I officially welcome fall when the chill in the air sticks and leaves start to turn bright orange, red and brown and fall in the wind; and when apples become my go-to fruit. Normally my body craves, like most of you, warming food  in the fall and winter that comforts from the inside out, but I also like to stick to my roots and consume a lot of raw veggies as much as possible. Carrot Apple Blended Juice is my cheers to fall- a fresh juice highlighting my favorite fall fruit, apples with carrots…and no, not pumpkin (ha!). Actually, I’m probably doing the opposite of everyone else celebrating fall since it doesn’t involve pumpkin and it’s completely raw. Juices and smoothies embody the concept of simple food, what I’m all about. Take this juice for example, there are less than 3 ingredients, yet it tastes amazing and is simple to make.

Apples are one of my favorite fruits year round, but when fall rolls around I literally can’t get enough of them. They have the same effect on me that watermelon does in summer- only this time I’m channeling some of the creative juices towards apple inspired recipes to the cookbook as well as here on the blog. Speaking of, I’ve been in the kitchen non-stop developing and testing recipes for the Nutrition Stripped cookbook, which I CAN NOT wait for the day I’m able to share with you all the hard work and delicious food! But until then I’ll just give you a little behind the scenes every now and then.

Juice, revolutionized.

This juice isn’t a “normal” juice, it’s blended! I can almost hear you all reading that and asking, “but McKel isn’t that just a smoothie?”, eh sort of. I love both smoothies and juices for different purposes, juices are great for getting nutrients into your body quick, whereas smoothies contain fiber slowly the process down in comparison to juice- also a side note, read my Juicing 101 and Green Smoothies 101 for more detail on the differences of these two.

This blended juice is just that, blended. I take filtered water with apples, carrots, and a couple other ingredients and blend until smooth. What you’re left with is the carrot and apple juice + the pulp. You could easily add in a step and strain this to make it a juice, but that defeats the purpose of what I’m calling a blended juice! I love having a little pulp left over from both the carrots and apples because it tastes great and contains fiber- the golden component of what smoothies have and juices lack. Apples are great sources of fiber- a “special” type of fiber found in apples called pectin. Pectin is a soluble fiber, which means it forms a gel-like substance in your digestive tract, very similar to how chia seeds react with water while soaking.You can easily enjoy this blended juice like you would a juice, whether it be through a straw or sipping on it. I’ve been loving this blended juice for a pre-workout, it’s easy to digest and contains carbohydrates (especially from the fruit) for quick energy.

Not only are you getting a mega boost of vitamin A through the carrots, but also fiber from the apples. Apples also contain vitamin C, polyphenols, antioxidants found especially in their skin. Apples have long been a popular food and fruit to consume when having digestive issues (from constipation to diarrhea) and for a bland diet when you’re feeling sick- think of the traditional BRAT diet (Bread, Rice, Apples, and Toast…. or in my universe Bananas, Rice, Apples, Taters a.k.a. potatoes). Since vitamin C is one of the most heat sensitive vitamins found in fruits and vegetables and therefore are best consumed raw, this juice is one of many great ways to enjoy raw apples. 

This is also a great juice for the cooler months when the seasons shift, since many people experience allergies, weakened immune systems, high stress (whether good or bad) with getting back into school or holidays, flu season, etc. Vitamin A, found in carrots, is an antioxidant that can help keep you defenses strong in addition to practicing the Nutrition Stripped lifestyle overall. I have a couple options for those of you who don’t have a high-speed blender, 1) lightly steam the carrots making them softer to blend, but also you’re increasing the bioavailability of vitamin A; and 2) use coconut water instead of filtered water for a sweeter flare.

I wrote an entire post about juicing 101, how-to, why, what to look for, etc.; and I highly recommend that if you’re new to juicing or want a refresher course to take a peek at that post.

I hope you all love this one! Tag me so I can see your creations and share, #nutritionstripped

xo McKel