When it is warm and I cannot face much food, this is the juice I make. Watermelon and cucumber are both mostly water, so you get a big cold glass of something clean that goes down without any effort at all. One lime is enough to keep it from tasting flat.
Why these ingredients work
Watermelon is about 92 per cent water and carries potassium, the mineral you lose when you sweat. Cucumber adds more water along with a little vitamin K, and it softens the sweetness of the melon. Lime brings vitamin C and the sharpness that makes the whole glass taste fresher than the sum of its parts. Worth saying plainly: no juice detoxes you. Your liver and kidneys do that job. What this glass does is hydrate you and put back some of the fluid and potassium you lose on a hot day, for under 100 calories.
FAQ
Can I make it without a juicer?
Yes. Blend the watermelon, cucumber and lime with 100ml of cold water, then strain it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve. The blender version comes out a little thicker than the juiced one, which plenty of people prefer.
Do I need to peel the cucumber?
Not usually. The skin holds a small amount of vitamin K and most of the fibre, and it blends down fine. Peel it if the skin is thick or waxed, or if you find cucumber skin bitter, which some people do.
How long does it keep?
Drink it the same day for the best of it. In an airtight bottle in the fridge it holds for 24 hours, though it separates and the flavour dulls as it sits, so give it a shake before you pour.
More detox recipes: see the full Detox collection.
Watermelon Cucumber Juice
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.