Core your apples and remove the seeds before pushing through your juicer.
Apricots
Rinse and slice in half to remove the pit.
Asparagus
Rinse the stalks carefully and push through juicer, putting the bottom of the stalk through first.
Avocado
You can blend your juices in a blender with an avocado to thicken it up, but never put an avocado in a juicer.
Bananas
Similar to the avocado, never juice bananas! But feel free to blend your juices in a blender with a banana to thicken it up.
Beets (Beetroot)
Peel your beets before juicing them! This will avoid the “earthy” taste that many people complain about after juicing an unpeeled beet. Depending on the size of your beets, slice to fit your juicer shoot. Juice your beet greens, too!
Bell peppers
Rinse and remove the stem, but you can save time and forget removing the seeds – it’s fine to juice them. Cut to size and juice.
Blackberries
Rinse in a strainer. They don’t keep well after being rinsed, so best to wash them the day you plan to juice them.
Blueberries
Rinse in a strainer.
Broccoli
After rinsing, juice it all. From the stalk to the head, you can receive many nutritional benefits from juicing broccoli.
Butter lettuce
Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. No need to remove the stems. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery, or cucumbers.
Cabbage
Green and red cabbage are great for juicing. Be sure to select a cabbage head that is firm with crisp leaves. Cut the cabbage in quarters, or smaller if needed, so it easily fits into the juicer shoot. If you don’t like the taste of beets, you can substitute red cabbage in any juice recipe that calls for beets.
Cactus pears
Peel and cut to size if needed.
Cantaloupe (Rockmelon)
Remove the rind, flesh and seeds before juicing this orange melon.
Carrots
Rinse thoroughly before passing through the juicer and that’s it! You can juice your carrots with the greens and skins still on.
Celeriac (Celery root)
Wash carefully, as grit can get stuck in the nooks and crannies of this hearty root vegetable. As with beets, if you don’t prefer an earthy taste, peel the celeriac first. Cut to fit your juicer.
Celery
Rinse thoroughly and add entire celery stalk through the juicer (even the leafy tops).
Chard (Silverbeet)
Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. No need to remove the stems. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery, or cucumbers.
Cherries
Rinse and use a small paring knife to remove the small pits before juicing. Add a handful to your juicer at one time.
Chayotes
Wash and chop to fit your juicer, then juice!
Collard greens
These are a great leafy green, and can be used if kale (Tuscan cabbage) isn’t available. Wash the large leaves and roll up before juicing.
Cranberries
Rinse and run through juicer. Make sure you juice them with something sweet because these are really tart…not like the commercial cranberry juice you buy in the store!
Cucumbers
Cut the cucumber in half and use it to help push leafy greens through your juicer. No need to peel.
Dandelion
Juice as you would any other leafy green – wash leaves and roll up. Push through with firmer produce. These have some bite to them, so use sparingly, or round off with a sweet and juicy fruit, like pineapple.
Eggplant
I’ve never juiced eggplant and I don’t think I ever will! I think eggplant is best for eating.
Fennel bulbs
Rinse and cut them to fit through your juicer and you’ll notice a slight flavor that might remind you of black licorice.
Grapefruit
Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Grapes
Wash your grapes, remove them from their stems, and add them through your juicer. Experiment with all color grapes.
Jicama
Wash, slice, but don’t peel jicama before adding it to your vegetable juicer. The jicama juice will contain nutrients that were near the skin even after the skin’s been pulped away.
Kale (Tuscan cabbage)
Use any kind – lacinato, red, green, purple, curly, etc. – and add the leafy green through your juicer after rinsing. It’s best to add 3 – 4 leaves at a time.
Kiwi (Kiwifruit)
Peel and run through your juicer, seeds and all.
Leeks
Keep the root and the green part on the leek, and slice in half the long way. Gently separate and rinse between the layers. Check for dirt or sand hiding between the layers.
Lemons
Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Limes
Peel, and try to keep as much as the white pith on as possible (you can use a peeler for that), since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer, and remove the seeds. If you have a centrifugal juicer, you can keep the seeds in. They contain excellent nutrients too.
Mangos
Peel and cut spears of mango from the core. Makes a great tropical juice when mixed with pineapple! Also lends a great creamy texture to your juice.
Melons
Cut into wedges and remove outer skin with a knife or peeler. You can juice these with seeds.
