Juice without a juicer with this simple method that uses your household blender to turn your fruits and veggies into fresh “squeezed” juice. No fancy juicer? No problem!
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Why Juice?
What’s the difference between drinking fresh fruit/vegetable juice and making a smoothie? Juicing extracts the nutrient-rich juices from your fruits and veggies. Smoothies consist of pureed fruits (and sometimes veggies). Meaning the main difference is that in a smoothie, you retain the natural fiber in the fruit/vegetable pulp.
Juices are less filling than a smoothie, but provide more concentrated nutrients and benefits, since you are eliminating all of the fruit/vegetable mass and just consuming its rich nutrient juice.
Both are great options, and it truly depends on your preference. Smoothies can be a quick way to get your fruits and veggies and add other nutrients like a protein powder, super greens powder, or nut butters for natural protein and fats.
Disclaimer: Edible Ink does not endorse any kind of “juice diet” or “juice cleanse”. Juicing should be a part of a balanced diet, an addition to your lifestyle, not a meal replacement. Always consult a nutritionist or your doctor before doing any kind of “cleanse” or “diet”.
How to Juice without a Juicer - Blender Method
This method of juicing requires a few kitchen gadgets you probably already have in your kitchen:
- Standard blender, NutriBullet or similar blending vessel
- Fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) of choice
- Square of cheesecloth
- Nice glass bowl
- Handy funnel
- A jar or container in which to store your juice.
The process is simple. Add your washed and coarsely chopped fruits/veggies to your blender. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to help everything blend smoothly. Once blended, strain out the pulp using a cheesecloth over a glass bowl. Squeeze out all the excess juice from the cheesecloth, then use the funnel to safely transfer your fresh juice to your desired storage container. Mason jars work great for this!
To enjoy your fresh juice all week, make a large batch on the weekend. Store in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week.
Zero Waste Juicing
The process of juicing is aimed to extract the juice from your fruits or vegetables, leaving a lot of pulp (mass) behind. In order to make your juicing zero waste, save the pulp and reuse it!
To store your fruit/vegetable pulp, grab a reusable ice tray. Pack the pulp into the ice cube wells and freeze. Once frozen, add to a storage container of your choosing and keep in the freezer until ready to use. This ensures that the pulp is in small individual sizes, instead of one block of frozen pulp.
When you’re ready to make a soup or some vegetable stock, pop in a few of your vegetable pulp cubes. Or, for your next smoothie, add a few cubes of fruit pulp. No waste!
Juice without a Juicer - Recipes to Get Started
Unsure of what fruits and veggies to juice? Try these tips to get started:
- Stick with the flavors you like - Hate spinach in a salad? Chances are you won’t enjoy it juiced either. Pick the fruits and veggies you already like to get started. From there you can refine and experiment!
- Avoid soft produce - Peaches and plums can be great in juice — bananas though? Not so much. Avoid anything that’s too soft, including avocados. They’re best eaten or enjoyed in a smoothie. Juiced, they will gum up your juicer, or in this case, your strainer!
- The harder the produce, the less juice you’ll get - Carrots, celery and ginger all yield less juice per capita than pineapple and oranges.
- Sometimes, less is more - When it comes to mixing flavors, sometimes less is best. My favorite juices I’ve made were the simplest. It can be tempting to overdo it and juice ALL of the things, but remember — all it takes is a few flavors to combine into something delicious
Searching for more? Here’s a few recipes to get you started juicing.
How to Store Your Fresh Juice
Juice is best consumed right after making. This preserves the most nutrients. Though, if you’re like me, you don’t have the time (or desire) to juice every single day. I always encourage making things in big batches and juice is no different! If you can’t consume all your juice within 72 hours, freeze it to enjoy another day!
Learn more about nutrient loss and preventing bacteria in your juice here.
I enjoy reusing jars, but was always hesitant about freezing liquids in them. According to this helpful blog, I learned the trick is letting the liquid freeze in the jar with the lid off. Once its frozen, seal and leave in freezer until you are ready to enjoy!
Equipment
- Standard blender, NutriBullet or similar blending vessel
- Glass jar
Ingredients
- Fruits or veggies of your choosing
- Water to blend
Instructions
- Select your fruits and/or veggies. Wash and dry them. Cut out the core/seeds any parts you do not want in your juice. Then dice. For harder vegetables such as beets, you’ll want to help your blender out by cutting them smaller. Fruits tend to blend easier, and may not need to be cut as much as vegetables.If you'd like to create a juice blend, for example, orange carrot, you can add them to the blender at the same time.
- Add a splash of water. Depending on the tenacity of your blender, it may be able to handle the fruits or vegetables without any additional liquid. For example, a Ninja blender may be able to handle this.Having a Nutri Bullet, I know that I do have to add water or it won’t blend. A few tablespoons should work just fine.
- Blend until smooth.
- Place the cheesecloth over the glass bowl. This will serve to catch any pulp or mass in your juice. I recommend cutting the cheesecloth with overhang on the bowl, so it is easier to pick up and ring out. Carefully pour the entire contents of the blender through the cheesecloth.
- Gently lift the cheesecloth from the bowl by bringing all the sides together to form a seal. Squeeze the pulp in the cheesecloth to remove any remaining juice. Your bowl should now be full of delicious fresh juice!
Notes
ENJOY!
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