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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