Juicing has been a foundational part of our life for many years. Our decision to start juicing came after a sequence of events that led us down a path of introspecting into our health and the modern food system. In short, it all started with one simple question and the search for the answer to that question. During that search, one answer led to another question and so on and so forth. Before we knew it, we were embarking on a personal health revolution and juicing was one of the most pivotal changes that we made to our life. Carrot-orange juice is one of the original juices that we drank when we first started juicing and it remains a favorite of ours to this day.
WHY WE JUICE
Juicing has become quite trendy, with juice bars opening up all over the world in recent years. But for us, juicing is not a trend, it is a key part of our health care and how we nourish our bodies. The inspiration to begin juicing started after I saw MSG for sale at a local Asian market. I knew MSG was supposedly bad for your health, but I did not understand what it was and why it was bad for you, so I went home and did a google search for: what is MSG? The result led us to a website called MSGtruth.org. Once there, we quickly realized we had opened quite a can of worms with this question. While reading through the content on MSGtruth.org, we learned of the documentary The Beautiful Truth, this film introduced us to juicing and The Gerson Therapy and that my friends, is how our juicing journey began.
Since we started juicing 6 years ago, we have only been sick a couple of times, which has been the most incredible benefit. Before we started juicing we found ourselves getting sick way too often and we were fed up. Juicing has completely revolutionized our immunity and overall well-being. I could go on and on about the potential benefits that can be reaped from juicing, but that has been done by so many all over the interwebs. But we can attest to the power of juicing and how it has changed our life – from better digestion and immunity – to weight loss and better skin, juicing is one of the most impactful changes we have ever made for our health and wellness.
One of the reasons we love carrot-orange juice is because, over the years, our taste for sweet has reduced quite a bit. We find that by adding carrot juice to freshly squeezed orange juice, you get a much milder juice that has just the right balance of sweetness. We also love to add a knob of fresh ginger into the mix while we are juicing the carrots, as well as a pinch of cayenne for a touch of heat that perfectly contrasts the sweetness of the juice.
Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, vitamins C, D, E, and K, as well as many minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Oranges are rich in vitamin C, phytonutrients, and citric acid. Ginger’s main bioactive compound gingerol is responsible for much of its medicinal properties, containing powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Cayenne is a powerhouse of a pepper, aiding in everything from digestion to detoxification. Carrot-orange juice with ginger and cayenne is not just a combination of healthy ingredients, it is an absolutely delicious juice that we could literally drink every day.
Many people shy away from juicing at home because of the investment of money it takes to buy a high-quality juicer and the investment of time it takes to make fresh pressed juice and to clean the juicer every day. But let me tell you, the $300-$500 you will spend on a high-quality cold press juicer and the 10-20 minutes a day you will spend juicing & cleaning are beyond worth the benefits you will reap. As far as the leftover pulp goes, we typically feed it to our neighbor’s chickens, but it can also be added to a compost pile or you can even add it to your cooking, like in vegetarian burger patties for example.
Whether you are a veteran juicer or someone who has never juiced before – I would love to hear your thoughts on juicing and answer questions if you have any!
Print
CARROT ORANGE JUICE | with ginger & cayenne
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 24oz 1x
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh carrot juice, from about 1 – 1 1/2 lbs of organic carrots, tops removed
- 12 oz fresh squeezed orange juice, from about 3-5 oranges depending on their size
- 1” knob ginger
- 1/8 – 1/4 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you like it)
Instructions
- Start by juicing your oranges – we use a citrus reamer attachment on our KitchenAid stand mixer
- Next, juice the carrots and ginger together (we use a cold pressed juicer) – stir in the cayenne when you are done (if using)
- Pour the carrot-ginger juice and orange juice into a glass jar that holds 24oz, add a straw & enjoy
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
You should try adding half a lemon per pint of juice…really out the good citrus flavor without adding sweet. I make this juice several times a week, less the cayenne, but I’ll have to miss that in!
yes! we have added lemon before and it is lovely! hope you like the bit of cayenne!