When life hands you carrots, you make carrot juice. Carrot juice is loaded with nutrition and so easy to make.
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The pandemic has brought so many new experiences into my life. Having to stay home and practicing social distancing has left me with time on my hands. Earlier this summer, I started a garden as I worried about food supplies. I thought growing food would help me fill up my deep freezers with fresh veggies. For me, growing a garden has always been something that I wanted to do but have put off simply due to the fact that I live in a desert. So when this lung virus covid thing hit and I had time on my hands, I gave growing vegetables a try. I started a small garden with the hops of growing tomatoes, peppers, spinach, beets, and kale. My garden required way too much water and did not yield much. My vision of having a surplus of vegetables did not succeed. My garden task was a lot of work for 8 tomatoes, 2 small beets, a serving of spinach, and 2 weeks of daily kale. It was a learning experience that left me desiring a more plentiful garden.
God had other plans for filling my freezers
While my garden did not give me my surplus of produce, God provided my surplus of fruits and veggies in a different way. My husband decided to join the food pantry ministry at my church. Our church started a monthly drive-up food pantry to serve those who needed food. Every month our church gives about 200 families a food box that includes surplus fruits and veggies. When I say surplus, I mean a couple of pallets of produce. Usually, the pallets contain one type of produce. While my husband stuffs the boxes with the produce, sometimes there is plenty of leftover produce that my husband brings home to fill my freezers.
In addition to the food pantry surplus, I discovered free fruit in my neighborhood.
April- I made sun-dried tomatoes with a case of plum tomatoes.
May- I picked cherries from my neighbor's tree.
June- Gave me plums from a tree that I discovered while running and the owner said pick as much as you want.
July- Gave me peaches which I turned into peach fruit leather.
August & September- I learned how to pick prickly pears and make prickly pear juice
October- I received 20 butternut squash from the church food pantry and made roasted rainbow veggies
November- An insane amount of carrots and I grabbed 4 huge bags. The rest went to a pig farm.
When life hands you carrots you make carrot juice
When I decided to bring home the huge bags of carrots, my plans were to share them with my friend, make carrot hummus, and dehydrate some of them. I had way too many carrots and I decided that now would be a great time to invest in a juicer so I could make carrot juice.
Benefits of carrot juice
Carrot juice is one of the best juices that you can drink. This juice is full of nutrients and is so delicious! Carrot juice is so easy to make. Sure you could just eat whole carrots but a glass of carrot juice contains more nutrients and antioxidants. Carrot juice also has some amazing benefits.
Benefits of carrot juice
+ Increased metabolism
+ Stronger vision
+ Boosted immune system from the antioxidants and Vitamin C
+ Healthy skin
+ Reduces cancer risk
Ingredients for carrot juice
The recipe for carrot juice requires only a handful of ingredients but yields a delicious sweet flavor. Juicing carrots is a great way to use up carrots while giving your body some amazing nutrition. A glass of carrot juice is like eating a big bunch of fresh carrots.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Carrots: Use 1-2 pounds. I like to peel them before blending. If you’re using a juicer, you really don’t have to but it takes away the bitterness of the carrot peels.
One Apple: Any type will do as it adds a touch of sweetness to the carrot juice.
Lemon juice: Lemon juice brings just the right brightness to the juice.
Ginger: I like a touch of ginger in my juice for flavor
Optional ingredients for a different flavor
Pineapple: Add 1 cup of chopped fresh or canned pineapple
Mango: Add 1 fresh mango
Pear: Use 1 pear instead of the apple
Celery: Add 4 celery stalks for a savory carrot juice
Strawberries: Add 1 cup for a berry taste
How to make carrot juice
Ready to get juicing? Here’s how to make carrot juice. Grab a juicer. If you don't have a juicer, you need to check out this inexpensive Vegetable Juicer Machine. I always thought that one needed a fancy high-priced juicer to make fresh homemade juice or cold press juice. So I put off buying one and just used my high-speed blender for fruit smoothies. So I never got to make homemade carrot juice. Try putting carrots in a smoothie and you will get carrot chunks that get stuck in your straw.
So when I discovered an affordable juicing machine, I had to give it a chance. With all the carrots that I had, I was not going to let this superfood vegetable go to waste. After I ordered the juicer from Homgeek, it was quickly delivered to me while my carrots were still fresh. I had never used a juice maker before so I was ready for a complicated machine but that was not the case one bit.
A juicer that is so easy to operate
The juicer was so easy to use. I simply plugged in the juicer machine and place the pulp collector on one side. Then I placed the juice cup on the other side. I turned on the juice machine and placed a whole carrot in the juice machine feeder. I love that I did not have to cut up the carrot! There was even no need to peel the carrot but since this was my first time juicing carrots, I peeled them as the peels are bitter to me.
Then I used the included plunger to send the carrot through the extra-wide chute into the sharp stainless steel blades. Within seconds, I saw orange liquid in the juice collecting cup. Not only was this juicing appliance quick but it was safe to operate. After sending a pound of carrots and a sliced apple through the machine, I had beautiful orange carrot juice. I stirred in the lemon juice and ginger powder. I was excited for my first sip of homemade carrot juice. The carrot juice was so sweet and delicious!
