Happy July, everyone! Hope you have some fun Independence Day plans set up. Matt and I will be on the road all day, heading north to Minneapolis to attend CONvergence again. (It’s basically a humongous 4-day geekfest. Matt goes for the gaming, I go for the general nerdery.) I’m excited!
If you’re looking for a red, white, and blue recipe, you won’t find it here today. (But I highly recommend last year’s Summer Berries & Vanilla Sweet Cream!) Instead, I’m here to usher in a little something I’m calling…
Juicy July!
You see, last week I completed a 7-day juice fast, and surprisingly, I didn’t find it too tough! (Until day 7, at least…but by then I was in the home stretch, so I powered through it.) I filled up on fruit juice in the mornings, root juice in the afternoons, and lots of green juice all day long. I also had coconut water and homemade vegetable broth on hand at all times. I’m planning on doing some more juice- (and smoothie-) “fasting” (more like “feasting”) here and there throughout the month of July, and I wanted to bring you all in on the sweet fun.
Throughout the month, I’ll be posting tips on juicing and some tasty juice and smoothie recipes, as well as talking about my juicing experiences, sharing info on what kinds of made-to-order/shipped-to-your-home juice and smoothie cleanses are available online, and maybe holding a giveaway or two. 
I encourage you to drink at least 1 quart (4 cups) of green juice (or more!) spaced throughout the week, every week in July (or green smoothies, if you prefer). Feel free to tweet any yummy juice combos you come across and/or photos of your juices/smoothies, using the hashtag #JuicyJuly!
Today I have a delightful juice recipe for you that I just created/discovered last week. It’s my new favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 large pineapple, top and bottom cut off, outer husk shaved off, flesh chopped
- 1 large cucumber, ends trimmed, chopped
- 2 small limes, ends trimmed, chopped
- 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Run all ingredients through a juicer. Ta-da!
- I use an Omega juicer, and my juice keeps well in the fridge for two to three days.
(If you’re wondering where I got these adorable bottles, please see the bottom of this post!)
The cilantro may sound like a weird addition, but trust me, it’s incredible!
Enjoy, and have a great week and weekend, folks!
Amber, this sounds very similar to a concoction I make sometimes. I LOVE pineapples and can get them pretty cheap from Sam’s Club (I know, I know…they aren’t organic, but they are good!), and I ALWAYS have cucumbers, limes, and cilantro hanging around. I’ve never tried the limes in my juices though and have some to use up…so thanks for the idea.
As soon as I’m permitted to start purchasing cookbooks from Amazon again (don’t ask…got in trouble with the hubs…it’s the ONLY reason I don’t have your cookbook yet…), I may start bringing it to my classes. One lady asked me one time, ‘how in the world can someone be a raw chef??…what’s there left to eat??…’ Lol.
And I had NO CLUE that you could just purchase the Shatto bottles! When I still ‘did’ dairy (I still dream of their chocolate milk…), Shatto was the ONLY brand I trusted, and it’s local and not terribly overpriced for what it offers, but I always returned my bottles for the refund. This is great! I am going to see if I can snag some and use them for my fresh lemonade! When I teach my energy healing classes, many of the clients are very holistic and ‘spiritual’ (meaning they are all about connecting to Mother Earth and the Universe), and they LOVE when I bring snacks like fresh juices and raw and/or gluten-free desserts. The Shatto bottles would probably have some of them in awe.
TRISH! I can’t believe you don’t have Practically Raw yet! I’m hurt
Just kidding. But seriously, get your hands on a copy! Especially if you have someone asking you “how in the world can someone be a raw chef?”! I’m glad they’re asking you and not me, because I’d probably go off on a 20-minute speech about everything I eat and love… 
I know, I KNOW.
