The Flu Buster Juice

I will always remember January as the month when I couldn't get out of bed for over a week straight. That dang flu bug took me down this year and I fell hard. I honestly haven't been that sick in over six years! 

Since I try to rely on natural remedies as opposed to drug store versions, I tried practically every home remedy I could get my hands on. The winners included gargling with salt water (to ease a sore throat), a hot bath with eucalyptus oil (to clear out the sinuses) and this Flu Buster Juice (to ease general symptoms/immune support). 

I won’t lie: this juice is intense. This juice is a powerful punch of lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper to top it off. It’s powerful enough that just two ounces will do the trick.  Bottoms up!

Depending on the desired intensity, you can adjust the ratio of garlic and ginger. And if you can't handle the thought of downing this without a little sweetness, an orange will lighten this combo up and add a Vitamin C boost!

The Flu Buster Juice

Makes about 2 ounces

Ingredients:

1 lemon, peeled

1 - 4 garlic cloves

1-inch piece fresh ginger

cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Juice lemon, garlic, and ginger and pour into shot glass (or regular glass). Top with a dash of cayenne pepper and drink.

Carrot and Cilantro Juice

I am surrounded by germs at the moment. Between my office and home, almost everyone is sick. I felt a little under the weather for several days, but so far I've been able to ward it off.  I'm definitely convinced that my strengthened immunity is due to all the fresh juices I've been drinking!

For this week's SPUD juicing box I opted for the Organic Dynamic Beauty Juicing Box, which is a beautiful combination of apples, beets, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, cucumber, ginger, kale, lemons, green bell peppers, and spearmint. This was the first box that I tried from SPUD and I love all the different flavor combinations you can make with these juices. 

This week I've been playing around with lots of carrot-based juices. If you are new to juicing, I definitely recommend starting with a carrot-based juice because it will be incredibly sweet, even without the addition of fruit! Some of my favorite combinations from this week's produce box include: 

• 5 carrots, 3 kale leaves, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 2 beets, 1/4 apple, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 chard leaves, and small handful of mint
• 3 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, and small handful of mint

And, of course, this carrot cilantro juice.

This juice is a sweet and zesty mix between the carrots, bell pepper, and cilantro.  I also love adding a lemon for a nice tartness and even more alkalizing power.  For an additional immune boost (and to ward off vampires), try sneaking in a garlic clove or two!

I looove cilantro so I actually added quite a big handful to my juice. If cilantro's not your thing, you can either leave it out or substitute with a different fresh herb like parsley. Drink up!

Carrot Cilantro Juice
Makes one 12 - 16 oz juice

5 medium carrots
small handful cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper
1 lemon, peeled

Juice ingredients and enjoy!

Green Lemonade

I drink fresh vegetable juice almost daily, but I tend to filter the juices I show here. See, I have a feeling that if I posted a juice recipe that said "juice 1 giant bunch of kale and a peeled lemon" some of you might actually drink it.  And, if you aren't a hard-core juice fanatic, you'd take one sip of that and never come back here. 

But this green juice?  This one is actually doable.  Let's talk about it.

This juice gets some tart-sweetness from green apples, which have less sugar than other apple varieties, but still help to liven up the juice a bit. I also added in some cucumber because it is very hydrating and I love cucumber juice for its mellow taste. Combine these goodies with some celery, ginger, a peeled lemon, and a bit of kale and you have yourself a powerful, nutrient-packed green juice that tastes like a healthy version of lemonade.  I've found that the tartness from lemons really help cut the "green" taste from a lot of juices so this is a great juice to try if you are nervous about green vegetables juices.  And if you are a true juice beginner, you can sub out the green apples for red to make the juice a bit sweeter.

Green Lemonade
Yield: 1 large juice or 2 medium juices

2 small green apples

1 lemon, peeled

1/2 cucumber

6 stalks celery

6 large pieces of kale

1-inch piece of ginger

Juice ingredients and enjoy immediately.

Lemon Ginger Tonic

I've been fighting some nasty germs lately (the really mean ones).  Luckily though, I think I'm finally winning.

I don't like being sick.  I hate having to eat "sick food" because everything else makes you nauseous.  Or when your body gets too warm, then too cold, then too warm again.  And that feeling like you need to take a nap every half hour. 

Although it's not fun to be sick, there are a few benefits. Like lying on the couch in a snuggie watching an entire season of Friends while asking your significant other to grab you a sparkling water from the fridge. With exactly eight ice cubes and the juice from half a lemon.

No, wait, a lime.

No, lemon.  Definitely lemon.

With a straw, pretty please?

Yeah, you only get star treatment like this if you're sick.

The only thing that's been saving me the past few days is this drink.  And I'm pretty convinced this is what cured my sore throat and started turning this battle around. 

Now, before we continue, I do have to warn you that there is honey in this tonic.  There are a lot of people who do not consider honey to be vegan and so I have never posted anything with honey on this blog.  However, I'm personally not opposed to using honey and it's an essential part of this drink.  If you are allergic or don't use honey, you can always omit it or sub another sweetener instead.  (Apple juice is perfect in this.) 

The reason I say that honey is essential is because it is a natural immunity booster.  Honey contains antioxidants, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, is a good source of vitamins and minerals, and aids in digestion.  Lemon juice helps to make the body more alkaline and restore pH balance.  Ginger is wonderful for digestion and helps with nausea.  Together this makes a pretty tasty and powerful drink.

Since I have a juicer, I usually juice the lemon (removing the peel first) and ginger.  However, if you do not have a juicer, you can still squeeze the juice from the lemon.  Then you can either zest the ginger and add to the tonic, or, chop up the ginger into chunks and boil in the water for a few minutes then remove. 

I typically drink this hot, but you could also serve it cold or substitute sparking water for tap water. 

 Lemon Ginger Tonic

1 lemon
1 piece of ginger (about the size of your pinky)
1 - 2 Tablespoons of honey
1 cup of boiling water

Juice the lemon and ginger.  Add to your favorite mug with the honey.  Pour in the boiling water and drink as soon as the temperature is suitable.