir before you drink it.
Notes
Radish is the one thing in the veg drawer that almost nobody thinks to juice, which is a shame, because it works. The peppery bite that makes radishes good in a salad survives the juicer, and it is worth knowing that before you taste it. Carrot and apple are what make it drinkable. Carrot brings body and colour, apple brings sweetness, and the lemon stops the whole thing tasting flat.
Radish sits in the same family as cabbage and broccoli, and like them it contains glucosinolates. Extracts have been studied for their effect on the liver, including a 2022 review of radish research in the journal Antioxidants, so the old reputation for a liver-supporting juice has something behind it. That work is mostly in animals and laboratory cells rather than people, so treat this as a good everyday drink, not a treatment for anything.
Carrot does most of the work on the nutrition side. One glass carries around 20,000 IU of vitamin A, nearly all of it as beta carotene, which is well over what most adults need in a day. That is also where the colour comes from, so a bright orange glass means the good stuff made it in.
Two things worth knowing. Radishes are goitrogens, which means large raw amounts can interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid, so if you take thyroid medication or have an underactive thyroid, keep this to a couple of glasses a week rather than a daily habit. And juicing leaves the fibre behind in the pulp, so this is a drink alongside your vegetables, not instead of them.
Nutrition
Calories: 148kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 2gFat: 0.7gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 117mgPotassium: 763mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 20880IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 0.8mg
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Coriander, Apple and Lime Juice
A green juice where the herb is the point rather than a handful of leaves thrown in at the end. Coriander is sharp and a bit grassy on its own, so the apple does the sweetening and the lime keeps it clean instead of flat. The ginger is there for warmth, not heat. It is quick to make, it costs very little because a bunch of coriander is pennies, and it tastes like a proper green juice rather than a punishment.
Equipment
- Nut milk bag
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch fresh coriander leaves and soft green stems, roughly 50 g
- 2 green apples Granny Smith, roughly 300 g, cored and cut to fit your juicer
- 1 lime unwaxed, peeled, as much of the white pith taken off as you can
- 2 cm fresh ginger peeled, roughly 10 g
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash the coriander properly and shake it dry. You want the leaves and the soft green stems, about 50 g, and the tough lower stalks can go in the bin.
- Quarter and core the two green apples. Leave the skin on, that is where a lot of the flavour and colour sits.
- Peel the lime and take off as much of the white pith as you can, because the pith is what makes a juice bitter. Peel the ginger too.
- Feed the coriander through the juicer first, then the ginger, then the apples, then the lime. Running the apples through behind the herbs helps carry the coriander oils out of the machine and into the glass.
- Stir it once and pour it into two glasses. It is at its best straight away. In a sealed bottle in the fridge it holds its flavour for about 24 hours, though it will separate and want another stir before you drink it.
Blender method
- Roughly chop the coriander, the cored apples and the peeled lime and put them in the blender with the ginger and 150 ml of cold water.
- Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until there are no chunks of apple left.
- Pour it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug, then squeeze the pulp hard to get all the liquid out. This is the step people skip and it is the difference between a juice and a green smoothie.
- Taste it before you pour. If your apples were sharp, add a touch more lime. If the coriander is very strong, a splash more water settles it.
- Serve straight away, over ice if you like it properly cold.
Notes
Coriander juice has been sold online for years as a heavy metal detox, mostly off the back of a small 2013 study that gave coriander alongside chlorella to a handful of people. That study does not show a glass of coriander juice pulls metals out of your body, and fact checkers who looked at the sharper version of the claim, that it clears metals from the brain, found it unproven. Drink this because it is a good green juice, not because it is a flush.
The other honest note is vitamin K. Coriander leaves are one of the richest everyday sources there is, and a glass of this carries a fair amount, so if you take warfarin or another blood thinner, keep your intake steady from day to day and mention the juice to your GP at your next review.
Nutrition
Calories: 100kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 1gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.05gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.05gSodium: 15mgPotassium: 345mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 1800IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 0.7mg
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Brussels Sprouts, Apple and Lemon Juice
Raw Brussels sprouts are a hard sell in a glass on their own, so this one leans on green apple and lemon to make it genuinely drinkable. The reason it is worth the bother is the glucosinolates: they only turn into sulforaphane while the myrosinase enzyme is still intact, which is exactly what boiling destroys and juicing keeps. Sharp, green and best drunk cold. Two glasses, and each one carries about 19 g of sugar, so treat it as a drink rather than a diet.