After my husband decided to add up the total cost spend on cookbooks and Amazon in general (cake pans, decorating supplies, etc.), he said I was ‘banned’ for 6 months. Yeah…I will admit…it was pretty bad. BUT…I have a backup plan. I do these little online surveys from time to time (when I’m bored), and I get ‘dollars’ in exchange for the surveys. And those dollars convert to gift cards, such as Amazon. So as soon as I reach my payout, I’m getting the book and hubs can’t say a word. And I’ve *love* for you to tell this person about being a raw chef. She is a ‘client’ and won’t always open her mind to the things I tell her (my work is very ‘un’ mainstream, so open-mindedness is required for the tools to work), and that comment alone was my first clue. I love working with all types of people and with different belief systems and backgrounds, but this one makes me work for my money, lol. 
Maybe one day you can come do a presentation on raw foods…
Thanks for the recipe! I am sooooo glad you will talk about juicing. I just got my new Omega Vert 35oHD and gave it a trial run yesterday. There is no “recipe” book so one is left to one’s own devices. The assembly and disassembly instructions are quite easy to follow but there are no TIPS on know-how of juicing. I did apples and orange juicing and got the unit stuck on the side of pulp exit and also some of it “backed” onto the unit base. On some video’s I saw people pouring water to help ejection of pulp but it is weired that there is no mention about it in the instruction book.
I have an Omega VRT too! I find that, although it’s kind of a pain, chopping your produce into very small pieces helps move it through (and keeps the screen from cracking, which has only happened to me once). I also use a chopstick to dig the dry pulp out of the left spout if it starts to come through too slowly. I don’t run water through it till the very end.
I love my juicer, and don’t feel like it gets nearly enough use. I have a Breville Juice Fountain (The one with the variable speeds), and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it on days I crave fresh juice.
I think my favourite combo is apple/ginger/beet greens (and sometimes a beet or two)
That’s a great combo, Kelly!
Sounds delish Ambe! I am going to give this a try in the morning! I actually have everything on hand that you mention. I try to put cilantro into as many juices and smoothies as I can, very refreshing and great for detox! Thanks Amber!
You’re very welcome, Kelli! Hope you like it
Now that sounds like a tasty juice. I love me some pineapple!
I’m usually not too big on pineapple, but in this juice, I love it!
I have a really dumb question, because I’ve never tired to make juice like this. But the limes, are you squeezing them, or just using them all in the juicer. And do you think this would work in a regular-type blender.
Hey Rebecca! There are no dumb questions
but anything labeled “juice” does need to be made in a juicer, which extracts and removes the pulp/fiber. Smoothies, though, are made in the blender. With my juicer, I just chop up the whole limes to juice them.
Altho i dont have my own juicer (yet) im hooked on a combo from my favorite place- a juice/smoothie hybrid of kale, spinach, apple,blueberries, almond milk and almond butter. Filling enough for a mini meal!
That sounds so good! Bluebs and almond butter, mmm.
Reblogged this on Runner's Cove and commented:
Doesn’t this sound delicious?!
Thanks Shu!
Thanks for this delicious sounding recipe!
Where did you get started for your 7 day?
I’m soooooo interested in a smoothie with some juice fast in July. I gotta fit in that wedding dress in one month from today !!!
Thanks for any guidance!!
I started it on my own, just kinda did my own thing
I did two days of just smoothies leading up to it to get me ready. If you need a juice fasting coach, though, I can definitely recommend a couple people!
I can SO relate – my wedding is two months from this week. Eek!
Just made this recipe – YUM!! I love it! I’ve got a dying Breville but my kind neighbor lets me borrow her masticating Kuving. I make 4-5 bottles (old kumbucha bottles, so 16oz) at a time and enjoy the fresh juice for a couple of days. I’m hoping to get an Omega soon.
Yay, so glad you like it Michelle!
yeah for juice! did any of your symptoms get better while juicing? I keep hoping you feel better soon.
Unfortunately no…but then again, it was only a week. I’m going to try it for longer later this month and see what happens.
This juice sounds delish, Amber. Reminds me that I should do a juice fast–but since I’m running 45 miles a week I may keep it to one day (I don’t know if I could ever complete a 7-day fast!) Hope you’re feeling better.
I couldn’t imagine doing a juice fast back when I was running! Maybe some post-run juices, though?