9 exciting, tasty juice recipes which will boost your immune system (and impress your friends)

9 exciting, tasty juice recipes which will boost your immune system (and impress your friends)

Here is a list containing 9 recipes for making exciting, tasty, freshly mixed juice. Fruit juice is a exciting, tasty, simple and fast way to boost your immune system, as it provides antioxidants and other nutrients which help maintain a strong and healthy immunological defense perimeter. Here are nine recipes which are not only super-healthy, but also super-tasty.

Everything you need to make the following recipes is fresh fruit and a blender / or a juice press.

It does not really matter if you use a blender or a juice press for mixing the fruits / or vegetables; the result will be a super-healthy mix which covers a large proportion of the recommended “5 a-day” fruit and vegetable wise. The juice provides essential vitamins, flavonoids and other essential nutrients which help maintain a healthy lifestyle and also in some cases help inhibit cardiovascular disease. In a study by Aviram et al (2002) they found an inverse relationship between the intake of dietary nutrients rich in polyphenols and cardiovascular diseases. They also found that Pomegranate juice flavonoids inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation; which is the bad type of lipoprotein (lipids / fat).

1. Pomegranate and Mint juice

A really tasty, fresh juice which ensures you maintain hydrated and also get heaps of vitamins and minerals.

1 person

You will need:

1 Pomegranate

50 g Mango

2 Mint stalks

Ice-cubes (optional)

How to make it:

Peel the pomegranate and remove the seeds, you do not have to do this, but it will provide a better consistency when drinking it. Peel the mango, and put both mango and pomegranate in the blender / juice press. Pour the juice in a large glass and add the mint and pomegranate seeds on top for decorating purposes.

Healthy because:

As mentioned earlier it has been shown that pomegranate juice flavonoids inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation; meaning that it aids in preventing atherosclerosis (cholesterol plaque in the arteries) and other problems which might have a detrimental effect on cardiovascular function. It also contains lots of different vitamins, especially vitamin C and beta-carotene, which all have beneficial effects on the body’s health state. It also contains folic acid, which is essential to produce healthy red blood cells and prevent anemia (lack of haemoglobin).

2.       Grape and Cranberry Juice

A super-healthy, incredibly tasty juice which is packed with antioxidants linked to anti-cancerous and other beneficial effects.

1 person

You will need:

100 g Red, seedless Grapes

50 g Cranberries

The juice from ½ lime

1 dl mineral water / soda water

Ice cubes

Lime slices

How to make it:

Press / blend the preferentially seedless grapes and fresh (or frozen) cranberries. Add the lime juice, and mix it out with mineral / soda water. Serve with ice cubes and slices of lime.

Healthy because:

The grapes and cranberries provide vitamins and flavonoids essential to maintain a healthy immune system. Through boosting the immune system with antioxidants they help fight off simple disease and possibly also much more serious disease, such as cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. It has also been stated in several studies that cranberry juice has a beneficial effect on-, and may decrease incidence of recurring urinary tract infection.

3.       Raspberry Smoothie with Elderberry Squash

Yes, I did it I added a smoothie in amongst the juice recipes, please forgive me. The thing was that it was just too tasty to leave out in the cold. Please not this recipe is for 4 persons and not just 1 like the others; the more the merrier, right?

4 persons

You will need:

400 g

4 dl yoghurt (0,1% fat)

1 dl semi-skimmed milk (may be replaced with skimmed milk)

4 table spoons of mascarpone

1 dl aronia squash

4 table spoons of black elderberry squash

1 vanilla stalk

1 tea spoon of honey (optional)

How to make it:

Blend / mix frozen or fresh raspberries with the yoghurt, milk, mascarpone, concentrated aronia- and black elderberry squash, and the seeds from the vanilla stalk. This smoothie tastes incredibly fresh and has an invigorating flavor. However, if you want to sweeten it up a little bit, I suggest adding a tea spoon of honey.

Tip:

For smoothies, it is sometimes best to use frozen berries. This way you will not have to add ice cubes to get it really cold. I also know that aronia squash can be very hard to get hold of, so this can be replaced with for example blueberry squash or newly pressed red grapefruit juice.

4.       Citrus and Chili Juice

Yes, you read correctly, citrus and chili juice. I can almost hear Paris Hilton going “that’s hawwt..” in the background. This juice is very healthy and spicy, and the added chili will provide a massive boost in your metabolism and body temperature (thermogenesis).

1 person

You will need:

1 whole red chili

2 table spoons of liquid honey

½ citrus

100 g apple

How to make it:

Clean the chili and remove the seeds. Peel the citrus fruit and wash the apple. Mix the apple, chili and citrus in the blender / juice press. Then add the honey into the finished juice until it fully dissolves. The result? A feisty little fatburner.

Healthy because:

The mixed juice contains antioxidants, amongst them vitamin C (from the citrus and chili mainly, 106 mg) beta-carotenes which helps boost the immune system. Chili contains capsaicin, an ingredient which has been shown to increase metabolism and body temperature immediately after consumption. An excellent way to start the day if you want to lose a couple of kilos, as the increased metabolism lasts for hours.

