Fact: Eating your daily recommended fruits and veggies doesn’t get any easier once you’re an adult. But before you start trying to stomach three salads a day, there’s a quicker way to get all that good-for-you produce: juicing. According to the Mayo Clinic, juicing can potentially reduce your cancer risk, boost your immune system, cleanse your body of toxins and even help you lose weight. Read on for tips from Dr. Felicia Stoler, a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist, on making better, healthier juice at home, plus 15 healthy juice recipes. Our faves include simple green juice, vitamin boost detox juice and carrot pineapple orange juice, but the produce section is your oyster.
15 Healthy Juice Recipes, Plus a Nutritionist’s Tips for Making It at Home
Sip, sip, hooray
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Published Nov 30, 2023
Meet the Expert
Dr. Felicia Stoler, DCN, is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist and healthy living consultant. In addition to running her own practice, she authored the book Living Skinny in Fat Genes: The Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Feel Great and is the former host of TLC's Honey We're Killing The Kids!.
4 Tips for Making Healthy Juice at Home
- Use in-season produce. You can make juice out of just about any fruit or veggie. So, your home juicing menu should lean heavily on what’s fresh, what you’re trying to use before it goes bad (we see you, wilted spinach buried in the crisper drawer) and what you like.
- Juice the rainbow. Whatever you use, it’s important to juice a range of vibrant produce whenever possible. “The more colorful the fruits and veggies, the more phytonutrients end up in the juice,” says Stoler.
- Use the peels and seeds whenever possible. Juice provides vitamins and minerals no matter what, but blitzing the skins and seeds too ensures a fiber boost, meaning the juice will help you feel fuller.
- Consider eating your produce in addition to drinking it. Homemade juice is easy to prepare (with the right equipment) and nutritious, but Stoler reminds us that juice is mostly just straight carbohydrates, plus some amino acids if it contains veggies. While there’s nothing wrong with a glass of carbs, it’s better to chew your produce than to drink it to ensure that you’re getting all the fiber it contains. “It takes longer to eat and digest [whole food] than drinking pure liquid that will leave the stomach rapidly and enter the blood stream quicker,” explains Stoler. “Think about a cup of apple juice, which has about 100 calories. One medium apple has almost the same calories, but it takes significantly longer to eat, and you’ll feel fuller after.” Nevertheless, juice is OK every so often, especially if you have trouble working fresh produce into your diet.
12 Healthy Juice Recipes to Get You Started
1. Carrot, Pineapple and Ginger Juice
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegan, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: carrots, pineapple, ginger
Pineapple offers sweet-and-tangy tropical flavor to fiber- and vitamin A-rich carrots and spicy ginger. You can totally add the carrot greens to the blender. Just note that it'll change the color of the sipper.
2. Celery Juice
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegan, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: organic celery
Chalk the celery juice trend up to the veggie’s gut-healing powers. It’s also said to reduce inflammation and keep you hydrated. Ideally, you should drink it fresh first thing in the morning and wait 20 minutes before consuming anything else.
3. Lemon-Ginger Turmeric Wellness Shots
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: gluten free, vegan, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: orange, lemon, turmeric, ginger
Speaking of trendy, tiny bottles of this magical elixir can be found at tons of supermarkets and cafés nowadays. But it turns out these turmeric-spiked immunity boosters are a breeze (and much cheaper) to prepare at home.
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: Mediterranean diet-friendly, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: kale, apple, celery, cucumber
A large Granny Smith apple beautifully curbs the bitterness of fresh greens and herbs. Add a light drizzle of honey if you need to, and if it's still not sweet enough, you can opt for other kinds of apples (or even add a banana).
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: watermelon, lime
Don’t sweat getting a fancy juicer for this one: Watermelon is soft enough that you can juice it in your blender instead. (It also makes a great base for a margarita…just sayin’.)
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: carrot, orange, apple, kale, spinach
You’d be shocked how many greens are in a glass of this sipper. Fresh citrus and a tart-sweet apple makes it more palatable. Make sure to peel the lemon, though, to ensure it blends smoothly with the other ingredients.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Main Ingredients: kiwi
Agua fresca calls for cutting fresh juice with cold water to make it milder in flavor, supremely refreshing and easy to drink. Add a drizzle of agave if you must, but we’re betting it’ll taste great without it.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
- Main Ingredients: carrot, orange, lemon, nectarine
Like brunch for your immune system. This mix of root veggies, citrus and stone fruit will become a mainstay at your breakfast table in no time. The mint is optional but we love the freshness it adds to every sip.
9. Immune-Boosting Kickstart Juice
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients
- Main Ingredients: tomato juice, spinach, parsley
Like Bloody Marys? Then this is the healthy juice recipe for you. Think fresh tomato juice meets spinach, herbs and lots of supercharged spices. Add hot sauce to really make it taste like the beloved brunch sipper.
10. Apple Carrot Beet Ginger Juice
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients
- Main Ingredients: beet, apple, ginger, carrots
Bring on the vitamins, folate and polyphenols. Add a splash of unfiltered apple juice if you’d like it a bit sweeter. And while using a juicer is totally fine, you can actually use a regular blender for this one instead.
11. Carrot Pineapple Orange Juice
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients
- Main Ingredients: carrot, pineapple, orange
Psst: This three-ingredient juice would be twice as nutritious if you added a handful of greens to it, like kale or spinach. Sip it out of a glass filled with crushed ice (and adorned with a mini umbrella) if you want it to feel extra tropical.
12. Sparkling Pomegranate Juice
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients
- Main Ingredients: pomegranate, lemon, seltzer
If you’re looking to ease back on your soda consumption, try spiking plain soda water with mouth-puckering pomegranate juice. If you can't find any, substitute dark cherry, tart cherry, concord grape, cranberry or any other pure juice that doesn't contain added sugar.
13. 3-Ingredient Lemon Ginger Water
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients
- Main Ingredients: lemon, ginger
This nourishing drink, which reportedly offers digestive benefits, can be consumed in the morning or at night. If you're looking to heat things up, add cayenne or black pepper. (It turns out that black pepper actually increases the bioavailability of the turmeric.)
14. Pink Drink
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
- Main Ingredients: tea, orange juice, coconut milk
It's not exactly juice, but it is just like the beloved Starbucks drink—only without all the added sugar. Like a few others on this list, this bev doesn't require a juicer and also boasts some caffeine, making it an ideal way to start the day.
15. Jamu (Indonesian Turmeric Ginger Drink)
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, gluten free, vegan (optional), <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
- Main Ingredients: turmeric, ginger, lemon
This Indonesian specialty can be sipped cold or hot like a cup of tea. It can be made in a blender or in a juicer, and you can swap the honey for maple syrup to keep it vegan, if you'd prefer.
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