Lemonade super-boost juice

With so much citrus in season now, you may be looking for some inspiration on what to do with your harvest. Life is a Garden invites you to get seriously super with your lemons this July and juice up a nutritious storm in your kitchen. Re-invent the lemonade with this zesty booster juice DIY. 

Lemonade super-boost juice recipe:

Aren’t we lucky to have Mother Nature on our side as we enter the last stretch of winter! Your lemon harvest, herbs, and spices are talking – do you know what they say?

Ingredients

• 2x peeled lemons for a flush of Vitamin C and multiple essential minerals and plant proteins
• Half a finger of fresh, peeled ginger for respiratory system clearing and protection
• 1x celery stalk for detoxification and opening of the toxin release pathways of the body
• Half a teaspoon of raw, organic turmeric to reduce inflammation 
• A quarter cucumber for rehydration and cholesterol-lowering properties
• A handful of parsley as a systemic anti-fungal and gland health ally
• 2x tablespoons of raw honey for holistic antibacterial support (place your honey in lukewarm water before juicing to ensure it will dissolve well inside your juice)

Method

There is a difference between a smoothie and a juice: a smoothie contains all the pulp and fibres of the chosen ingredients whereas a juice contains only the liquid gold. You can use the recipe above as a smoothie if you’re looking for something more meal-like, or you can extract the liquid from the ingredients as a potent super shot or juice for the family. Juices are generally gentler on the digestive system as the absence of plant fibres allows for easier absorption of all the goodness. 

Option 1: Nut milk bag

A bit of effort will go a long way when using a hand-operated nut milk bag, which you can purchase at almost any health store. Simply place each solid ingredient inside the bag and squeeze the juice out into a large bowl. The result will be a velvet, smooth elixir that may well blow your mind. Stir in your honey and turmeric after all the solids have been pressed. 

Top tip: Use the leftover fibres and pulp for the ingredients as an elixir for your compost heap – it’s a boost juice win for the garden too! 

Option 2: Juicer appliance 

The advantage of using a juicer is that you don’t have to get your hands as involved as with a nut bag, however, you may also lose a bit of the goodness along the way. As such, we recommend using a bit more of each ingredient to compensate. There are a variety of juicers on the market, just be sure to choose one that separates the liquidfrom the pulp. 

Follow the instructions on how to feed your ingredients into your chosen juicer and then stir in your turmeric and warmed up honey afterwards. Enjoy the lip-smacking sensation and a surge of revitalised energy that will soar through your body. 

Try this: Freeze your harvest

Squeeze your citrus into a bowl, ensuring you have a nice clear liquid-sunshine consistency. Then, pour your happiness into ice trays and pop them into the freezer for later. Enjoy your frozen fruit cubes in a drink or pop them into the blender for a refreshing crusher. Top it all off with some fresh herbs from the garden and perhaps a little sweetener for the kids or a dash of gin for the grown-ups. 

Top tip: Visit your GCA Garden Centre to see which other fresh herbs are in stock now. Purchase a seedling tray to harvest from and then transplant them into cute containers to use as a kitchen windowsill garden. 

When this one body is all we’ve got, let’s make lemonade to boost it good! Enjoy this flavour adventure and send your taste buds into salivation haven. Life is a Garden, and we need our health to tend to it. 

Source: Life is a Garden