Cooling down during summer means more than just adding some ice cubes to your regular drinks. Your body needs fresh nutrients to handle the stress of heat and adjust the activity of your cells.
Fresh juice is a great and easy way to support your health during the long, hot summer days. Cucumbers, watermelon, mint, aloe and leafy greens are made to keep us cool as... a cucumber!
With such a wide variety of fruits available now at the farmer’s market, one would first think of adding as many of them to morning juices. Actually it’s much better to eat your fruits as they are, to get the benefit from their fiber, rather than juicing them and ingesting more sugar than your body needs.
For a balanced nutritional load and a natural energy kick, we like to combine both fruits and veggies in a juice. As long as you keep your juice base loaded with veggies, adding a fruit or a superfood will only increase the nutritional benefits and make your body happy.
7 Summer Detox Juice Recipes
These detox juices are major multi-taskers, though: they do a great job of cooling you down when heat and humidity strike (think of them as air-conditioning for your insides!), and are full of diuretic detox ingredients like watercress, parsley and celery that battle bloating and inflammation.
1. Watermelon Toxin Flush
There's a reason watermelon has its name! If you're one of those people (present company included) who hacks off a piece to eat over the sink immediately after buying one, you'll love this juice. The combination of watermelon and mint is absolutely divine, and the lemon helps regulate your pH.
Ingredients
—1 cup spinach
—1 cucumber
—2 cups of watermelon
—1 lemon, juice only
—5 mint leaves
Juice all ingredients except lemon. Pour into glass(es) and mix in lemon juice.
2. Cucumber Detox Elixir
Bored with your green juice routine? Carrots sweeten this one up a bit, while lemon adds tang and watercress or dandelion leaves (your choice) add a peppery, slightly bitter flavor as well as calcium and antioxidants.
Ingredients
—1 cucumber
—3 celery stalks
—1 handful watercress or 3 dandelion leaves
—2 carrots
—1 lemon, juiced
Juice all ingredients except lemon. Pour into glass(es) and mix in lemon juice.
3. Mint Grapefruit Cool Down
Mint also pairs well with grapefruit, and this easy drink has extra detox power thanks to the immune-boosting, inflammation-fighting properties in parsley, a natural diuretic.
Ingredients
—2 grapefruits
—1 handful fresh parsley
—1 handful fresh mint
Juice all ingredients and pour into glass(es).
4. Cool Cucumber Juice
Spinach is known for its anti-inflammatory effects and high mineral content, while cucumber adds its unique phytonutrients with a key role in cancer prevention.
Ingredients
—1 handful spinach
—½ head romaine lettuce
—1 cucumber
—1 handful parsley
—½ green apple
—1 lemon, juiced
—1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Juice all ingredients except lemon and turmeric. Pour into glass(es) and mix in lemon juice and turmeric powder.
5. Citrus Kiss Juice
Rather than going for classic OJ in the morning, try this improved version with antioxidant kale, immune-boosting ginger, and hydrating romaine and dandelion.
Ingredients
—4 leaves of kale
—4 leaves of romaine
—4 leaves of dandelion
—1 orange
—½ inch piece of ginger, peeled
Juice all ingredients and pour into glass(es).
6. Love the Liver Juice
Give your liver a break with a different kind of green juice: aloe, parsley, cilantro, and alkalizing celery stalks.
Ingredients
—2 cucumbers
—4 stalks celery
—1 handful parsley
—1 handful cilantro
—3 lemons, juiced
—aloe vera juice
Juice all ingredients except aloe vera and lemon. Pour into glass(es) and stir in aloe and lemon juice.
7. Belly-Soothing Ginger Juice
Ginger is a common ingredient in many food dishes, and there’s no doubt as to why—the health benefits of ginger are through the roof! Try this summery juice to reduce nausea caused from sea sickness or travel or to aid digestion if you indulged a bit too much.
Ingredients
—1-inch ginger piece, peeled and grated
—2 limes, juice only
—1 handful mint leaves
—1 teaspoon turmeric powder
—A dash freshly ground black pepper
—2 teaspoon organic raw honey
—2 cups purified water
—To garnish: lime slices, ice
Add all the ingredients into the blender and pulse two or three times to combine the flavors. Strain the liquid and pour evenly into the serving glasses, garnish with lime slices and serve.
Hydrating Summer Detox Juices
Equipment
- Juicer
Ingredients
Watermelon Toxin Flush
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cucumber
- 2 cups of watermelon
- 1 lemon juice only
- 5 leaves mint
Cucumber Detox Elixir
- 1 cucumber
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 handful watercress or 3 dandelion leaves
- 2 carrots
- 1 lemon juiced
Mint Grapefruit Cool Down
- 2 grapefruits
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 1 handful fresh mint
Cool Cucumber
- 1 handful spinach
- ½ head romaine lettuce
- 1 cucumber
- 1 handful parsley
- ½ green apple
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Citrus Kiss
- 4 leaves of kale
- 4 leaves of romaine
- 4 leaves of dandelion
- 1 orange
- ½ inch ginger knob peeled
Love the Liver
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 handful parsley
- 1 handful cilantro
- 3 lemons juiced
- Aloe Vera Juice
Instructions
- Juice all ingredients in juicer.
- Pour into glass(es) and enjoy immediately.
Photos by Ana Stanciu
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