Juice Box Alternative

Kids love their juice boxes... but how much sugar do those little things have? Here is a great alternative to serve up, and you can control the amount of sugar added!

Late summer and early fall is when you will find the sweetest melons of the year. Make this delicious drink as a tasty alternative to soda, sports drinks or juice boxes. It's a great way to rehydrate with far less sugar and fewer calories, not to mention loads of vitamins A and C, potassium and more. The kids will love to find a pitcher of this waiting for them in the fridge when they get home from school!

• 1 large cantaloupe, musk melon, or other melon, about 5lbs
• Juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 to 2 Tbl of sugar or agave syrup
• Ice; 2 trays

Peel, seed, and cut the melon into 1" cubes.
Fill a blender or food processor with cubes of melon. (You may have to do this in batches). Add enough cold water to come halfway up the sides of blender/processor with the melon inside (about 2 cups of water). Pulse the mixture to achieve very small pieces of melon (a little smaller than the size of peas) but be sure NOT to blend it smooth. Pour your first batch into a large bowl and repeat these steps with more melon and cold water.
Let rest for 10 minutes to infuse.
Strain to remove the pulp. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar/agave and 1/2 the juice of a lemon (or lime), mix well and taste.
You may want to add the remaining sugar and citrus juice if needed. Conversely, if the mixture is too sweet or sour, simply dilute with more water as needed. Chill in the fridge and serve over ice, enjoy!

The King of Juices!

I was recently invited to a birthday party for my friend's child and I volunteered to bring the juice for the kids. However, after strolling the juice aisle in the market, I noticed that most bottles of juice were more water, corn syrup and flavorings than actual juice. Not what I had in mind!

Since many of the juice-like-beverages contain only 20% juice or less, I decided it would be much healthier (and surprisingly cheaper) to become my own mixologist and blend together a few different kinds of 100% fruit juice! This would also avoid any added sugar and/or flavorings.

But which juice(s) did I use? How different are apple juice and orange juice from each another anyway?

I looked into it and it turns out that juices vary greatly in their nutrient and calorie content. See chart below:

Comparison of Common Juices

OJ: The Super Star Juice
Containing the largest amounts of Vitamin C, Potassium and several other key vitamins and minerals (of which apple and grape juice had practically none!), orange juice was a great place to start. OJ also had the least number of calories per 6 fl oz serving (but for carrot juice) solidifying its place at the top of my list.

Below are a few simple ways I jazzed up OJ for my special Birthday drinks. The Orange & White Grape and the Strawberry OJ were both hits with the kids. Enjoy!


Orange & White Grape:
1 part white grape juice, 1 part orange juice and 1 part water. The white grape juice mellows the acidity of the orange juice dramatically. This blend is great if your little one has a tummy that's sensitive to acid. For an adult spin, try the same ratio but use sparkling water and consider adding a few torn basil leaves to the mix.

Strawberry OJ:
Starting with say 8 fl oz of OJ in a running blender, add a handful (5-7 pieces) of frozen strawberries. Blend until smooth, adding more OJ or water as needed. This will sweeten the OJ slightly, color it brilliantly and tame the acidity a bit. Also try this with raspberries, dark sweet cherries or a mixture of the three.

Pineapple OJ:
Starting with say 8 fl oz of OJ in a running blender, add a handful (7 pieces) of frozen pineapple chunks. (If you can't find frozen pineapple, buy a can of pineapple chucks (in light syrup), discard the liquid and freeze the chunks in a zip-top bag.) Blend until smooth, adding more OJ or water as needed. This combination makes a creamy treat that's particularly great for anyone with a dairy allergy.

Orange Carrot:
3 parts OJ to 2 parts carrot. Try easing into this juice blend starting with 4 parts OJ and 1 part carrot, then increase the proportion of carrot slowly over time. Not-from-concentrate or even fresh-squeezed OJ really helps brings out the natural sweetness in the carrot juice. For adults, know that carrot juice contains about half the calories of orange juice; all the more reason to up the amount of carrot over time.

Guavas: Enticingly Exotic, Surprisingly in Season!

Eating seasonally calls for a bit more imagination during the wintertime. Here’s a fun way to jazz up a dreary day with homemade guava juice!

Guavas grown in Florida and California are available into early/mid winter, so keep your eyes peeled for these little gems. If they’re ripe, you’re likely to catch a whiff of their heavenly scent before spotting them. Look for yellow-skinned guavas (as opposed to under-ripe green ones) that are very aromatic and give to gentle pressure. Depending on the variety, the flesh inside will be pale yellow or bright pink!

Guavas are a fantastic source of Vitamin C; one medium guava (3.5 oz) contains 3 times the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C! Guavas also contain a great deal of soluble fiber, which can help maintain low cholesterol.

Homemade Guava Juice

-2 medium or abut 5 small guavas, for a total weight of 6-8 oz, very ripe, yellow and aromatic

-Juice of 1/2 a lemon

-2-3 Tbl of sugar or agave syrup

Trim the ends off the guavas and cut them roughly into pieces. Put the guavas, sugar and lemon juice into a blender or food processor with 1 cup of water. This includes the seeds. Pulse the mixture to achieve very small pieces of guava but be sure NOT to blend it smooth because then it will be extremely viscous or gummy. Aim for peices the size of green peas NOT pulp.

Let mixture rest for 10 minutes to infuse.

Strain to remove guava seeds and pulp. Dilute the mixture to your taste, by adding 2-3 more cups of water. Mix well, chill in the fridge and enjoy!