5.       Pea and Basil Juice

You probably wrinkled your nose a bit in surprise when you read the name of this one (or maybe you just adjusted your monocle a tad bit…); but the truth is this is a healthy juice blend, which strengthens the heart and does wonders for the digestion process.

1 person

You will need:

100 g peas or sweet peas

2 stalks of celery leaves

2 tomatoes

½ - 1 garlic clove

10 basil leaves

1 tea spoon of extra virgin olive oil

How to make it:

First of all, rinse the vegetables and then add peas, celery leaves and tomatoes into the blender / juice press. Squeeze garlic with basil and olive oil separately. Pour the juice into a glass, and mix in the garlic-basil oil mixture. Add ice cubes (optional).

Healthy because:

This juice mix is full of digestion friendly fiber, which helps prevent cardiovascular disease and constipation.  It also contains a high amount of iron, which is very important in the production of healthy red blood cells. As an additional bonus it also contains about 76 mg of vitamin C, which as mentioned earlier, is essential for a healthy immune system.

6.       Orange and Avocado Juice

A delicious juice mix which contains health-friendly fatty acids and vitamins that help strengthen your immune system.

1 person

You will need:

½ Avocado

150 g melon

½ Orange

4 stalks of fresh coriander

Ice cubes

How to make it:

Add the peeled avocado and coriander into a blender. Secondly, add peeled melon and orange into the juice press. Mix this with the avocado. Add ice cubes and an additional coriander stalk, serve cold.

Healthy because:

As mentioned earlier, this juice contains essential fatty acids which are good for your heart and cardiovascular function. In addition to this, the avocado supplies you with a large quantity of fibers which are good for your digestion. Also, the orange and melon contains a high amount of vitamin C, which help strengthen the immune system, by adding to the antioxidant VS free radical ratio.

7.       Carrot and Ginger juice

A simple and healthy juice containing carrot and ginger. Ginger contains essential fatty acids, which is good for your skin complexion and gives your skin a healthy looking appeal, and it also act as a natural blood thinner, which is supposed to act positively in a ‘passionate’ setting as the touch sense is reinforced.

1 person

You will need:

200 g Carrot (peeled)

2cm of fresh ginger root (peeled)

2 teaspoons of hazelnut oil

Orange slices

How to make it:

Peel the ginger root and carrot before placing them in the juice press / blender. Stir the 2 teaspoons of hazelnut oil into the juice. Serve cold with slices of orange. MmmMm…! Taste the wellness!

Healthy because:

Carrots naturally contain high amounts of beta-carotene, which is supposed to be good for your immune system. The juice also contains high amounts of essential fatty acids, which is good for your skin complexity as it keeps the cell walls smooth and allows for efficient nutrient exchange and waste product removal.

8.       Rosehip and Green Tea Juice

Amazing juice packed with vitamin C and catechins (the active extract of green tea). Vitamin C stimulates collagen and elastin production, which maintains and repairs the tissues in your body.

1 person

You will need:

1 apple

50 g cleansed rosehip / haws

1 - 2 dl green tea

1 stalk of cinnamon

How to make it:

Boil water with the cinnamon stalk in it, and make green tea. Wait for it to cool off, and then take out the cinnamon stalk and put it aside for decoration. Clean the rosehip / haws, and cut the apple into four pieces. Add the haws and apple into the juice press, before mixing the juice with the now, cold green tea.

Healthy because:

Rosehip / haws contain vitamin C which is needed for collagen / elastin production, two products which are essential for arterial elasticity, healthy skin, joint tissue and bone structure. Green tea also has several health benefits, and has been linked to anti-cancerous effects along with other health benefits such as increased metabolism.

So, 8 delicious juice recipes we have come to the grand finale, drum whirl please…

9. Tomato and Tabasco juice

To finish this article with a boom, I present the Tomato and Tabasco juice; a fresh, hot and zesty juice, which contains a lot of essential fibers, and also help maintain good eyesight.

1 person

You will need:

250 g Tomatoes

¼ dl Watercress

½ Cucumber

1 stalk of celery

10 fresh basil leaves

2-3 drops of Tabasco (adjust to your own –haawtness- tolerance)

How to make it:

Rinse tomatoes, cucumber and the celery, and mix the three ingredients in the juice press with the watercress. Add as much Tabasco as you would like. Add fresh basil leaves on top.

Healthy because:

The juice contains high amounts of beta-carotene and lycopene (found in tomatoes), which both are carotenes which have been linked to beneficial effects for eyesight. The juice also contains vitamins and dietary fiber, which are good for your immune system and digestion, respectively.

That concludes thislist of 9 exciting, tasty juice recipes which will boost your immune system (and impress your friends). Now, go to the kitchen and make some healthy, freshly mixed juice. Go on, treat yourself.

_{Article: 9 exciting, tasty juice recipes which will boost your immune system (and impress your friends)}

_{By Alexander Van Dorph (07.03.2011)}

_References:

_{Pomegranate juice flavonoids inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation and cardiovascular diseases: studies in atherosclerotic mice and in humans. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12224378}