Spiked action hero raw juices make a come back.

Juicing and smoothie making is nothing new, it has been around a long long time. My mum used to juice raw fruit and vegetables back in the day and has been my inspiration to keep juicing ever since. I have some upcoming ideas for turning healthy ‘sm-uices’ into fun cocktails given the silly season here. Win win. I'm dreaming of a vanilla vodka spiked coconut milk 'egg nog' of sorts. Yum.

My husband bought me a juicer for Christmas a few years ago ( excellent gift by the way! ) and it’s certainly paid for itself a thousand times over. I’ve used it almost everyday since, especially all through my pregnancies or whenever we need a real health boost. But more recently it’s become a daily habit again and an excellent trick to get a variety of vitamins and minerals into our toddler. Result! Charlie loves helping and asks for a"smuice" all the time now. Be warned though, mummy’s little helper has been known to fling his arms in excitement sending green smuice all over me and kitchen. Ahh the joys.

Granted juicers are bloody annoying to clean, I’m yet to meet a pure juicer that isn’t, but the benefits certainly out weigh this annoyance. And now I’m using my blender at the same time, blending the juice with other vitamin rich fruit and vegetables together with ice, coconut water or other super food powders and spices that add flavour, texture and an extra fibre boost. Bullet type blenders are also awesome but I love having the option to juice or blend or both!

The remaining pulp from a juicer is also usable. It still contains loads of nutrients and can be used in various ways. I have a few quick tips. It doesn’t have to go into the rubbish!
Add to your next soup recipe and blend again
Add to a good veggie hamburger mix
Add to a muffin mix
Freeze it if you can’t make your mind up
Add to your compost

Here you can find my current 3 "smuices" on rotation this month, Green Meanie, Mega Vitamin Boost or Immunity Builder  ( also known by my Charlie as "Green Hulk Smuice, Superman Smuice and Ginger Ninja Smuice" ) I’ll make one of these everyday for my family. No matter how healthy they are though, I’m not a fan of the juices that are you have to hold your nose to drink. My versions are more on the sweeter side but if you prefer yours more savory then you could reduce the amount of apples ( just remember apples are very good detoxing agents ). These are jam packed with vitamins and minerals and organic where possible. I like to spike my smuice with super food powders as I like to add extra nutrients, especially given our soils are so depleted these days.