Cleanup was a breeze
After I made my delicious carrot juice, it was time to clean the vegetable juicer machine. I was amazed at how full the waste bin was. It was loaded with plenty of orange carrot peels or pulp. I hate wasting food so I bagged the carrot pulp up to use later in recipes. Yes, carrot pulp can be used in recipes for added fiber and nutrition. Keep reading for some carrot pulp recipes. The juice machine was easy to take apart and everything was so easy to rinse clean. The box included a bush to help with the cleaning. I just rinsed all the parts with soapy water but they could be cleaned in the dishwasher. There were not that many parts to clean and once they were all dried reassembling the juicer was simple.
Homgeek vegetable Juicer Machine
Product Features:
🍎 Health Pure Juice: Food grade 304 stainless steel corrosion-resistant sharp blade and precision filter, Stronger enough to get a fresh and healthy juice in 5 seconds, Powered by 400W, Extract vitamins and minerals more efficiently, Increases juice rate and reduces foam
🥕 Dual-Speed Multifunctional Juicer: "Ⅰ” speed, 12000 to 15000 RPM for softer fruits like oranges, watermelons, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, etc; " Ⅱ" speed, 15000 to 18000 RPM for harder fruits and veggies such as apple, carrot, beet, ginger, etc
🥒 User-Friendly Design and Dual Protection: The cover stays tighter while juicing with the safety locking arm, also the juicer will stop automatically once the motor was to overheats from an unstable power supply or improper assembly, and lower than 60DB Design also can keep your family far away from the noise
🍈 3" Extra Wide Chute : 3" wide chute feed allows you to juice whole fruits and veggies without pre-cutting, Compact, and simple structure, Easy to assemble and disassemble
🍉 Easy to clean: The large-capacity pulp collector (1500 ml) and the pulp container (500 ml) are simultaneously provided with a customized brush to make cleaning easier and faster
If you want to try your hand at juicing and make delicious carrot juice or any other delicious homemade juice. Then you need to click HERE to purchase a juicer. Homemade fresh juice is so healthy and it is a great way to give your body some powerful nutrition.
What to do with carrot juice pulp
Since this was my first time using a juicer, I was amazed at how much carrot pulp was left over. The carrot pulp is the fiber from the carrots. While the majority of nutrients are in the carrot juice the carrot pulp has some nutrition and is a great source of fiber. So don't toss it! There are many uses for carrot pulp. Since I had a lot of carrots, I made a huge jar of carrot juice and that left me a big bag of carrot pulp. So I had fun creating carrot pulp recipes.
+ Freeze it for future recipes: Place the carrot pulp in quart-size freezer bags, about 2 cups, for future recipes
+ Add it to smoothies: Carrot pulp is loaded with fiber so it is a great way to add fiber to smoothies.
+ Compost it: Give your soil some love with the carrot waste
+ Add to carrot juice pulp waffles: I added carrot pulp to my homemade waffles and my husband was surprised that they did not taste like carrots but I snuck fiber into his meal.
+ Add to homemade veggie burgers: Add bulk and fiber to homemade veggie burgers.
+ Make carrot juice pulp crackers: This one may sound strange but they are super tasty and crunchy.
+ Add to quick bread: Adds fiber and texture without a strong carrot taste.
+ Add to muffins: Adds fiber and texture without a strong carrot taste.
+ Make carrot cake: Adds fiber and texture without a strong carrot taste.
Pin these recipes on Pinterest to make them later
Looking for more carrot recipes
If you are looking for more ways to enjoy carrots, check out the below recipes. Carrots are a delicious and nutritious vegetable. Don't worry about turning orange from eating too many carrots as it would take eating 10 large carrots a day for several weeks to get an orange tinge to your skin.
Spicy Carrot Hummus: This Spicy Carrot Hummus is filled with tangy sweetness and topped with sunflower seeds and apricots — with just the right amount of heat.
Carrot Juice Pulp Crackers: Turn carrot waste from carrot juice into a delicious crispy cracker.
Carrot Juice Pulp Waffles: A delightfully delicious waffle that is made with leftover carrot pulp from homemade carrot juice.
Keto-Friendly Pad Thai: This restaurant-quality Pad Thai recipe is surprisingly easy to make at home and can be made keto-friendly.
Easy To Make Homemade Sushi Bowl Recipe: An easy way to enjoy sushi.
Southwestern Style Sushi Burrito: A filling burrito-style sushi that is so easy to make.
Easy Vegetarian Egg Foo Young: Skip the Chinese place and make your own Egg Foo Young.
Vegan Smoked Salmon: Plant-based alternative to smoked salmon or lox.
DIY Homemade Carrot Juice
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled
- 1 large apple, sliced into quarters
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger, fresh or powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Scrub and peel the carrots. Chop the apple into 4 pieces, no need to peel
- Place the carrots and apple slices into the juicer.
- Once all carrots and apple slices are made into juice add the ginger and lemon juice.
- Place the juice into a container with a tight lid and store in the fridge.
- Use up within a week. For longer storage, freeze in serving size portions.
