fruit juicing machine

5 Best Bitter Melon Juice recipes

May 23, 2014RongHua ChingDrinksAvocado, beetroot, bitter gourd, bitter melon, blender, drink, fruit juicing machine, ginger, healthy drinks, honey, juice, karela, lemon juice, vegetable

Bitter gourd vegetable has many varieties and even more recipes in the south-east Asian region, some of the tested dishes are gobsmacking good. However, I was not used to drinking bitter melon juice that only happened when we moved to live in Asia. For centuries it is known and praised for it medicinal and curative properties purposes. Used as a folk remedy to help with weight loss, blood disorders and bad hangovers; it helps lowering blood glucose levels in diabetics. To extract bitter gourd juice, a juicing machine is helpful but a blender will work as well.

Bitter gourd, bitter melon, bitter squash in English, goes by many other language names

My friends in New Delhi informed me to drink some bitter gourd (Karela) juice on an empty stomach each morning. First, remove the seeds of two to three bitter gourds and use a juicer to extract the juice. Add some water and then drink it. The Indian variety is much smaller and pointier, it differs from the Chinese which is longer and smoother as shown in the image above.

To drink on a regular basis you must have grown up with and accustomed to regularly consuming the bitter gourd/melons juice. Bitter Melon Juice honours its name by absolute bitterness, it is for the initiated to drink without qualms and a taste exploration for beginners to learn to appreciate its medicinal values and flavour.The juice of one medium size Chinese variety bitter melon will yield around 200-250ml and that is more than enough to start the day or adding a new dietary regimen to your lifestyle.

For the healthy nutritional benefits, cleansing, diabetic and inflammatory properties half the amount will be more than sufficient. Please consult your doctor or dietitian for diabetic advice.

Bitter Melon Juice with Honey and Lemon

In south-east Asia, every region has its own dishes and recipes and most likely if you travel around you must have seen or already eaten this vegetable. Drinking the juice or in mixed drinks is something I have been experimenting with various fruits and vegetables to find the best Bitter melon juice recipes to enjoy.

Bitter gourd is a rich source of vitamin C. Vitamin C protects your cells from free radicals, harmful agents involved in cancer development, cardiovascular disease and ageing. It also benefits your immune system, keeps your tissues strong by facilitating collagen production and helps you absorb iron from your diet. A cup of bitter gourd contains 78 milligrammes of vitamin C. This provides the entire daily recommended intake of vitamin C for women and 87 percent of the RDA for men.

: Cut in halve, remove seed & pith

: Cut in cubes or slices

: Soak with salt or lemon juice

: juicing machine extraction

How to buy and prepare

When you buy, do select bitter gourds that are unripe and firm as the ripened ones are extremely bitter. They should have a solid, light green colour, without any signs of yellow or orange colour on the skin or blemishes.
It is said to reduce the bitterness, you can soak the chopped pieces for about 30 minutes in a bowl of water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt or juice from half/whole lemon. Next, to soaking you could parboil the slices or chunks, a method I prefer when cooking.
Rule of Thumb balancing food flavours: “bitter taste pairs with sweet, salty or sour flavours”.

Bitter Melon Juice recipes

Five best Bitter Melon Juice recipes

Scroll down for recipe Bitter Melon Juice with ginger, honey and lemon juice or click on the links for other recipes.

Bitter Melon Pineapple, Guava Juice

May 23, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'sbitter gourd, bitter melon, fruit juicing machine, guava, healthy drinks, healthy juice, juice, mango, papaya, pineapple, Tropical fruit

Bitter Melon Pineapple, Guava juice image will be added soon, run out of bitter melons 🙂

[recipe]

Citrus boost with Grapefruit, Orange, Carrot and Ginger

May 12, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'santi-inflammatory, antioxidants, beta-carotene, carrots, flavanoids, flavanones, Fruit juicer, fruit juicing machine, fruitjuice, ginger, Grapefruit, healthy, healthy drinks, minerals, orange, Philips HR1861, smoothie, vitamins

Busy lives with changeable weather and cold fronts hanging around the corner we need to make sure we get all the vitamins to ward off the sneezes and other fly symptoms. Need to go out to buy groceries and re-stock our fruit basket, with the sun rays shining into the kitchen, what better invitation do you need to make the following Citrus supercharger.

Citrus boost with Grapefruit, Orange, Carrot and Ginger Fruit Juice

Citrus booster; Grapefruit, Oranges, Carrot & Ginger

The Citrus boost mix consist of four ingredients, with the grapefruit and oranges it quadruples the amount of many minerals and vitamins, both juices provide a significant amount of three vitamins and flavonoids. Citrus fruits are the sole source of a group of flavonoids called flavanones that functions as antioxidants.
Carrots are another excellent source of vitamins and beta-carotene ( antioxidant) gives carrots their bright orange color and makes this drink sure look even more vibrant.
Ginger has many benefits, such as anti-inflammatory qualities relieving swelling and pain, it also eases headaches, sore throats, helps fighting against cold and flu symptoms. Besides nutritional value it adds a nice zing to the Fruit Juice and deepens the flavor, for beginners start with smaller amount to balance the taste result to your palate or liking.

Cleaning of fruits is a must, but with our Philips Fruit Juicer HR 1861 there is no need for cutting up in smaller pieces it all goes down the wide-mouth feeder. We have this model for several years now, I purchased the juicer while living in Singapore years back and it has been in use and moving with us. There is a beautiful new model HR1871/OO 800 watt out, which is more compact and technical an upgrade, but I am still content with the first HR1861 model performing without a glitch. It has not let me down ever, still doing its job centrifuging all the best of fruits and vegetables into fresh juice.

If you are interested you can purchase it online at Amazon.co.uk or Blokker in The Netherlands, stores and online. I’ve added the links for your convenience to check for more information. It’s a great addition in aiding a healthier lifestyle approach as well as finishing last fruits with or without vegetables in nutritional drinks made at home.

Oranges & Grapefruit, peel and remove as much pith from the fruit.

Just remember to remove as much pith (white membrane covering citrus segments), especially of Grapefruits it taste of all citrus fruits very bitter, leaving even a little bit of sting on your tongue if you eat them right after only peeling the skin.

Home & Kitchen appliance Philips HR1861 Fruit Juicer

If you only mix Oranges, Grapefruits, mandarin or lemons you can easily just squeeze them but mixing it with carrots and ginger, which have a much harder consistency and impossible to squeeze by hand. A fruit juicer is a household appliance if you give it a good spot on your kitchen counter, visible next to fruit basket you will downsize on spoilage and increase intake of freshly made juices with health benefits. Especially when its easy to handle and to clean, give it a go and experiment with various fruit combination and become bolder with adding vegetables to the mix.

Freshly juiced, the jug yields 1.250 ml of Citrus Boost!

The family enjoyed this combination, tried, tested and approved 🙂 As another option next to good old Orange Juice as a change of flavor and vitamin charger. It sure does not hurt that it boost up your metabolism, wards off colds, helps with weight loss but above all “feeling good”!