Nothing makes me feel more shiny, clean, and energized than a glass of freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juice. Especially after a long weekend of eating all the delicious vegan food. Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? Ours was a busy one, involving lots of driving, and of course, lots of feasting. This week, all I want to do is load up on fresh juices, healthy soups, and generally give my poor, overworked digestive system a little break.

Today I’m sharing my four favorite winter juices. Summer juicing is great, you can feed your juicer all kinds of fresh picked juicy cucumbers, greens, and fruits, and when winter rolls around it may seem like your options will be more limited. This may seem especially true if you’re trying to eat as seasonally and locally as possible. However I find that winter juicing is just as easy, and the variations are endless. This is actually my favorite time to pull out my juicer.

I’ve tried to use as many seasonal and locally available fruits and vegetables as possible in the following recipes. While some of these juices have a higher ratio of fruits to veggies, feel free to flip that ratio around, increasing the amount of vegetables and decreasing the amount of fruit. While I didn’t include any green juices this time around, I hope to do another post soon with my favorite green juices.

Happy juicing, friends!

Golden Glowing Morning Juice

This juice is loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, and detoxifying power to help keep your skin looking bright, fresh, and glowing. It may also boost your immune system and help your body fight off that case of sniffles going around.

Try to use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Ingredients:

• 1 apple, seeded and halved
• 2 oranges, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, scrubbed
• 1 small golden beet or 1/2 raw sweet potato, scrubbed and roughly chopped
• 2 inch piece of turmeric and ginger root, optional

Directions:

Run all fruits and veggies through your juicer. Dilute with water, if desired. Alternatively you can add the ingredients to a high speed blender with 1 cup of filtered water and blend, straining if desired. Makes 1 -2 servings.

Pomegranate Cranberry Detoxifying Juice

Pomegranate supplies lots of skin and immune system boosters, cranberries may help jump start your body’s fat-burning potential while supporting urinary tract health, and red beet detoxifies and supports liver health. I love the flavor of this tangy, tart, sweet, deep-crimson hued juice!

Try to use organic ingredients whenever possible.

• 1 small red beet, scrubbed and halved
• 2 cups of fresh cranberries, rinsed well
• seeds from 1 pomegranate (cut in half, hold over a bowl, and whack the peel with a wooden spoon to extract the juicy seeds)
• 1 large apple, any variety, seeded and halved or quartered

Run all fruits and veggies through your juicer. Dilute with water, if desired. Alternatively you can add the ingredients to a high speed blender with 1 cup of filtered water and blend, straining if desired. Makes 1 -2 servings.

Parsnip Apple Pear Juice with Cinnamon

Parsnips make for an interesting addition to your fresh juice. They are slightly sweet, like carrots, and add a bit of texture to your juice. In addition, this winter root vegetable provides plenty of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, manganese, and potassium. I loved combining the parsnip with pear and apple, and a pinch of cinnamon turns this juice into a delicious winter treat. The pear and parsnip lend an almost creamy texture to this juice, that makes it more of a thin smoothie than a translucent juice. For a tasty variation, add a chunk of fresh ginger root.

Try to use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Ingredients:

• 1 small parsnip, cleaned and scrubbed
• 1 large apple, any variety, washed, seeded, and halved
• 1 large pear, washed seeded and halved
• a couple pinches of ceylon cinnamon
• optional variation: add a 1 inch chunk of ginger root

Instructions:

Run all fruits and veggies through your juicer. Dilute with water, if desired. Alternatively you can add the ingredients to a high speed blender with 1 cup of filtered water and blend, straining if desired. Pour the juice into a glass jar, add a couple pinches of cinnamon, secure the lid on, and shake. Top with another sprinkle of cinnamon. Makes 1 serving.

Pineapple Cough and Cold Cure

This juice has been my go-to tonic this past week, as I’ve been fighting off my first cold in almost 3 years! To help soothe my scratchy sore throat and annoying persistent cough, I whipped up this anecdotal natural remedy, which is based on this homemade cough syrup from Reboot with Joe. I added to it my favorite cold and virus fighter, turmeric, along with carrot, which is rumored to be excellent at quelling coughs and removing phlegm. This is a must-have recipe to keep handy for when a sore throat and cough strikes this winter. You can drink it as a juice or make it extra strong and take it as a cough tonic in a small shot glass.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of chopped fresh pineapple
• 1 lemon, peeled
• 1 large carrot, scrubbed clean
• 1 inch chunk of ginger
• 1 inch chunk of turmeric root
• pinch of black pepper and cayenne (optional)
• teaspoon of maple syrup or coconut nectar or more to taste (optional)

Run all fruits and veggies through your juicer. Dilute with water, if desired. Alternatively you can add the ingredients to a high speed blender with 1 cup of filtered water and blend, straining if desired. Pour the juice into a glass jar, add optional pinches of black pepper and cayenne and sweetener, secure the lid on, and shake. You can increase the ginger, turmeric, and lemon, and sweetener, and use as a cough syrup/wellness shot if desired. I was eventually adding 2 or 3 inch pieces of ginger and turmeric and one extra lemon along with a tablespoon of maple syrup. You can store extras in the fridge for a couple of days.

Get your health and beauty back on track by including one of these tasty juices each day. Your skin will be glowing, eyes clear and bright, and you’ll be fighting off those nasty bugs like a champ!

What is your favorite winter juice blend?