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No this is not that V8 carrot juice that has sat on a shelf for who knows how long. This is fresh carrot juice that we made all by ourselves and without a juicer! Go us, we are rocking it today!
Unless you are cool like that and have a juicer. (<- can we be best friends?!) BUT for those of us who don’t want to make a commitment to buying an expensive juicer there is still hope!
But first, let’s talk more about this carrot juice.
No, it doesn’t taste like you’re drinking a salad.
My first carrot juice or fresh juice experience of any kind for that matter was when we were in Arizona, passing through Phoenix on our way to the airport to return home. Of course I had to stop in to give it a try. TBH I was afraid to try the green juices worried that they would taste like a salad, I’m still a little afraid. BUT that carrot juice with orange juice and ginger, umm yes please!
It was everything I had hoped it would be! It was sweet and carroty and spicy from the ginger with a hint of orange. I immediately knew I must make my own. But how can I do that without a juicer?
I remember seeing a recipe for juicing without a juicer by Minimalist Baker a few years ago. To make her juice all she did was blend everything up in a blender and then strain the juice through a kitchen towel and voila we have fresh nutritious juice that didn’t cost us any extra money or special equipment to make! WINNING!
Guess what, friends it totally works like a charm!
I know you will love this fresh carrot juice it only requires 3 ingredients, oranges, carrots, and ginger (+ water). It only takes about 15 minutes to make and makes 2 servings. It’s the perfect sweetness without being crazy sweet and it has a nice kick from that ginger. Plus it’s perfect for summer, so refreshing and a great way to get a lot of vitamins in!
But what about smoothies?! A smoothie, which is my go to way to get a lot of veggies and fruits packed in contains all of the fiber from the fruits and veggies. This is good because it helps our body to process the sugars in the fruits and veggies slower and keeps our blood sugars stable. Plus to me I feel fuller and more satisfied when I have a smoothie.
To make a fresh veggie juice we are removing all of that fiber. The benefit of drinking a juice is that our body doesn’t have to break down the fiber to absorb the nutrients. Therefore our bodies absorb the vitamins and minerals in the juice a lot faster than in a smoothie. Something to keep in mind when drinking this fresh carrot juice or any other juices, is to drink it with a meal so that the you are consuming the juice with fiber, fat, and protein to help slow down the absorption of the sugars.
Fresh carrot juice is packed with vitamin A and beta carotene from the carrots, vitamin c from the orange and the ginger helps with digestion and inflammation – watch out eyes and immune system! 3 ingredients and one super amazing power packed carrot juice! And we did it all with a blender, a towel, and a bowl! We rock!
I hope you enjoy this fresh carrot juice as much as I did. I mean if you follow my Instagram stories you know how many times I retested it to get it just right…or at least that’s just what I told myself ;).
Fresh Carrot Juice (Without a Juicer)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: About 3 cups (2 servings) 1x
- Category: Drink, Breakfast, snack
- Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free
Description
Refreshing, nutrient dense fresh carrot juice that’s easy to make! This recipe doesn’t require an expensive juicer. All you need is a blender, a towel, and a bowl! This carrot juice sweet and gingery. It is packed with Vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C and aids with digestion.
Ingredients
- Juice of 4 to 5 oranges (about 1 cup)*
- 4 cups organic carrots, roughly chopped**
- 5 to 6 inches ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending how ginger-y you like your juice)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold filtered water, if needed
Instructions
- If using a juicer: If using a juicer press all of the ingredients. You may not need to juice your oranges if you are using a juicer, but you will probably need to peel them and quarter them.
- If using a blender: Add the fresh squeezed orange juice to a high speed blender and half of the carrots. Blend until all big chunks are gone. Add in the remaining carrots and the ginger, blend until no more chunks remain, add the water if needed to get the blender moving. Note: you may be able to add all of the carrots and ginger at once if using a really high speed blender. For my medium quality blender doing half at a time works best.
- Strain juice: Place a thin kitchen tea towel*** over a large fine mesh strainer that is fitted over a large mixing bowl. Gather all corners of the towel and squeeze out the juice as best as you can. Discard the carrot pulp or use in baking (try my carrot cake banana break muffins with cinnamon glaze ormy spiced carrot muffins).
- Drink: Transfer the juice to a drinking glass and enjoy immediately. I like to add a few ice cubes to my juice to make it cold, but not a ton so it doesn’t water it down. Store any leftover juice in an air tight container in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. The vitamins and health benefits of the juice will diminish after 12 to 24 hours, so it’s best when fresh.
Notes
*In a hurry you could use some good quality orange juice instead of juicing your own but I recommend fresh orange juice for prime nutrients (which is the point of drinking a juice) and flavor.
**I like to use organic carrots in the recipe when possible so that I don’t need to peel them. If you aren’t using organic carrots then peel your carrots before juicing/blending.
***I reserve 1 to 2 thin tea towels/drying towels for uses like this recipe – that way I don’t care if they end up stained. Although if you rinse and wash them right away the orange mostly comes out of the towels. You could also try using a nut milk bag if you don’t want to use a towel.
I have just decided to start juicing. Your blog post about beginner recipes is super helpful. I eat tons of veggies and fruits, but want to add this to my clean eating lifestyle.
yaay! so glad this post inspired you Lily! 🙂
Wow amusing process. I really like this process. But do you this process didn’t waste much carrot fiber?
Hi Jeson, unfortunately no matter how you juice you will be removing the same amount of carrot fiber/pulp, that’s what makes it a thin juice as apposed to a smoothie. You can try using the leftover carrot fiber in baked goods that would normally use shredded carrots. I suggested a few of my recipes in the recipe notes above. If you don’t want to remove any of the fiber of veggies from your drink than you may be more interested in trying smoothies where you don’t remove any of the pulp/fiber. Hope this helps.
Carrot juice can be made into smoothies with some peaches, natural yoghurt, cinnamon or nutmeg and ground almonds or walnuts. This is delicious and packed full of vitamins and minerals. It goes well with vodka, an orange flavour liqueur and lemon soda too if you want to try a healthy cocktail with some bite.
Sounds delicious. Thanks for the idea.