Mustard greens
Juice these like you would any leafy green but definitely choose a small amount of mustard greens. This potent green will give a very strong taste and adds lots of spice. It will literally warm your insides.
Onions
Go easy on these, as they can give your juices a super strong flavor. Some people prefer not to juice these at all. Peel papery skin and slice to fit your juicer, if needed. Onions are another one to start with a small amount, taste your juice, and add more if you like it. If eating raw onions bothers your stomach, you probably want to skip juicing them.
Oranges
Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Papayas
Cut in half and peel the skin. You can leave the seeds in to juice them.
Parsnips
These are super easy, like carrots, especially if you have smaller or skinny ones. Just rinse and run through your juicer! If they’re larger, you may need to slice in half lengthwise. Use these to run leafy greens through your juicer.
Peaches
Cut in half to remove the pit and juice.
Pears
These can be juiced whole. Just wash and slice to fit your juicer, if needed.
Pineapples
The heavier a pineapple is, the riper it is. Grab hold of the top and twist off. Slice into quarters, cut out the woody core, peel the skin, and juice.
Plums
Wash and slice in half to remove the pit. These give your juice a gorgeous color with an antioxidant punch.
Pomegranate
Here’s a trick for this tricky fruit: Fill a bowl up with water. Slice pomegranate in half without pulling the halves apart, and then submerge in the bowl of water to break it apart. This keeps the juice from squirting everywhere. Then, keeping it in the water, break the pomegranate into chunks and tease the seeds out. The white parts will float and the seeds will sink. Remove all the skin and the white parts from the top of the water and use a slotted spoon to remove the seeds. Then juice the seeds!
Radishes
Just rinse and run through your juicer. Leave the root and stem on, but remove the leaves if they have any. Watch out! These can spice up your juice in a flash, so add small amounts at a time. If you’re feeling cold, adding these to your juice will warm you right up.
Raspberries
Just rinse and juice. Add a little bit of lemon to a juice made with raspberries, or combine them with fresh peaches for a peach melba juice.
Romaine lettuce (Cos)
Rinse leaves individually, checking for dirt and sand. Roll the leaves up and run through your juicer. Leafy greens move best through your juicer when followed by a harder fruit or vegetable, like apples, celery or cucumbers.
Scallions
Just rinse and juice! No need to remove the roots or dark green parts because you can juice it all. These have a strong flavor, like onions, so start small.
Spinach
Wash well because some bunches can have a lot of grit on them. Roll into a ball and run through your juicer using firm produce, like apples or carrots to help push the leaves through.
Squashes
This goes for all squashes, including pumpkin and summer squashes: scrub and remove stem. If the skin is really tough and thick, you might want to peel it. Otherwise, slice and keep the seeds in (you get those extra cancer-fighting chemicals by keeping in the seeds), and juice.
Strawberries
Delicious and sweet, they have a powerful flavor when you juice them – so just mix them with other berries, or maybe one or two other fruits. Just rinse and pop right in the juicer.
Sugar snap peas
Rinse and run through juicer. These don’t have very high water content, so they’re not going to yield a lot of juice. Juice along with carrots to drink your peas and carrots!
Sweet potatoes
Scrub and cut into chunks. Sweet potatoes make a delicious dessert juice.
Tangerines
Peel and try to keep as much of the white pith on as possible since the pith contains nutrients that help your body absorb the vitamin C and other amazing antioxidants found in citrus fruits. Cut to fit your juicer and juice. You can keep the seeds in as they contain excellent nutrients too.
Tomatoes
Wash and remove stem and any leaves. If they’re large, you may need to slice to fit your juicer. No need to take out the seeds. Fresh tomato juice is worlds away from that canned stuff!
Turnips
Scrub and chop in chunks to fit your juicer. Turnips in a juice make a great drink for cooler weather when those tropical fruits aren’t in season!
Watermelon
Makes an amazingly refreshing juice, especially in hot weather. Cut into wedges and remove the skin and rind. You can keep the seeds in.
Wheatgrass
Some juicers are better at doing wheatgrass then others. If you’re just doing a small amount, any kind of juicer should be able to handle it. Rinse the wheatgrass, twist or roll into a ball, and push through with something juicy and firm, like apples. Gives a nice and strong green flavor to your juice, and provides lots of great green chlorophyll energy.
Zucchinis
Scrub and cut off stem, but leave the other end on. These are great for pushing through greens.
