Vale - Juice Master Keeping it Simple: Over 100 Delicious Juices and Smoothies

if you cant get your kids to eat it get them to drink it!

Lets face facts: on the whole most kids just hate eating veg. They dont mind a bit of fruit from time to time, but sit them down to some raw broccoli and theyre more likely to stick it in some soil and shout bonsai than actually eat the stuff! However, turn it into natures finest liquid fuel, mix it with, say, some fresh pineapple or apple juice, and bingo theyre licking their lips in seconds.

Kids are mesmerized by juicing. When they see fresh juice coming out of a solid vegetable like a carrot, theyre transfixed. Little Molly, my two-year-old friend who pops round most mornings for her morning juice, loves veggie juice. Yes, you heard it right, a two-year-old who drinks vegetable juice! Not only does she drink ingredients such as beetroot, celery, cucumber and carrot, but she even makes the juice herself (with supervision, of course!).

Shes not the only one either. I now know hundreds of kids, from age two upwards, who are consuming the finest body and brain builders known to wo/man on a regular basis. In fact, juicing and smoothie making is simply the best way of getting raw live fuel into your kids without the usual nightmare of trying to get them to eat it.

Juicy kids tip

Get your little bin lids to brush their teeth after their juice or swill some water around their mouth. Even good sugars can be harmful to growing teeth! Come to think of it, adult juicers should do the same.

Freshly extracted apple, pineapple, spinach and lemon juice over ice

With Popeye in the title there are no prizes for guessing one of the main ingredients in this recipe. Spinach isnt usually top of the list when it comes to kids favourite foods and if they see you putting the green stuff into this recipe you may have a fight on your hands trying to get them to drink it. This is why sometimes a little white lie can be a good thing. The juice is really green and if you tell them its kiwi fruit that has made it that colour and that its a fruit juice, your chances of getting them to drink it will improve massively. Having said that, some kids dont mind the fact it has some spinach in (like little Molly she even puts it in the juicer herself!), but only you know your child and if you need to tell a slight porky on this occasion, its not a bad thing.

1 large handful spinach
medium pineapple (peeled)
1 apple
1 inch slice lemon (unwaxed if possible, if not peel it)
ice

Juice everything and add ice. Remember to pack the spinach into the feeder of the chute before turning on the machine and then push it through slowly. If you have a whole fruit juicer, place the apple in first, then the spinach, then the pineapple and lemon.

Look whats in it! Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C and E, beta-carotene, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, chlorophyll, sulphur, bioflavonoids, folic acid and natural sugars.

How will it juice the little ones? Helps to maintain healthy skin, eyes and bones. This juice is good for boosting the immune system, great for cardiovascular health and the niacin (vitamin B3) is an excellent aid for brain and nerve function. Although spinach is well known for its iron content, not all is in a form easily utilized by the body; however, much more becomes available in spinach juice. And, with pineapple containing iron too, the Popeye certainly contains more than enough for your little ones needs. Very cleansing.

Freshly extracted orange, apple and kiwi juice, blended with banana and ice

We all know fruit is good for the kids, but very few realize just how good. You may think a carton of fruit smoothie is a healthy alternative to a refined white sugary drink, and you would be right, but few understand the power of a freshly made fruit smoothie. A smoothie that hasnt been heat treated; a smoothie that has nothing but fresh, live ingredients. Very few have any concept of the quantity of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants that nature provides in every fruit on Earth. Make a smoothie for your kids and you will not only be giving them a delicious drink, but a great deal of what they need to grow both physically and mentally.

1 juicy orange (peeled, but leave the white pith on)
1 apple (Golden Delicious or Royal Gala)
banana (fairtrade if possible)
1 kiwi fruit (green or gold)
ice

Juice the orange, apple and kiwi. You can juice the kiwi fruit with the skin on, but this can often be harsh on the back of the throat, so its your call on that one. Place the banana in the blender, along with the juice and ice. Blend until smooth.

Look whats in it! Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C and E, beta-carotene, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, boron, ellagic acid, amino acids and natural sugars.

How will it juice the little ones? Kiwi fruit are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A when the body needs it. This vitamin is essential for the development and growth of cells and helps maintain healthy skin and eyes. Vitamin B1 (found in apples) assists in blood formation and the production of hydrochloric acid, which is essential for proper digestion. Fibre helps to keep kids moving and the potassium to keep their sodium/potassium balance in order (perhaps after they have eaten too many crisps!).

Juicy tip

If you tell your kids exactly how smoothies will help them, they are much more likely to ask for them. If we are dealing with teenagers, its good to mention that they help to keep a good healthy weight and are great for clear skin you know the things they worry about.

The idea of the book is Keeping it Simple and a whole fruit juicer makes juicing that much easier (see The Right Juicy Kit, page 9). Kids Chute Juice has been designed with whole fruit juicing in mind. All of the ingredients fit into the chute, you push down and boom juice done! If you dont have a wide funnel juicer, you can clearly still make this juice; it just means you have to spend some extra time cutting, chopping and feeding into the chute. This gorgeous-tasting fruit smoothie packs more nutrients than you would think. Just look at whats in it below to see the incredible quantity of vitamins and minerals your kids will get by having a small glass.

2 apples (Golden Delicious or Royal Gala)
lemon with rind on (unwaxed if possible)
1 pear (Conference are best, but use whatever you can get hold of)
ice

Put one apple in the chute, followed by the lemon and pear. Sandwich with the other apple and juice. Add ice to cool.

Look whats in it! Vitamins A, B and C, potassium, folic acid, boron, ellagic acid, carotenes, amino acids, natural sugars and anti-oxidants.

How will it juice the little ones? Pear juice is exceptionally good for protecting the colon. Given that colon cancer is now one of the biggest killers in the UK, the earlier you can get some protection into your kids the better. The mineral boron is needed in trace amounts for healthy bones and muscle growth. It is also necessary for the metabolism of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Additionally, it enhances brain function as well as playing a role in how the body utilizes energy from fats and sugars. Both apples and pears contain boron.