Juice Crazy

Ahhhhh, summer - what we've been dreaming about all year. Now that it's finally here we sure hope you are enjoying it in your favorite ways. One of our favorite ways to enjoy summer is poolside with a homemade fresh juice. And how perfect because fresh juice is all the craze these days. But besides the taste, what is this craze all about? Let's find out...

Juices can be found in many different forms. The most common being your standard store bought bulk bottled juices. The quality varies but don't be mislead, even 100% juices aren't quality nutrition because during the processing and pasteurization process many of the beneficial nutrients (vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants) found in fresh fruit are lost. Large name companies often add vitamins back to the juice but they are in synthetic form which (obviously!) can't compete with vitamins found in whole fruit. Becoming popular in the "foodie" realm today is cold-pressed juice. Cold-pressed juice is extracted from the pulp of fresh fruits and vegetables at high pressures to extract maximum nutrients and are preserved without heat methods  (pasteurization) meaning the precious nutrients are better maintained. This sounds good right? Well yes, until you see the price- most being at least $5 but usually closer to $10 per bottle. And let's get down to it, if you really want the full benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables you should mainly eat them in their most natural and whole form to avoid loosing their beneficial fiber. But we all need treats and fresh juice is one of our favorites! So if you're into juice too and given the price of cold-pressed juice we suggest springing for a juicer and making your own raw juice at home. Homemade juice is convenient, quick, economical, delicious and nutritious - more nutritious than any other juice forms we mentioned because it is the freshest. There are many juicer products ranging in price, two of our favorite high power juicer brands are Jack Lalanne and Breville. But take a peak at local garage sales this summer, people are usually selling their juicers because they don't know what they have! For this recipe we used a high power Jack Lalanne juicer but there is also another category of juicer, the slow juicer, which no worries we will discuss in another post. So let's get juicing!

Cantaloupe Cooler 
PREP TIME: 5 mins
TOTAL TIME: 7 mins
Servings: Makes ~12 oz of juice

Ingredients
1 medium cantaloupe, peeled and cubed
1 lime, peeled
Pinch of sea salt

Toss cantaloupe into your juicer. Turn the juicer on and watch that beautiful orange hue pour into your pitcher. Squeeze fresh lime and sprinkle sea salt on top. Pour into your favorite glass and sip away!

**Don't have a juicer in your kitchen yet? No worries, many fruits and vegetables can be juiced using a high speed blender and cheese cloth or a cotton nut milk bag. Just put your peeled fruit in a blender, add a little bit of water, (this is optional, but will make the blending faster) and turn it on high. Once the ingredients have been blended into a puree, you can drink it as is, or strain the pureed though a cheese cloth or cotton nut milk bag to separate the juice from the pulp.

Is this juice a dream come true or what? If using a very ripe cantaloupe we think this juice tastes like an orange creamsicle and come on, what could be better than that on a hot summer day? We hope your summer is sunny, relaxing and delicious. If you need us you'll find us at the pool!

Juice on,
Jess and Cecelia

P.S. Have you ever seen anything cuter than this cantaloupe bowl!? If you have to have one too you can purchase here.