Happy Hour: Belle's Blackberry Breeze
Feb 3, 2012
As I mentioned last week, I bought a juicer. This is a big step for someone who subsisted on nothing but Taco Bell and Krispy Kreme in college (true story, ask Miss M). Seriously, who is this healthy person who eats vegetables, buys a juicer and works out? If I believed in aliens, I’d think that I’d been abducted.
When I bought the juicer, Miss M made a really good point, that I needed to mix some veggies into the fruit juice or else my sugar levels would be off the charts. So I’ve been experimenting with some different juice recipes: carrot + ginger + tangerine, beet + raspberry + apple, but my favorite, has to be a concoction that I’m calling Blackberry Breeze.
Blackberry Breeze
serves two
3 Granny Smith Apples
1 Pint Blackberries
4 Handfuls (about 6 oz) of Spinach
1 Can Dole Pineapple Chunks
I like to juice the apples first, then the blackberries. Then, I juice half of the pineapple. The reason for this is simple, the pineapple is very liquidy, so it will push help clean some of the blackberry pulp from the mesh filter. Then, I juice the spinach and then, the rest of the pineapple so that the extra liquid can pull some more of the spinach nutrients into the juice.
This juice is tangy, sweet and really filling. And the best part? You do not taste the spinach at all. You get pineapple and blackberry flavor in equal measue with a bit of zing from the apple.
If you want it to be a true happy hour, you can add vodka. I recommend lemon or blackberry vodka, it really adds something.
Juniper Jacket (Athleta, $118)
And what do I wear when I juice? Workout clothes. I don’t even know who I am anymore.
Which juicer did you end up getting?
I really like adding squash or zucchini or cucumber to my juice since it really bulks it out without giving the end product a lot of flavor. It's easy to cover up with ginger or an apple, for what it's worth.
I love adding spinach to my smoothies. I get the nutrients, and you can't even taste them with the rest of the sweet stuff going on.
I LOVE how you have the healthy version AND the alcohol version. 🙂 Makes non-juicers like me consider getting one. It sounds like a great way to get some nutrients that I'm sure I'm missing and maybe stumble upon a new happy hour cocktail.
My parents started jucing this summer and they are loving the health benefits! I loved going to whole food to pick out the most obscure vegtables so that I could get these great vitamins in just a few big gulps. Have you heard of the Juice Lady? Her cookbooks have lots of great recipes.
I've been really into smoothies for breakfast, and almost ALWAYS use spinach! It's a “sweeter” green, so bananas plus strawberries, blueberries, mango, or blackberries plus some peanut butter or honey easily hide the flavor. Such a great way to get my veggies and nutrients, but I may have to look into getting a juicer now too!
I've seen this jacket in person and it is even more adorable than the pictures!