Herbs & Spices
Herbs & Spices
How to Prepare
Basil
Carefully wash the leaves, removing any grit. If your basil seems very gritty, submerge in a bowl of cold water and swish around. Remove and rinse. To juice, tear the leaves off the stems and roll up. Push through with firmer produce.
Chinese 5-spice powder
Don’t put this through your juicer!! Just sprinkle into your juice.
Cilantro (Coriander)
Wash thoroughly. You can juice the stems and the leaves.
Cinnamon
Don’t juice this either! Sprinkle ground cinnamon on juices with apple, pear and sweet potato.
Dill
Rinse and pull the delicate fronds off the stem to juice.
Garlic
The flavor is strong, and so are the benefits. Use fresh garlic and peel before running through juicer. Start with a small amount and taste your juice before adding more. Better to start small and add more than the other way around!
Ginger
Peel your piece of ginger by cutting the size that you need for the juice and then take a spoon to peel the skin back. You can also use a knife to cut it but a spoon does the trick. Ginger doesn’t produce much juice but it does add a rich flavor so be careful not to go overboard.
Jalapeno (Chili pepper)
Wash and juice. As you probably know, these are pretty spicy, so use with care!
Mint
Wash thoroughly and remove leaves from stem before juicing. Goes great with pineapple, grapes, watermelon or strawberries.
Tarragon
Gives a nice herbal flavor to vegetable juices. Wash and tear leaves off their woody stems before juicing.
Parsley
Carefully wash the leaves, removing any grit. If it seems very gritty, submerge in a bowl of cold water and swish around. Remove and rinse. To juice, tear the leaves off the stems and roll up. Push through with firmer produce.
A great year for hot peppers in Northeast Georgia A shot of a portion of my pepper garden – Shown: Tabasco and Serrano peppers
It’s no secret that the level of hot pepper usage in North American cuisine has risen dramatically. Hot chilies have been around for centuries in South American and other tropical areas. However, there is more to the picture than meets the eye. Hot Peppers have noticeable health benefits along with their lively taste. The spicy element of hot peppers is due to a chemical in them called capsaicin.
Capsaicin is located in the placental area of peppers (the fleshy, pithy part that holds the seeds). The internal membranes contain some to a lesser degree. The seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin. Most of it is in the pithy white portion of the interior of the pepper. Capsaicin does not actually “burn” tissues. It creates the same mental sensation via the nervous system as an actual burn, but no actual damage is done. The inflammation caused by exposure to capsaicin is believed to be the body’s reaction to nerve stimulation. This seems to be a natural reaction that is produced by the brain because the sensory excitement is translated by the brain as a physical burn or abrasion.
The Increased Demand for Spicier Foods in America
The Asian hot sauce Sriracha has recently taken on an more prominent role as America’s favorite hot condiment. Recently, Sriracha sales have grown noticeably every year without any major advertising by their distributor, Huy Fong Foods. Dining establishments have begun featuring Sriracha in many of their dishes, Lay’s, the potato chip manufacturer, have it as one of their top three new chip flavors. Subway has started offering Sriracha chicken and steak melts on their menu. Sriracha is just one component in the spicy foods movement that has gained popularity in the U.S. Chipotle, tobasco, habanero, and jalapeno are on the list of foods that have recently become more prominent in snack foods, as well as on restaurant menus. Doritos brand has 102 different varieties of corn chips. Out the 102 flavors, the majority of these have spicier flavors added. These include Doritos Fiery Habanero, and Chile Limon.
Restaurants and food trucks that feature Mexican or Asian foods now comprise a large number of newly opened restaurants. One thing in common with these cuisines is their tendency of cooking spicy dishes, which is now satisfying America’s growing desire for those hot dishes. Over half of consumers mentioned that spicy or hot foods are appealing, compared to less than half a short 4 years ago.
Health Benefits of Hot Peppers
Cayenne peppers, better known as the red hot chili pepper, are full of the antioxidant vitamins A and C.
Hot, spicy peppers can also work as a pain reliever for some people. The pain receptors within your mouth can get desensitized, nerve receptors in the body can also be desensitized. This is the theory behind using capsaicin and pepper extracts as pain relievers. When applied to the skin, topical capsaicin has been shown to ease symptoms of headaches, shingles, and osteoarthritis. Capsaicin is being studied as an effective treatment for sensory nerve fiber disorders, including pain associated with arthritis, psoriasis, and diabetic neuropathy. When animals injected with a substance that causes inflammatory arthritis were fed a diet that contained capsaicin, they had delayed onset of arthritis, and also significantly reduced extremity inflammation. Red chili peppers, such as cayenne, have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and platelet aggregation, while increasing the body’s ability to dissolve fibrin, a substance integral to the formation of blood clots. Cultures where hot pepper is used liberally have a much lower rate of heart attack, stroke and pulmonary embolism.
