Happy Halloween, everyone!  I vant to suck your blood…beet juice blood, that is!  So I know you looked at that title and said, “Wow! I wanna stay young forever like a vampire, too!”  Right?  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but I tried, photo-shopped picture and all.

However, I must say that the older I get (I’m 44 this year—yikes!), the less I use and depend on face creams, lotions, and potions, and the more I turn to real food to nourish my body from the inside out.  

    In line with the Halloween theme here, I wanted to share one of my bloody favorite drinks to consume before a workout or run.  This juice is refreshing, energizing, and chock full of nutrients and vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and Lycopene.  Beet juice itself is rich in nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide, and in turn helps with blood flow and blood pressure.  Many runners and athletes are beginning to look at beets differently, attesting to the idea that beets may boost stamina for increased exercise duration.  

    Enough of all the scientific mumbo jumbo.  In my own drinking experience, I find this juice makes me feel energetic and puts color into my cheeks and makes my skin glow.  I hope you enjoy this simple, yet effective recipe!  I do like to drink beet juice straight up, but because a lot of people may not like the earthy flavor of beets, blending together with other sweet fruits and vegetables helps sweeten and conceal the earthy taste.  

The juicer I use is this one by Omega. I’ve had it for 4 years now, and it still runs as smoothly as the day I purchased it. It’s pricey, but I wanted to invest in a good quality masticating juicer that produced the most juice with a dry pulp (which I use as compost in my garden). However, you can use any juicer you feel suits your needs. There are several out there that do a good job. If you don’t have a juicer, you can use a blender and blend all the ingredients with water, then strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth.

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Beetroot Watermelon Juice

• Ingredients:
• 2 whole small to medium sized raw beets, cut into chunks that will fit your juicer feed
• 2 cups cut up watermelon, removal of rinds optional (if keeping rinds on for maximum nutrient extraction, watermelon must be scrubbed clean before cutting)
• 2 carrots
• 1/3 lime, peeled
• 2 sprigs fresh mint
• 1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• Useful Equipment:
• Electric juicer (I use the Omega Upright Masticating Juicer)
• Breville Juice Fountain XL Juicer (another excellent option I have tried)
• Vitamix 7500 Professional Blender (a good substitute if you don’t have a juicer, but you will need to strain the juice using cheesecloth)
• NutraBullet Pro Plus Blender (this is a much cheaper option that is still pretty powerful, but you can only blend small quantities and will need to strain juice using cheesecloth or mesh strainer)
• Fine Mesh Chinois Strainer (only needed if using a blender)
• cheesecloth (only needed if using a blender)

1.  Wash the produce thoroughly, especially the beets and carrots.  I keep the skin on if they’re organic beets and carrots (lots of nutrients in the peels).

2.  Juice all ingredients.  

3.  Pour into glasses, garnish with extra limes and mint leaves.  Consume immediately to benefit from the fresh nutrients. Cheers to excellent health! Happy Halloween, my lovelies!