Feeling Fine

1 Fennel bulb
1 Red Pepper
4 Medium carrots
2 Apples

Fennel is a vegetable that has two distinct areas that can be juiced. For this recipe we are using the bulb section at the base of the plant although if you wish you juice the 'branching' section that is more often associated with garnishing food.

The fennel juice in this recipe gives a unique and distinct natural aniseed / licorice flavour to the drink that is slightly sweet. This makes fennel a great choice for adding a bit of variation into the flavours of your normal 'staple' juices.

The juice from the bell pepper, carrots and apple contain an abundance of vitamins (particularly A and C), enzymes and natural sugars. Fennel juice helps to detoxify the liver and is a diuretic and is also sometimes used to relieve trapped wind and aid digestion. When combined with the nutritional properties contained in the other juices in this juicing recipe we have a robust, all round detoxing, immune boosting, energy giving drink.

Wash and scrub the fennel bulb and cut off and discard the root end (as you would with an onion). Cut the bulb into quarters. Prepare the other ingredients - remove the core and seeds from the pepper, peel or wash and scrub the carrots. Wash and scrub the apples.

Scrubbing the ingredients can remove more pesticides / herbicides that may be present on the surface of the produce. Of course if you are using organic produce or have grown your own you need not worry about this.

Feed all ingredients through the juicer and pour into chilled glasses. Drink immediately.

Serving: 1 Medium glass

1 medium Beetroot
1 handful Basil leaves
2 Pears
1 Lime
1/2 a red Bell pepper

This is a great vitality juice. Top and tail the beetroot and then scrub the beetroot if organic / home grown, otherwise peel the beetroot and cut into pieces small enough to fit in your juicer. Wash the pears, peel the lime and wash and deseed the pepper.

Fold the Basil leaves up tightly and feed them into the juicer between pieces of Beetroot. Juice all the other ingredients, stir and drink immediately.

What a taste this juicer recipe has! Beetroot juice is very rich and this recipe addresses that fact with the Lime juice which helps to cut through the richness. The Basil complements the Beetroot very well.

Beetroot is an excellent source of iron and also contains the caretonoid Betaine. Betaine has numerous benefits including antioxidant properties and helps with red blood cell production and lymph activity. Red Peppers also contain an abundance of anti-oxidants so this juicer recipe has cancer preventative properties.

Pear are a good source of soluble fibre and will help 'sweep out' the intestines.

Lymphatic Lift

Serving: About 6 ounces

1/2 Medium fresh beetroot
1 apple
1 pear
2 small carrots
2 sticks celery

This juicer recipe was contributed by Penny - a Happy Juicer reader who has used this recipe to successfully treat her Lymphoedema. Lymph is a clear fluid found in the tissues that normally flows back into the blood circulation system through the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes help to filter and remove waste matter and bacteria from our tissues and so contribute to the successful functioning of the immune system.

Lympoedema is a condition caused by the damage or incorrect functioning of the vessels in the lymphatic system and results in blockages and fluid build up in the affected tissues. This can result in swelling of the affected tissues (oedema means swelling).

Penny could not walk due to one of her feet being distorted by the amount of fluid build up in her foot and leg. Since researching the nutritional properties of fruits and vegetables and juicing, and then devising this juice recipe that she drinks every day Penny is now able to wear shoes and walk again. Many thanks to Penny for sharing her recipe with us.

Penny stresses the importance of using raw fresh beetroot as the pickled or cooked forms does not have the same healing affect.

Bilt for Taste

Serving: Serves 2 large glasses

2 Grapefruits
1 Pineapple
2 small apples

This juicer recipe mimics a famous soft drink with a completely tropical taste (but leaves out the vast amount of added sugar and additives). Pineapple and grapefruit really do make a most excellent combination that gets both your sweet and sour taste buds working overtime. This juice is ideal if you think your system will need a vitamin C boost as both Pineapple and Grapefruit are great sources of this antioxidant that is so effective at strengthening your immune system.

Look for heavy pineapples as this indicates a high water (and therefore juice) content. The pineapple should yield slightly when squeezed. To prepare the pineapple firstly remove the top and base of the pineapple, this will give you a study flat base to sit the pineapple on your chopping board so that you can then remove the pineapple skin by slicing down the side of the pineapple. The more slices you make when removing the skin should mean the less you pineapple flesh you waste as you will cut off less 'corners'.

Peel the grapefruits (leaving some of the pith on as this contains bioflavonoid that help your body to absorb the vitamin C. Cut the pineapple, grapefruit and apple into pieces that will fit comfortably down your juicers feeding chute.

Serve with ice.