Equipment
- Juicer A masticating or cold press juicer copes with sprouts better than a centrifugal one and gets more liquid out of them.
- Budget cold press juicer The cheapest sensible way in if you are not sure you will stick at it.
- High-speed blender Use this route if you already own a blender and no juicer.
- Nut milk bag Only needed for the blender method, to strain the pulp out.
Ingredients
- 250 g Brussels sprouts about 12 to 14 sprouts, bases trimmed and any loose outer leaves pulled away
- 2 green apples crisp eating apples such as Granny Smith or Braeburn, cored but not peeled
- 1 lemon unwaxed, peeled and quartered
Instructions
Juicer method
- Trim the sprouts: cut away the hard bases, pull off any loose or bruised outer leaves, then cut each sprout in half. Give them a good wash in cold water.
- Quarter the apples and cut out the cores. There is no need to peel them. Peel the lemon, leaving as much of the white pith behind as you can, then cut it into quarters.
- Feed the sprouts through the juicer first, then the apple, then the lemon. Alternating the apple through with the sprouts helps push them through a centrifugal machine.
- Stir the juice, pour it into two glasses and drink it straight away. It will separate as it sits, so give it another stir before drinking.
Blender method
- Chop the sprouts and the apples and put them in a high speed blender with the peeled lemon and 200 ml of cold water.
- Blend on high for 60 seconds, until no lumps are left.
- Tip the lot into a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug, then squeeze or press it hard to get as much liquid out as you can. This is the slow part, but it is what makes it a juice rather than a smoothie.
- Serve over ice and drink it the same day.
Nutrition
Calories: 138kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 4gFat: 0.7gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 15mgPotassium: 660mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 1000IUVitamin C: 110mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 1.8mg
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Wheatgrass, Apple and Cucumber Juice
A proper green glass rather than a 30 ml wheatgrass shot. Two sweet apples and half a cucumber carry the grass so it tastes fresh and green instead of muddy, and the lemon keeps the finish clean.
Equipment
- Nut milk bag
Ingredients
For the juice
- 1 large handful of fresh wheatgrass about 30 g of blades
- 2 sweet apples about 300 g, cored and quartered
- 1/2 cucumber about 150 g
- 1/2 unwaxed lemon peeled
Instructions
Juicer method
- Rinse the wheatgrass and shake it dry, then cut the blades into short lengths of about 5 cm so they cannot wrap themselves around the auger.
- Core the apples and cut them into wedges that fit your feed chute, leaving the skins on. Top and tail the cucumber and cut it into batons, and peel the lemon half.
- Feed the grass through a little at a time, alternating it with the apple and cucumber. The wet fruit carries the dry grass through the machine. The lemon goes in last.
- Stir the juice and drink it straight away. It settles as it stands, so give it a stir before you pour.
Blender method
- Put the wheatgrass in a high-speed blender with 150 ml of cold water and blitz for 60 seconds. Grinding the grass on its own is what stops the drink turning stringy.
- Strain that green water through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve into a jug, squeezing the pulp hard to get everything out.
- Rinse the blender, then blitz the strained green water with the chopped apple, cucumber and peeled lemon for 30 seconds.
- Strain the lot through the nut milk bag again, pressing well, then chill and drink it within a day.
Notes
Wheatgrass is the young shoot of wheat, and it is the one ingredient here that a centrifugal juicer struggles with, because the blades are dry and stringy. A masticating juicer handles it well, and the blender method works in any kitchen. Whichever you use, alternate the grass with something wet. If you can, drink it within the hour: the colour dulls as the juice oxidises.
Nutrition
Calories: 105kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 6mgPotassium: 480mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 500IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 0.8mg
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Sea Buckthorn, Apple and Orange Juice
Sea buckthorn is the sourest berry in the hedgerow and one of the richest in vitamin C, around 400 mg per 100 g, which is roughly eight times what a sweet orange gives you for the same weight. Straight, it is far too sharp to drink on its own, so it gets cut with sweet apple and a fresh orange and lands as a bright, cloudy apricot-orange glass. The one thing worth knowing before you buy it is that almost all the research on sea buckthorn is on the oil pressed from the seeds, not on the juice, so drink it as a genuinely good winter glass rather than a supplement.
