Fennel, Apple, Orange, Lemon, Ginger & Mint Juice
If you’re new to juicing, this Fennel Apple, Orange, Lemon Ginger & Mint combination is a great one to start you off as it’s really light and refreshing.
Although I usually try to include lots of vegetables in my homemade juices due to the high sugar content of many fruits, I don’t think the occasional juice where fruit dominates will do too much harm if your diet and health are generally good and you eat lots of vegetables every day.
I’ve been juicing for many years, but one vegetable I’d never thought to juice until recently was fennel. That’s odd, because I absolutely love this root vegetable with a slightly aniseed taste.
As well as eating the vegetable raw in salads or having it roasted to bring out its sweetness, I put fennel seeds in loads of things – on roasted veg like sweet potato and beetroot or in a fried ‘tarka’ of spices for curries and Indian style salads.
Fennel is very high in vitamin C as well as being a good source of potassium, calcium and iron so it’s a great vegetable to include in your diet.
Ginger is said to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects as well as being a source of various vitamins and minerals. Importantly, it gives a lively kick to your juice too!
FENNEL, APPLE, ORANGE, LEMON, GINGER & MINT JUICE
Serves 1
Juice or blend together:
- 1 small or half a large fennel bulb (include the fronds if it has any)
- 1 apple
- 1 orange (peel and pith removed)
- 1/4 of a lemon (peel and pith removed)
- 1 thick slice of ginger root
- 4-6 sprigs of mint
Pour into a glass, stir and top with shredded mint leaves if liked.
NOTE ON THE ROLE OF JUICES & SMOOTHIES IN A HEALTHY DIET
No matter how many glasses of juice or smoothie you drink in one day, they’ll still only count as one portion of your daily recommended minimum of 5. The bulk provided by eating lots of whole fruits and vegetables has beneficial effects on the bowel which you won’t get by drinking juices and smoothies. But juicing and liquidizing fruit and vegetables may make some nutrients more available to us, so my view is that one juice or smoothie a day, made with fresh fruits and vegetables and not concentrates, may have a role in a healthy diet.