Jessica Fisher - Best 100 Juices for Kids

The Harvard Common Press

www.harvardcommonpress.com

Copyright 2014 by Jessica Getskow Fisher

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Fisher, Jessica Getskow.

Best 100 juices for kids : totally yummy, awesomely healthy, & naturally sweetened homemade alternatives to soda pop, sports drinks, and expensive bottled juices / Jessica Getskow Fisher.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-55832-829-7 (pbk.)

1. Juicers. 2. Fruit juices. 3. Smoothies (Beverages) 4. ChildrenNutrition. I. Title.

TX840.J84F78 2014
641.3'4dc23

2013036546

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Front cover and interior photographs by Dimitris66/iStockphoto
Recipe photographs by Brian Samuels
Author photographs by Sharon Leppellere

e ISBN 978-1-55832-837-2
v1.0414

To N, J, C, J, C, and E:
my six sweet children, who have given
my life more joy and meaning than
I could ever have dreamed possible.
I love you to the moon and back.

Kids love sweet drinks. Juices, sodas, and sports drinksthey all offer cool refreshment on a hot day or after the big game. They bring comfort when a cold or flu strikes. They make great accompaniments to pizza on a Friday night.

In a word, theyre just plain fun!

They can also be laden with sugar, artificial colors, and artificial flavorings.

I know, leave it to a mom to be the bearer of bad news. But many of the beverages marketed to kids are just plain junk.

Rather than be a killjoy, though, I choose to be a Yes Mom. I want to say Yes! when my kids ask for something sweet and refreshing on a hot summer day. I want to say Yes! and celebrate a hockey goal with a chilled bottle of lemon-lime sports drink. I want to say Yes! to ginger ale on our family pizza night.

I can do all that by preparing and serving homemade juices, sodas, and sports drinks.

Making homemade juice is a fun and creative alternative to purchasing commercially made versions. Sending fruit, juice, and crushed ice through the blender produces a frosty smoothie that can rival the local juice bars selection. Mixing a bit of sea salt with water, juice, and honey creates a homemade sports ade that beats the bottle. Blending mint and honey syrup with juice and soda water creates a sparkling beverage to please kids of all ages.

With the great variety and quality of fresh produce available to us today, theres no reason not to whip up homemade juices, smoothies, sodas, and sports drinks. You can say Yes! and provide a healthier alternative to your kids at the same time.

Trust me. Im a mom. I know these things.

Years ago, I was a soda pop junkie. I drank a minimum of one soda every day. It was the thing that got me through the day: vanilla-flavored cola, served over crushed ice and savored through a straw.

During that season of life, I also gave birth to six children. And as children are apt to do, they all shared my love of fizzy sugar-laden drinks. (Well, except one. She likes her drinks flat.) I had a hard time telling them No, knowing the wise child would inevitably reply, But you drink it. I knew daily indulgence wasnt the best thing for my kids, but I compromised by allowing them a weekly soda binge over pizza as well as a few sips from my daily glass.

Eventually our family was hit with a few bad dental check-ups and a number of cavities to fillmine as well as the childrens. At about the same time, I started to do some in-depth food research about processed sugars, additives, and the American food supply as a whole. I realized then that I wasnt feeding my children (not to mention myself and my husband) the best possible food and drink. Without watching a single panic-inducing documentary, I simply concluded that we could be eating better.

Slowly, taking baby steps, I set out to reform our eating habits. I reduced our intake of processed foods, limited our fast food meals, and became intent on buying the best ingredients our budget could handle. My familys health became a bigger priority. Along the way, I ditched my soda-drinking habit and curbed theirs as well. (Coincidentally or not, our large dental bills have all but disappeared, too.)

Our new diet included more whole foods, more meals cooked from scratch, and more organic ingredients when we could afford them. Obviously, feeding six children isnt an inexpensive endeavor, but I decided to make every bite count. At this time, we also joined an organic produce co-op that delivered a ginormous box of fruits and vegetables each week. The weekly price of $36 for all the fruits and veggies we could eat was well worth it.

With the produce box came the opportunity to try a number of foods that Id never purchased beforeas well as some Id never even heard of! My kids, my husband, and I were in for a new adventure. I wasnt following some faddish eat-all-the-weird-things-you-can-eat diet. I simply wanted to see what else the world had to offer in terms of good taste and nutrition. And I had an inkling that it didnt come in a brightly colored box or can marketed with a memorable jingle.

Im happy to report that weve discovered the beauty of leeks, pea tendrils, pomegranates, and leafy greens. (Weve also decided that were happy to share our persimmons and collard greens with whatever friends and neighbors will take them off our hands.) While we still eat burgers and fries and pizza, and indulge in the occasional fountain drink, we enjoy more homemade whole foods, and our familys health is much better for it.

True to their roots and their mamas sweet tooth, my kids still crave a sweet drink. In the early years, we incorporated bottled juices and juice-based sparkling drinks into their pizza-night menu and let them enjoy the occasional smoothie-bar beverage or frozen juice pop. But all that glitters is not gold. I started reading labels. Ahem. The labels on those bottles and frosty treats may boast of good nutrition, but these products often contain hidden sugars and additives that wed be better off avoiding. I was stunned when I realized what was going into the blender at the local smoothie bar.

Enter the juice extractor, citrus press, blender, and ice pop molds.

In my efforts to have my sweet, tasty drinks and enjoy them with a clear conscience, too, Ive taken my family to the next stage of the adventure: making these items at home.

A few small kitchen appliances are really all I need to make healthier versions of these special drinks my children crave. In the process, I also save money and introduce my kids to new tastes and flavors. Did you know that beets turn juice a beautiful shade of pink? And the produce-box parsnips that we once shunned work really well in homemade juices. Honey can be used in place of sugar in simple syrup, making a perfect natural sweetener for smoothies, slushies, and other cold drinks.

This book documents our familys journey down the road to creating homemade juices, smoothies, sports drinks, sparklies, slushies, and ice pops.

I dont make any health claims. Im a mom trying to feed her children welland stay under budget. I dont know that drinking homemade juices will cure what ails us. I cant promise that your familys cavities will disappear, as ours seem to have done.