Equipment
- Nut milk bag
Ingredients
For the juice
- 150 g sea buckthorn berries fresh or frozen, picked off the twigs
- 2 sweet apples cored (about 300 g)
- 1 large orange peeled (about 180 g of flesh)
Instructions
Juicer method
- Pick the sea buckthorn berries off the twigs and give them a quick rinse. If you are using frozen berries, tip them in while they are still frozen, they travel through the machine cleanly and the apple keeps everything moving.
- Run the apples and the peeled orange through the juicer first, so the basket is already wet, then feed the sea buckthorn in small handfuls, alternating each one with a piece of apple. Sea buckthorn is a tiny seedy berry and it will clog a centrifugal juicer if you tip the whole lot in at once.
- Stir it, taste it, and add a little more apple if it is still too sharp for you. Sea buckthorn is genuinely sour and there is no getting round that.
- Pour into two glasses, or two bottles if you are taking it out, and drink it cold and fresh.
Blender method
- Blend the sea buckthorn with 150 ml of cold water for about 20 seconds, then strain it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve into a jug. This gets the juice off the small hard seeds, which are not worth blending.
- Blend the cored apples and the peeled orange, then strain that through the bag as well, pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon to get the last of it out.
- Stir the two juices together, pour into two glasses or bottles, and drink it cold.
Notes
Sea buckthorn juice is naturally thick and cloudy, closer to carrot juice than to apple juice. That is the berry rather than a mistake, so do not expect it to come out clear.
Be honest about the vitamin C. Sea buckthorn really is one of the richest sources there is, around 400 mg per 100 g of berries (Gutzeit et al., 2008, Journal of Food Science), but regular vitamin C does not stop healthy adults catching colds (Hemila and Chalker, Cochrane, 2013). It may shorten one slightly, so treat this as a good habit rather than a shield.
Most of the research on sea buckthorn is on the oil pressed from the seeds and the soft pulp, not on the juice. The oil is unusual because it is rich in omega-7 palmitoleic acid, and the human trials that get quoted are for the oil as a supplement or a skin cream, looking at skin hydration rather than anything a glass of juice does. A strained glass carries only a small amount of that fat, so do not buy the berries expecting the oil's results.
Fresh sea buckthorn is hard to find in a supermarket. Frozen is the easy answer, sold in Polish and Eastern European shops as rokitnik and online, and it works just as well. If you pick your own, the berries ripen from late September into November and the bushes are thorny, so take gloves.
There is about 25 g of fruit sugar in a glass and straining leaves most of the fibre in the bag, so it is a proper drink rather than a low calorie one. If you take a blood thinner such as warfarin, ask your pharmacist before making it a daily habit, the same as you would with any new herbal drink.
Nutrition
Calories: 180kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 460mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 1500IUVitamin C: 300mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 0.5mg
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Artichoke, Apple and Cucumber Juice
Artichokes are the one thing in the veg aisle I buy mostly because I like looking at them, and this is the simplest way I have found to actually drink one. The hearts press into a mild green juice with a faint bitter edge, the apple and cucumber soften it out, and the lemon keeps it from browning in the glass. It is a small glass to have before dinner rather than a pint with lunch, and the bitterness is the reason it is worth making at all.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer apple and cucumber first so the basket is wet
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag or a fine sieve
- 1 Airtight glass bottles for the rest of the day
Ingredients
You'll need
- 2 globe artichokes about 700 g in total, before trimming, down to the hearts and stems
- 2 sweet apples about 300 g, cored, green or red
- 1/2 cucumber about 150 g
- 1/2 unwaxed lemon peeled
Instructions
Juicer method
- Trim the artichokes down to the hearts. Pull off every outer leaf, slice the top third off, cut the stem back to about 2 cm, then halve each artichoke lengthways and scoop the fuzzy choke out of the middle with a teaspoon. What you want left is the pale heart and the trimmed stem, and nothing else.
- Quarter the apples and cut out the cores, cut the cucumber into chunks that fit your feed chute, and peel the half lemon.
- Juice the apples and the cucumber first so the basket is already wet, then feed the artichoke hearts through slowly, a piece at a time, and finish with the lemon.
- Stir it, then pour it straight into a glass or a bottle you can seal. Add the lemon straight away and drink it the same day, because artichoke juice browns quickly once it meets the air.
