Apple & Carrot Juice + 16 Juice and Smoothie Recipes

A long long time ago a young 26 year old wished for a juicer for her birthday. Her desire for such a kitchen appliance came from the thought that store bought apple juice had too much added sugar. Her wish was granted and she was gifted a juicer.

The first juice she made was apple juice. She soon realised that apple juice needed no added sugar as it was super super sweet and needed to be diluted with water.

After that the juicer lived on a shelf, forgotten, and eventually covered in dust. 

Fast forward to present day and with a new slow juicer sitting on her counter 24/7 juicing has become away to drink more then water. See I don't like squash nor do I drink much soda so to add something besides water I am experimenting with freshly squeezed juice and smoothies.

That's right the girl in the story is me! As if you didn't know..... Anyhow here are couple of juice recipes I have made recently. I have also included several juices and smoothies from other bloggers that I just have to try out soon!

Apple & Carrot Juice: 

4 large carrots
2 apple
1 lime
1 small piece of ginger about an inch
1/4 cucumber

- Chop the vegetables and fruit into chunks that fit your juicers chute before juicing them. Then pour into your favorite class with a few ice cubes!

Pineapple Fizz 

1 small pineapple
sparkling water

- Cut the pineapple length wise and juice. Pour into your favorite glass with a few ice cubes and top up with sparkling water.

I love carrot juice and I was very pleased with the Apple & Carrot Juice the lime and ginger counter acts the sweetness of the carrots and apples with a sharp twist. Pineapple Fizz is the simplest juice ever! Pineapple juice plus sparkling water and done. I found it refreshing and light. Definitely recommend it as a mocktail for the upcoming spring and summer seasons!

I am always looking for excuses to use my juicer and here are some great recipes from fellow bloggers!

The Petite Cook - Vegan Apple Pie Smoothie & Carrot Berry Smoothie & Wonderland Smoothie (pictured below)

From Plate to Pen - Simple Banana Smoothie with Ginger

Made with Pink - Ultimate Healthy Green Mojito Smoothie

Fab Food - 5-a-Day Fruit Smoothie 

Foodie Quine - Strawberry, Blackcurrant & Coconut Water Smoothie, (pictured below) Sparkling Mojito Cocktail Juice, Purple Power Juice - Blackberries, Plums, Beetroot, Apples & Fig, Caipirinha Mocktail Juice

Baking Queen 74 - Blackcurrent and Blueberry Smoothie 

Tin and Thyme - Cucumber and Celery Smoothie (pictured below) & Berry and Rose Kefir Smoothie

Kavey Eats - 3 Ingredient Smoothie | Banana, Matcha & Prune & Golden Banana, Turmeric & Maple Syrup Smoothie (pictured below) 

*images are owned by the respective bloggers listed and linked above 

Treat Petite February

This isn't Cakeyboi or The Baking Explorer, but it is Treat Petite! I'm super excited to be guest hosting this month as Cakeyboi settles into his new accommodation. 

If you are new to this blogging challenge it's pretty straight forward - any sweet treat that is little or petite. So, no cakes or pies and such - only little things like cupcakes, truffles, macarons, cookies, cake pops and so on! If you have any questions regarding this ask any of us and for inspiration check out last month's round up over on The Baking Explorer! 

The theme is: Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It. 

Basically something that you like, love, and just have to have! For example: I like peanut butter, I love peanut butter cups, and I just gotta have one! (I just gave myself a brilliant idea!) Basically anything that you like or love or gotta have! 

Here are the rules/requirements to enter:

• Add your petite treat to the Linky at the bottom of this post by the 25th of the month, midnight at the latest.
• Post your bake onto your blog and link back to Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer, and me United Cakedom just for this month, stating who is hosting this month.
• Follow Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer blogs on Google + (see sidebar links), if you haven’t already.
• If you tweet use  #treatpetite and mention @MrCakeyboi and @BakingExplorer and me too! @unitedcakedom – we will retweet 
• Add the new challenge logo to the post and ‘Treat Petite’ as a label to the post
• Use any recipe as long as the source is noted
• If you like, add your photo to the ‘Treat Petite’ Pinterest board (request access from me – Cakeyboi)
• Feel free to enter old posts as long as you update the post and meet all the requirements above!
• If you have any questions at all, please email Cakeyboi or The Baking Explorer.

Link-Up closed

An InLinkz Link-up

Apple Season Link-Up

We've had an awful summer, but instead of being annoyed about that I am going to embrace my favorite time of year autumn!

One of the reasons I love this time of year is the food! Summer food is good lots of refreshing salads and loads of fruit, but autumn and winter bring in the root vegetables and comfort food that I love! That and it's apple season! 

I miss the days going to an orchard to pick apples! I remember going as a fund raiser for my church youth group and having a blast! So, this linky is all about the apples! Unlike my last apple linky (see here) it's not just about baking! If you have any recipe to do with apples or if you have written about apple picking or apple fashion basically anything to do with apples link it up! I want to see it all! 