Spicing your meals with chili peppers may also protect the fats in your blood from damage by free radicals – a first step in the development of atherosclerosis. In a study involving 27 healthy subjects (14 women, 13 men), eating freshly chopped chili was found to increase the resistance of blood fats, such as cholesterol and triglycerides, to oxidation (free radical injury).
In cultures where people enjoy lots of food laced with spicy flavor, there is a lower incidence of heart attacks. Could capsaicin be the heart-helping ingredient? Researchers once thought that capsaicin would send blood pressure sky-high, but the opposite could be true. As mentioned above, capsaicin can be a shock to your system at first, but over time, you can get used to it. Evidence is preliminary, but there’s a possibility that capsaicin could be used as a treatment to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Eating meals with capsaicin-rich peppers may also help to regulate blood sugar levels and lower the risk of diabetes. And when you lower your diabetes risk, your blood pressure, and your cholesterol, you lower your overall heart health risks!
Tabasco Peppers on a hot afternoon in my backyard garden in Athens, Georgia
Generally speaking, the hotter the pepper, the higher the capsaicin content. So, spice your foods with hot peppers and gain the health benefits that folks in the tropical locales have enjoyed for a long time. Hot peppers can spice up salsas, salad dressings, soups, and vegetables. They also work as a balance to bitter foods like greens. To cool the hotness of those peppers, mix spicy peppers with more neutral tasting foods. These foods may include, yogurt, avocado, mango, papaya, or cilantro. Try a variety of peppers from the capsicum family: anaheim, bell, cayenne, jalapeno, pepperoncini, poblano, serrano, habanero, and tabasco. Chili peppers have a mistaken reputation for contributing to stomach ulcers. Not only do they not cause ulcers, they can help prevent them by killing bacteria you may have ingested, while stimulating the cells lining the stomach to secrete protective buffering juices.
Red Chili Peppers have significant amounts of the following vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin E – Excellent
Vitamin A – Very good
Fiber – Very good
Vitamin B6 – Very good
Vitamin K – Very good
Copper – Very good
Iron – Very good
Manganese – Good
Vitamin B3 – Good
Vitamin B2 – Good
Potassium – Good
Many people adhere to the Scoville organoleptic test to determine heat or capsaicin content; however, the test is flawed in that it is highly subjective. Currently, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to measure the capsaicin content of the various hot chili peppers that exist. This laboratory procedure gives an exact measure of capsaicin, which is given in American Spice Trade Association pungency units but typically converted to and stated as Scoville Heat Units, as these are better known. These are not published publically and the American Spice Association charges for these published results. It is quite expensive to perform these tests.
Read more Chilli Misconceptions 5: Heat Level X
For most of us, we can get a relatively good concept of the heat (capsaicin) content of hot peppers by simply following the Scoville Unit list.
Scoville Units in some of the more common hot chili peppers:
After a review of various recipes for chow-chow pickle relish and learning that there is no set recipe but more a list of loose guidelines or starting points from which to prepare your own. I realized that there is a great deal of latitude when preparing it. All items should be cut or chopped rather small. About 1/4 inch is about right and even smaller is okay too. In my list below, beans and corn do not need to be modified. The simplest relish can contains just a few of the above ingredients. I know someone who only zuchinni squash cut up into very small pieces for her relish which she called “cha-cha”. I knew right away that there is plenty of freedom to make changes – even in the name itself. So, it seems that pickle relishes not matter what you call them or how you make them evolve over time, but the various base ingredients stay relatively the same.
A list of possible vegetable ingredients for chow-chow:
Cabbage – red or green
Tomatoes Green or Ripe
Onions
Cucumbers
Squash
Bell Peppers – Green, Yellow, Red
Hot Peppers – Jalapeno, Serrano, Hot Chili, Tobasco
Celery
Cooked and Drained Kernel Corn
Cooked and Drained Beans – Pinto, White, or Black
Cilantro
Fresh Garlic Cloves
Horseradish (Louisianna Cajun style)
The base liquid is water, vinegar, sugar, and salt.