Blender method
- Trim the artichokes down to the hearts as above, then cut the hearts into small pieces, no bigger than a thumbnail, because they are firm and a blender will just spin around a big chunk.
- Core and roughly chop the apples, chunk the cucumber and peel the lemon, then put everything into the blender with 150 ml of cold water.
- Blend on high for 60 seconds until there are no lumps left, then pour through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug and press the pulp hard with the back of a spoon.
- Serve straight away, or bottle it and keep it in the fridge for the rest of the day. It does separate as it sits, so give the bottle a shake.
Notes
Artichoke juice is closer to an aperitif than a drink. It is bitter in the same family of tastes as radicchio and chicory, and that bitterness is what the old southern European habit of eating a small artichoke or a bitter leaf before a rich meal was built on. If you have ever eaten an artichoke and found the next mouthful of water tasted oddly sweet, that was not your imagination: the chlorogenic acid salts and cynarin in the vegetable temporarily shut down the sweet receptors on your tongue, so everything tastes sweeter for a minute afterwards. It was written up in Science as long ago as 1972 (Bartoshuk and colleagues), and it is a good argument for not adding anything sweet to a glass like this.
Two practical things. Artichoke juice browns quickly once the tissue is cut and exposed to air, so add the lemon straight away and drink it the same day. And hearts give a modest amount of juice, so expect a small glass rather than a full pint. The apple and cucumber are there for volume and for taste as much as anything.
One real caution: artichoke is a choleretic, which means it encourages bile flow, so if you have gallstones, a blocked bile duct, or you have ever been told to be careful about bile, skip this one and ask your GP or pharmacist first. Artichokes are also famously windy for some people, and they are not a low FODMAP food. There is some vitamin K in the glass from the cucumber and the artichoke, so if you take warfarin or another blood thinner, keep your intake steady from week to week and mention it at your next anticoagulant check.
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 74mgPotassium: 520mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 160IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1.4mg
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Meyer Lemon, Apple and Cucumber Juice
A short-season citrus juice that actually works as a drink. Meyer lemons are sweeter and much less sharp than true lemons, so two of them carry a whole jug without any sugar, and cucumber keeps it light. About 92 calories and 14 g of sugar a glass, which is roughly half a straight apple juice.
Equipment
- 1 Juicer a masticating juicer handles whole citrus halves best
- 1 Budget cold press juicer the cheaper alternative, just feed the lemon halves slowly
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Budget blender works fine, blend a little longer
- 1 Nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve essential for the blender method
- 1 Airtight glass bottles for keeping it overnight
Ingredients
For the juice
- 2 Meyer lemons about 150 g, halved, peel left on
- 1 crisp green apple about 150 g, quartered
- 2 cucumbers about 600 g, roughly chopped
Instructions
Juicer method
- Wash everything. Halve the Meyer lemons and trim any hard stalk end, but leave the peel on. The peel is thin, the pith is minimal and the oil in it is where the floral scent sits.
- Quarter the apple and cut the cucumbers into lengths that fit your feed chute.
- Juice the cucumber first, then the apple, then the lemons last. The cucumber wets the basket so the lemon does not clog a dry mesh, and finishing on the lemon keeps the sharpness bright instead of letting it dull against the pulp.
- Stir once and taste. If it needs more edge, squeeze in a little extra lemon. Serve straight away over ice, or bottle it and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Blender method
- Peel the lemons for this method and pull out the pips. Chop the apple and cucumber into rough chunks.
- Blend everything with 100 ml of cold water for 30 to 40 seconds, until there are no solid pieces left.
- Strain through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve, pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon. Do not skip this step. Blended citrus pith and cucumber skin make the drink bitter and cloudy.
- Taste, add a squeeze of the peeled lemon if it wants it, and drink chilled.
Notes
Meyer lemons are in the shops from about November to February in the UK, so this is a winter drink. They look like small orange-yellow lemons rather than bright yellow ones, and that is correct, they are a citron and mandarin cross rather than a true lemon. If you only have ordinary lemons, use two and peel them, then taste as you go because the juice is far more acidic. A true lemon's peel juiced whole turns the glass soapy.
Nutrition
Calories: 92kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 2gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 7mgPotassium: 558mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 350IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg
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Perfect afternoon pick-me-up.
The grapes make this one nice and mellow.
Classic ABC, never gets old.