Garden Juice Recipes

We all know juicing is great for the body, but it’s just as good for the garden. “When you juice, you get tons of nutrients for very little effort, but juicing is also a wonderful way to use up extra produce,” says Kathryn McCue, healthy eating specialist at Whole Foods Market in Sarasota, Fla. “When your cucumber plant is producing more than you can possibly eat, cucumber juice is refreshing and hydrating.”

It’s also a good way to use things you might otherwise throw away or compost. “The stalks of vegetables like kale and broccoli can be juiced as well,” McCue says. “Just wash and toss everything in the juicer. There’s no need to peel anything either—the juicer will separate the skins and the rest of the pulp from the juice.”

Here’s McCue’s take on the mojito, plus more juice and tonic recipes from chefs across the country:

Pineapple Mojito Juice

Yields 1 drink

• 1 cucumber
• 2 cups chopped pineapple
• 4 kale leaves
• ½ cup fresh mint
• 1 lime

Rinse all ingredients and put them through a juicer.

Beet Juice

Ground cardamom, beet juice, rose hips and freshly-made lavender tea are just a few garden greats chef Carolina Fidanza features in the juices and tonics at Little Chef at Gotham West Market. The beets and apples for her beet juice come from Finger Lakes Farms in New York or the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “I wanted to make a beet juice that was a little more delicate than the typical earthy juice you normally get,” she says. “I wanted to bring out the beet’s lady-like qualities.”

Yields two 8-ounce servings

• 2 cups beet juice
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 1/3 cup lavender tea

Bring 1 1/3 cups water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon dried lavender flower to the water and steep for 30 minutes. Strain the lavender and mix with the beet and apple juice.

Turmeric Tonic

“The sourness of turmeric is an uncommon flavor for most Americans, but I find it to be very neutralizing on the system,” Fidanza says.  

Yields 8-10 servings

• 11 cups water
• 1 tablespoon cardamom pod
• ¼ cup ground turmeric
• ¾ cups honey
• 1 cup lemon juice

Pound the cardamom with a mortar and pestle. Place 3 cups of the water in a pot with the cardamom and turmeric. Simmer until reduced by half. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Mix in the honey while the water and turmeric mixture is still warm and stir to dissolve. Add the remaining 8 cups water and the lemon juice. Mix well and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Vitamin C Tonic

“The idea for this tonic came from a bunch of tea samples I received upon opening Little Chef,” Fidanza says. “This is definitely a tea: It’s not a big, bold flavor and it’s a little tart, but strangely addictive.”

Yields 6 servings

• 5 cups water
• ¼ cup rose hips
• ¼ cup dried orange zest
• ¼ cup dried hibiscus flower

Bring the water to a boil, add the rose hips, orange zest and hibiscus. Let steep until cool. Strain and serve chilled.

Magnificent 7

At Heritage Grill by Ralph Brennan in New Orleans, Louisiana, chef Steven Marsella offers a juice menu including the Magnificent 7 and Afternoon Break, both full of garden all-stars. "Living and working in New Orleans, it's easy to get caught up in the abundance of delicious, heavy cuisine," Marsella says. "Juices are a great way to get vitamins while you're on the go."

Yields 1 glass

• 3-4 carrots, medium
• 1 beet, small
• 2 stalks celery, large
• 1/3 bunch parsley
• 2 radishes
• ½ tomato, medium
• ¼ jalapeno

Rinse all ingredients and put them through a juicer.

Afternoon Break

Yields 1 glass

• 3-4 carrots, medium
• ¼ pineapple, peeled
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 apple
• 6-8 mint leaves

Rinse all ingredients and put them through a juicer. Enjoy!