Along with these 4 main ingredients a variety of spices can be added:
Turmeric
Cayenne Powder
Flaked, Dry Cayenne
Garlic Powder
Allspice
Dry Garlic Flakes
Peppercorns – white and/or black
Dry Mustard
Celery Seeds or Celery Salt
Cumin
Coriander
Bay Leaves
Cinnamon
It seems that chutney and picalilli are all cousins to chow-chow and chutney may, in fact, be the parent of the other two. They all contain the same basic pickling “foundation” of water, salt, vinegar, and sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses). The ratios differ, but the base ingredients seem to be the same. There are minor and arguable difference between chow-chow and picalilli. Some say that picalilli has cauliflower and chow-chow does not. Others say that picalilli is cut up much finer than chow-chow. I call these minor differences. Chances are that there was a divide at some point from the original relish. It all may be a choice of name more than anything else.
This has been one of the best garden years that I can recall since we moved to Georgia. The rain been fairly regular and they have been good soakers. I planted 12 tomato plants this year. Next year, the plan is to plant 6 and 2 weeks later, plant the other 6. That way, the fruit will last longer through the season. I found that pinching off the initial flowers on the tomato and pepper plants forced them to produce more fruit. It does seem to work!
The pepper plants: Bell, Cajun Bell, Serrano, Tabasco, Jalapeno, and Hot Chilies are all doing well “plant-wise”, but only the Serranos, Tabascos, and Jalapenos are doing great. The others are producing, but not as hoped. The Tabasco peppers are doing fantastic and have tons of peppers on them. Next year, Jalapenos, Serranos, and Tabascos will be the ones I plant.
The two pics of grapes above are from a $2.50 clearance vine I purchased 3 years ago. This year, there are 7 bunches coming from the single vine. The grapes have been small, but very sweet.
This batch ended up as 36 quarts. Here is the breakdown for the batch:
40 pounds of fresh pickling cucumbers
Over 15 Quarts of Water
Over 25 Cups of Apple Cider Vinegar
Over 4 Cups of Salt
2 – 1/4 Cups Dill Seed
4 – 1/2 Cups Garlic Chips
4 – 1/2 Cayenne Flakes
Fresh Dill Heads and Tabasco Peppers
Comments: The cucumbers were fresh and excellent in color, shape, and taste. This seems to be a great year for produce in general. Since there was very little waste, I packed these as tightly as possible.
ULTRA HOT Garlic Dills
I had some pickling solution leftover when making the regular batch of hot garlic dills along with some cucumbers. I located several more jars and decided to pump up the heat. I added powdered cayenne to the pickling solution and added dried red hot chilies to the jar. They are not too hot, but they are a bit spicier than the regular hot garlic dills. The taste is still real good!
After dining at Chipotle Grill, we discovered bean bowls and found that we could make them at home. Not only could we make them at home, we could make them even fresher than what Chipotle Grill offers. These bean bowls are all you need for a meal and are healthy. There are 3 main things that go into one of our homemade bean bowls:
Ingredients
1. Meat
Grill your meat if you can; otherwise, broil in the oven. Spice with garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Once the meat is cooked, cube into small pieces. We’ve used chicken (preferred), lean pork, or steak. All are good. Once large chicken breat, one lean pork chop (butterfly cuts work well, or a small steak is all that you really need.
2. Fresh Salsa
Cubed, fresh tomatoes (2-3 medium sized)
Cilantro, minced to taste
Fresh, Hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, chili, cayenne, tabasco) any of these work and use to your heat level
Lime Juice (a good squeeze of one half)
Tablespoon of Olive Oil
Minced, fresh celery (1/4 stalk)
Finely chopped, fresh onions
Shredded Lettuce (on the side)
Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl
3. Beans
One can of pinto or black beans (we prefer pintos)
BOWL PREPARATION
Place a single layer of beans in the bottom of the bowl
Add a layer of meat over the layer of beans
Add a layer of the fresh salsa on top of that
Optionally, you can add small dollops of yogurt or sour cream on top of the fresh salsa
Add a layer of lettuce on top (alternately, you may place a layer of lettuce on the bottom as Chipotle does)
NOTES: Vegetarians can obviously omit the meat. Adding some hot, commercial salsa or additional fresh hot peppers will kick it up an extra notch. We found that 2 serrano peppers will make it nice and heated; on the other hand, one will definitely suffice for those who have a low heat tolerance.
