Sweet Summer Juice Blend

It’s too tempting not to have a drink, or two specially in the hot days of summer! How long can you steer clear of the sweet, juicy, refreshing experience of a smoothy or a juice blend?  But you have to beware. Smoothies and juices can dilute your digestive agni within minutes, giving you the feeling of satiation but causing long-term harm. In addition,  protein powders and/or other minerals and vitamins also add an additional layer of complication. You may not feel the effects right away, but such mixtures are not ayurvedically ideal to keep a happy digestive balance. But we all could do with a glass or two of sweet summer drinks, so here is a balanced recipe that will keep all your doshas in check, rehydrate you, and soothe your heart and mind.

• 1 red apple
• 1 green apple
• 1 pear
• 2-3 carrot sticks
• 1 orange
• 1 lime
• 3-5 celery sticks
• a good handful of fresh cilantro leaves
• 2-3 chunks of fresh ginger (thumb-size)

variation: you can also replace one apple with some grapes, or blueberries if you like. However, economically speaking, such fruits are always better just eaten as is, as they tend to be a little more expensive than apples and pears, and you will need larger amounts to yield juice. If your juicer is powerful enough, you can just slice/dice your apples and orange/lime and throw into your juicer.

This recipe will pacify your pitta through the sweet juicy fruits, but keep vata and kapha in check with the lime and the ginger. You can reduce the amount of ginger if you tend to have high pitta, but must keep some to keep your agni ignited so it can digest the juice. The celery will help further alkalize and balance the sweetness of the blend. If you are sensitive to sugar, or are avoiding sugar in general, you can avoid the carrots. This drink will rehydrate, soothe, and even detox some through the cilantro. It is a perfect summer juice blend.