Hi everyone!
I hope you’re all doing great- remember to thank Hashem everyday if you’re feeling healthy and you are not sick with corona. (Or anything else for that matter.)
I know it’s not summer anymore (although it still feels like summer here in Israel) – juices and smoothies are always yum, refreshing and delicious! It’s especially important to drink lots of water as we move into the winter months, because we don’t usually feel as thirsty as in summer, so we might not drink as much. But- we still need water! Water is by far the healthiest drink out there- nothing beats water!
What if you don’t like water? I personally don’t know anyone who doesn’t like water; what’s there not to like about it?? Some people can’t drink water from the sink because the water isn’t drinkable. But in most places it is. Still, if you don’t like water- what should you do about it? And the answer is… drink it anyway! But if you really need a substitute, or want something a little… different (because water can get boring) here are some yummy and healthy juice and smoothie recipes!

Juice

When I say juice, I don’t mean store bought juice- I mean freshly squeezed juice. Store bought juice is usually filled with sugar, chemicals, and who knows what else. If you don’t have a juicing machine but still want freshly squeezed juices, a cheap alternative are the hand held ones made for oranges.
I’m going to talk about a couple of fruits and veggies that you can juice in the machine juicer.
Most fruits and veggies are suitable to go into a machine juicer. (Don’t put in things like melon, it won’t juice very well.)
Some nice combos-
*Orange and lemon (Peel fruit and dump into juicer). Very appropriate for the winter!
*Green juice- granny smith apples, parsley, celery, cucumber and a bit of lemon juice. (Check ingredients for bugs when necessary.) This is a healthy juice that gives you a real power boost!
*Carrot and orange (In Israel it’s called tapugezer.) Really delicious!
Of course you can make a plain juice with one ingredient. For example- apple juice, orange juice, carrot juice, etc.

Smoothies

Yum- I just love smoothies. My mother used to make a lot of them for us when we were young. Just remember- don’t have a smoothie instead of a meal, have it as an occasional snack. Some people think they can have ‘power shakes’ with tons of ingredients instead of a meal and that’s wrong. Smoothies and shakes are yummy and (can be) healthy, but nothing can beat warm, real food.
There are so many smoothie combos out there! I’ll just give you the basics and a couple of nice combos.
First of all, you want a nice base for a smoothie which is usually milk or yogurt. Some people use orange juice or water as a base, but I think milk or yogurt will give you a richer, creamier drink.
If you can’t tolerate dairy products, you can easily substitute rice milk, soy, almond, coconut, etc.
My top favorite smoothie ingredient is frozen banana. Yum! (By the way, frozen banana is a great treat to snack on plain- it tastes like ice cream!)
Second of all- you need a blender for smoothies.
Great ingredients for a smoothie can include- cinnamon, frozen banana, peach, nectarine, peanut butter, oats, strawberries, blueberries, honey, dates, almond butter, ice cubes, watermelon, and more. (NOT all together!!!!!)
Some great combos-
*Yogurt, milk, frozen banana, cinnamon and a small handful of oats to make it thicker (if using just milk)
*Strawberries, blueberries, and milk/yogurt
*Peach/nectarine, milk, cinnamon, peanut butter (not too much), honey (not much)
*Watermelon and TONS of ice- this is more like a slushy, it’s not a smoothie and it’s amazing!
Enjoy!

Challenge- drink some water from some different bottle brands and from the sink, and see if you can taste a difference!
Good luck!