Land of Green Ginger

Serving: About a pint

1 cucumber
2 Sticks of Celery
1 small to medium clove of Garlic
1 inch section of Root Ginger

This juicer recipe is one of the simplest and quickest to make. Simply wash the cucumber and celery and cut the cucumber into pieces that will fit into your juicers feeding chamber. Peel the Garlic and Remove the skin from the root ginger. Feed the Ginger and garlic through the juicer in between pieces of celery. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, strengthens the immune system and can be used to help reduce blood pressure. Cucumber is known to be good for the skin, hair and nails. Celery also contains high levels of potassium which contributes to healthy skin. The high water content of this juice driink also makes it a great way to hydrate your body and keep your skin healthy.

Brazilian Shores

Serving: 3 medium glasses

1 pineapple
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 thumb sized piece of root ginger
1/2 pint filtered / distilled water (or 2 apples)

The inspiration for this juice recipe came from a Brazilian restaurant and it sure hits the spot and allows for a little experimentation on your part. Remove the pineapple skin (if organic you can leave a little on). Peel the ginger and then juice it along with most of the pineapple and the lemon. Mix in the honey, do not use set honey, as it will not mix into the drink properly. If you have a blender you can blend the remainder of the pineapple and mix it in with the juice, otherwise just juice the rest of the pineapple. Add the chilled water and mix to form a delicious long drink. If you want to increase the nutrient count you can juice two good-sized apples instead of adding the water although this slightly dilutes the Latin flavours.

Don’t be scared to experiment with different proportions of blended and juiced pineapple.

Pump it Up

Serving: Makes 2 medium glasses.

24 oz Pumpkin (deseeded and skinned)
3 Oranges
1 inch Root Ginger

Pumpkin's aren't just for Halloween and pumpkin pie! There is a wealth of health benefits that we can acquire from a pumpkin which we should seek to utilize whilst the vegetable is in season. Using seasonal fruit and vegetables in our juice recipes can help us obtain a more widespread balance of nutrients. Pumpkin contains vitamins A and C which help to boost the immune system.

Some people liken pumpkin juice to a 'watered down' carrot juice. It is slightly thinner and also more delicate in flavour than carrot juice. For this reason we have used the pumpkin as a base in this recipe and then given the taste a lift and slight kick with the addition of orange and ginger.

Remove sections of pumpkin and scrape off any seeds. Pumpkin seeds are a well known health food. Remove the pumpkins skin and then feed your pumpkin flesh through the juicer. Remove the orange skins and peel the ginger skin off. Juice the ginger followed by the oranges.

The Green Goblin

Serving: 1 green cocktail

1 shot wheatgrass
2 sticks celery
Handful of parsley

This wheatgrass recipe is a quick and easy way to get a whole lot of goodness into your system. Because home grown wheatgrass juice may have a very sweet taste some people can find it a bit sickly. This recipe addresses the intense sweetness by using celery which has enough sodium in to give a more savoury feel. The parsely also helps blend the taste into something that is a lot less 'wheatgrass' dominated. The benefits of wheatgrass are many as it contains all the vitamins except vitamin D, enzymes, minerals, protein and high levels of Chlorophyll which is anti-bacterial and helps to build the blood as it is very similar in structure to Haemoglobin, the molecule that helps the blood to carry oxygen.

Drink immediately after juicing on an empty stomach.

Peter Piper's Pepper Punch

Serving: 2 medium glasses

2 Yellow peppers
3 Oranges
2 Apples
2 Pears
1/2 Grapefruit

This juice recipe is great for boosting your immune system as it contains high levels of vitamin C. Bell Peppers are great sources of vitamin C and red and yellow peppers contain twice as much vitamin C as green peppers.

Some can find the flavour of green peppers a little bitter for their tastes when used in juicer recipes, the yellow peppers in this recipe are sweeter and melt into the other fruit flavours to give a subtle but definite taste.

Thoroughly wash and deseed the peppers and peel the oranges and grapefruit. Leave the pith on the citrus fruit as it contains Bioflavinoids which help the body absorb the vitamin C.

For Your Information:

Wheatgrass Health Benefits

Okay, so we have heard how of the extremely high nutrient content of wheatgrass but how does this benefit our health?

The high chlorophyll content of wheatgrass juice causes increased Haemoglobin production in the body which increases the oxygen carrying capabilities of the blood. The increased capability of the blood to carry oxygen has a number of health benefits including purification of the blood, improving blood sugar disorders, helping combat toxins such as carbon monoxide and other traffic pollutants, cigarette smoke and heavy metals that can get into the blood.

The brain and other tissues function best when they are in a highly oxygenated environment.

Wheatgrass juice’s high vitamin content is of benefit to some skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and also helps give healthy looking hair. Wheatgrass is also said to benefit dandruff problems.

Many people cite wheatgrass juice as having cancer preventing properties due to it’s carcinogen and toxin neutralising abilities.

Other wheatgrass health benefits include:

• Improved digestion
• Reducing blood pressure
• Improved ability of the body to heal wounds
• Chlorophyll found in wheatgrass can prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
• Helping prevent tooth decay
• Has anti-ageing abilities and can keep the hair from greying.

Happy Juicer