Sunshine Happy Juice

Yoo Hoo! I'm nearing the end of a Big Summer Juice Detox. 7 days of juice only deliciousness -and in this heat, turns out it's the perfect way to stay cool, hydrated and well fed. Hooray for Summer. Hooray for Juicey Highs and Hooray for Me!

There is a fully worked out plan that you can follow and if you are interested and fancy a go. I warmly recommend www.juicemaster.co.uk (there's an Australian site too). You don't have to buy the book, although if you are new to juicing then Slim4Life or the 7lbs in 7 Days books will set you up really well. Or you can simply follow along using the app or the wall chart - both are pretty cheap.

This is not the juice you are looking for**

You do need a juicer and a decent blender. Other than that - it's a trip to the fruit and veg shop & you're off! Expect headaches and some detox symptoms if you are a dedicated sugar and caffeine fiend - by day 3 or 4 you'll be over the worst and jumping about like a toddler!

Now then - I'm not as excited by the juices on the 7 Day Plan as I am a fan of Jason Vale's other juice plan recipes  so I have gone off piste with a few of my own - using the fruits and veggies that are good and cheap in my local grocery shops.

(I live on the longest street of independent shops in the UK - so I am a lucky duck. Throw a grape and you'll hit a grocery store. Then there are the deals on at the local supermarket and several local organic box suppliers not to mention the Sunday fruit and veg market! 

Yesterday on my way back from yoga, I scored a huge bag of nectarines and some baby gem lettuces for a song. I don't mind if the nectarines don't soften as they ripen - because I'm planning on slinging them in the juicer!)

To the recipe!
You'll need |

1 large orange - cut the orange peel off and leave the pith
1 apple (any type I chose a tart brambley)
1 nectarine - mine was white fleshed, but I doubt it matters
1 small chunk of fennel
1 small handful of mint
1/2 baby gem lettuce
15 sugar snap peas
1 stick of celery

Juice all the ingredients - it' best to sandwich the lettuce in behind the apples, to get the maximum juice out of it - and if you have an old, slow or cranky juicer - you may feel that you're not getting enough of the goodness out of the leaves to warrant juicing them.

Pour the juice over ice if you like it cold - or if you've got a killer blender - get fancy and whizz it up with some ice.

Why is this juice gonna make you feel the BOMB?!

Vitamins | A, A1, B, B1, B2,B3, B5, B6, C, K, beta-carotene, folic acid.

Minerals | calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, iron, zinc, copper, sodium, chromium, cobalt, manganese, selenium, silicon.

Which is useful for | scouring the intestines, eliminating toxins, soluble fibre, destroying those pesky free radicals that cause signs of skin ageing, reducing acidity which is helpful if you suffer from arthritis or gout!, diuretic, reducing fluid retention, calming the nervous system, reducing intestinal gas, flatulence and bloating ;) and it will pick you up and energise you too!

Now we're not daft we know that these are properties of the fruits and veggies and just one juice won't achieve miracles - but if you're shoving that lot into your system and playing in the sun today - surely you'll be feeling happy and virtuous and JUICED!

**P.S. I forgot to photograph my juice before I drank it! So the pic is of a different juice - this is what your juice would look like if you also added spirulina and wheatgrass powder for extra OOOMPPH!

Luli in her Dunce's Cap!