How to Make Juice Without a Juicer

Juicing is here to stay. It’s a good way to get beaucoup fruits and veggies into your diet in a tasty way, especially when the sweet fruits cover up the more bitter (but healthy!) veggies. The juicing-as-detox myth may have been busted, but we can all agree that extra produce in your diet is beneficial to your overall health.

Homemade juice is cheaper than commercially processed juice, and it also means one less plastic bottle out there. You’re also able to customize your beverage when you make it yourself and make sure that it’s fresh-fresh-fresh, and you don’t have to worry about any sneaky sugars.

That’s Cool, But I Don’t Have a Juicer…

Annie McGee

Contrary to what juicing fans may tell you, you don’t need a juicer. That’s good news for budget-conscious vegans, or green-earth lovers trying to embrace a minimal lifestyle. If you already have a blender or a food processor, you’re in luck. All you need now is a flour-sack-cloth towel.

1. Lay the flour sack cloth over a big kitchen bowl and set it aside.
2. Throw all your juicing ingredients in a blender. You can use a little water to get the blades moving if the motor seems stuck.
3. In place of water, you may use high-moisture produce as a sub for water: summer peaches, watermelon, blueberries, pineapple, oranges, grapefruit, et al. Pair these with any other produce you have on hand: beets, kale, strawberries, papaya … anything. Empty out your crisper and see what you find.
4. Once everything is blended up, carefully pour the purée over the flour sack cloth covered bowl.
5. Gingerly gather up the four corners of the cloth and hold them in one hand.
6. Start squeezing with your other hand, until you have a big bowl of fresh juice and a fistful of pulp.
7. Always give the pulp a few extra squeezes — there’s more juice in there to be sure.

Transfer the juice to a clean mason jar, and a few ice cubes, and take a huge sip. Another good thing about this method … you don’t have to clean out a juicer.

Recommended Recipes and Resources to Get You Started!

Annie McGee

• Pink Lady: Pear, beet, ginger, and pineapple. A sweet, fruity juice inspired by Cafe Blossom on New York’s Upper West Side.
• Glowing Green: Cucumber, kale, celery, bell pepper, apple, and mint. This bright tasty juice was created by rockin’ veg-blogger Emily Von Ew.
• Summer’s Day:  Watermelon, beets, mangoes, strawberries, and cucumber. This is a cool mix of summer produce delivers a sweet-tart taste.
• Salad Through a Straw: Carrots, beet, celery, spinach, parsley, broccoli florets, cucumber, and ginger. This is a must have for anyone who craves the fresh green flavor of a crisp salad.

What Do I Do With All This Pulp?

You can use the pulp as to bulk up any baked good with extra fiber. Think Mini Chocolate Fudge Cakes, Regular Size Cakes, Muffins, even Brownies. Not feeling the sweets? No problem. You can always try Juice Pulp Veggie Burgers, Juice Pulp Energy Balls,  and Crispy Juice Pulp Crackers. And best of all: Juice Pulp Pizza Crust. Yes, ma’am/sir/gender-neutral honorific.

Recommendation: Download the Food Monster App

If you enjoy articles like this and want more, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App. For those that don’t have it, it’s a brilliant Food app available for both Android and iPhone. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to cut out or reduce allergens like meat, dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, grains, and more find awesome recipes, cooking tips, articles, product recommendations and how-tos. The app shows you how having diet/health/food preferences can be full of delicious abundance rather than restrictions.

The Food Monster app has over 8000+ recipes and 500 are free. To access the rest, you have to pay a subscription fee but it’s totally worth it because not only do you get instant access to 8000+ recipes, you get 10 NEW recipes every day! You can also make meal plans, add bookmarks, read feature stories, and browse recipes across hundreds of categories like diet, cuisine, meal type, occasion, ingredient, popular, seasonal, and so much more!

Lead image source: Annie McGee