Warming Beetroot Carrot and Ginger Juice
It’s getting really chilly here down in the depths of the Southern Hemisphere, so this week on the blog I’ve decided to share a fresh vegetable juice recipe. This warming carrot, ginger and beetroot juice is just what you need to stay on-top of your health and to limit any nasty colds and flu’s.
As the colder months approach, I tend to crave more warming, dense, comfort foods. Through winter, a great way to remain healthy (as well as staying balanced and happy) is to load up on freshly juiced vegetables and fruits.
Now I will be honest, my current juicer is a bit of a pain to clean and although I researched such great reviews on it, I find a lot of pulp still makes it’s way into the juice and that just irritates me. Needless to say it hasn’t been used as much as I’d like it to have been.
Regardless of that, these cooler months entice me to juice more, and so, I shouldn’t complain, but instead be grateful that I even have a juicer. I digress.
Earthy, ruby and vibrant beetroot. One of my favorite vegetables, and whenever I think of beetroot I instantly think of this gorgeous print from Sarah over at My New Roots. Isn’t it magnificent? She is such a talented lady and such a great inspiration to me and so many others.
Beetroot is quite a fascinating vegetable and has remarkable health benefits.
Benefits of Beetroot
Beetroots contain a large amount of inorganic nitrates. When consumed, the body transforms these nitrates into nitrites, and then into nitric oxide. This nitric oxide has two major effects on an athlete:
- it causes blood vessels to dilate so that you can provide more blood to them, allowing more oxygen flow
- enables mitochondria to work more efficiently, so they are able to create the same energy while consuming less oxygen
Studies have shown that 500ml of beet juice each day may lead to a 15% increase in the time taken to reach exhaustion. There are also some great raw beet powders, which you can add to smoothies, as an alternative to beetroot juice.
Beetroot also has similar chemical properties to that of chlorine, meaning that it helps to clean and purify the blood. Funny how it’s crimson tone has such significance to it’s blood cleaning abilities.
So as you can see the humble ruby beetroot is so beneficial and has so many benefits in the human body. This juice is fiery, earthy and full of goodness! Whether you choose to have it in shots, or a glass full, there’s no doubt it will do amazing things for your body. If you can keep juicing a regular habit, all the better. You’ll begin to notice huge changes in your energy levels, your sleeping and most significantly in your skin.
If you’re new to juicing, I’d suggest using one beetroot to start with, as well as less ginger and even possibly lemon, to build up your palate to be able to tolerate the bold earthy flavors. More carrots will yield a sweeter juice, which may be more palatable for beginners, but just see how you go. You can test out your juice as you’re making it, and find a quantity of each ingredient that suits you best.
For me I prefer that instant kick of bold flavor and earthiness from the beetroot, finished off with the sour tang of the lemon and fierce warming tones from the ginger. I have built up my palate to tolerate the bold flavors well, so do create your juice to entice your palate. Play around and most importantly have fun.
A bold, fiery earthy juice that is sure to deliver a huge amount of goodness to your cells. Warming, energizing and revitalizing, this juice is full of great nutrition and cleansing properties.
- 5-7 Medium Carrots - scrubbed clean, rinsed and ends chopped off
- 2 Medium Beetroots - scrubbed clean, rinsed and ends chopped off
- 1 TBS Fresh Ginger - scrubbed clean, rinsed and ends chopped off
- 2-3 Medium Lemons - scrubbed clean, rinsed and ends chopped off
- 500 ml Filtered Water
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Scrub, clean and rinse all the vegetables.
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Chop off the ends of the carrots, ginger, lemons and beetroot
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I choose to peel my lemons as the pith can make the juice quite bitter, however I do leave a bit of the white part of the lemon on as this has loads of great nutritional benefits
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Juice all ingredients through your juicer. I use an Optimum 500 Cold Press Juicer (which I have mixed reviews on)
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Once all vegetables are juiced, add the water to dilute and mix well
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Pour into glass bottles, filled all the way to the top to limit any oxidation.
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Best served chilled - in a wine glass of course!
Use Organic wherever possible
Hope you love this juice recipe, and let me know if you have a favorite homemade juice you like to make. What flavors do you enjoy?