How to Join in! 

- Follow the instructions to link up 1-5 new or old apple posts with the inlinkz widget/gadget below. 

- Tweet me @unitedcakedom with the hashtag #appleseason and I will like and RT. 

- In your blog post please link back to this post so others can easily join in too! If you want to use the image above please do so, but it's not mandatory. 

- Again not mandatory but linky's are all about sharing the love so if you have a moment please have a look at some of the other links and comment/share/like/RT or however you like to share the love! 

What to expect from me! 

- Already mentioned above I will RT/like any tweets I see with the above criteria. 

- I will also add links to my Pinterest board Apple Season! which currently has 537 followers (please follow or have a look for ideas!)

- There will be a round-up post sometime in October where I will link back to your posts. An image from your post will be used so please let me know if this is not okay with you. 

- I will attempt to comment on every post as well, but please be patient as I might only do it once a week! Same for adding to Pinterest I will do it as soon as I can! 

Now all there is to do is link up! It's a one off linky which starts today and will end 6 weeks today, plenty of time to join in! 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Pastry Challenge September Link-Up (plus August round-up)

There is a little guilt putting the link up and round up together. However, last month was a bit of a bust with neither myself or Jen really getting a pastry entry in! Jen having a much better excuse then myself.

I did make mini gypsy tarts which were suppose to be my entry but as they didn't turn out exactly how I wanted I was a bit weary about sharing them. It seems that a lot of my pastry attempts haven't been working out all that well!

This month my intentions are to try making from scratch puff pastry. It's notorious for being tricky! Any tips out there please let me know!

If it wasn't clear yet I will be hosting again this month as Jen is very busy taking up a new adventure and move! I am happy and excited for her, but a little sad as she's moving away from me! As for the pastry I will be keeping it open again this month with any thing goes!

Before I go over the ground rules again here is last month's entries:

Churros with Sugar (vegan)

mini gypsy tarts

Here are some of our ground rules and below is the button to add your link!

First bake a pastry that fits the theme (anything goes)!
Second blog about it! Be sure to link back to both myself Lisa and Jen.

If you tweet use the hashtag #thepastryhcallenge and be sure to include us @unitedcakedom & @jensfood we like and retweet any we see!

Please feel free to use the image above in your post as a way to help spread the word. I will be adding the entries to the official Pastry Challenge Pinterest board that you can follow here!

Lastly link it up below, following the instructions on the widget/gadget below.

A few reminders we are looking for new or re-posted posts following the instructions above. Feel free to enter more then one entry. Also if you have a few minutes check out the entry before yours and leave a comment!

Any questions please feel free to contact either Jen or myself! We look forward to seeing all your amazing pastry creations!

There are lots of other blogging challenges so overlapping is encouraged and if you have one we haven't heard of please let us know by email or leaving a comment below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dear Blog, (4)

I completely forgot our anniversary - your birthday. It was on June 11th, we have been doing this thing for four years now. It’s funny to look back at the beginning to see how far we’ve come together. But for this post we’ll be looking at the last year. 

And man what a year it’s been; big things have happened. First I went home for the summer, it was a much needed trip and one that will mean a lot more then any other trip. It was a much needed break and I am forever grateful for having spent those five weeks with my parents and sisters. Then earlier this year (2015) I took an unexpected trip home again. My mom was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer at the end of January. She unfortunately did not survive her diagnoses. I don’t actually know what else to say. I am still processing it and going through the stages. I normally wouldn’t have flown home twice in the span of a year, but I am so glad I did. Never hesitate when it comes to these sorts of things.

Other things that are little compared to that are that my Baby Baker started full-time school. It also meant I went in search of a job and some how ended up with two! Two that still only equal part time hours as I am still a mom! It’s tiring though…either that or I’m getting old! 

But as always here are my baker’s dozen of links and things that stood out last year…in my opinion anyway! 

1. Last summer the World Cup was in full swing and for one Clandestine Cake Club the theme was said World Cup. I didn’t end up making that one as I didn’t have a babysitter and my husband was stuck in traffic on his way home. However I still made an awesome cake! 
2. Then there was the Coconut Lover's Coconut Cake. I don’t know that I have ever tasted a cake as good as that one … well a coconut cake anyway. If you or someone you know loves coconut then I would definitely get this made for you or them. 
3. I started writing Five on Fridays as a way to bring different things that weren’t always baking to my blog. It started out strong, but now it’s a bit random when one gets posted. 
4. From Food Blogger Connect 2014 I met a milk alternative brand called Oatly and they sent me home with a bunch of their product and I made these cupcakes and these donuts with said products. If you know anyone who has a milk intolerance check these babies out. 
5. Change up your tea time with these Apple Pie Scones! 
6. Remember that time I made Sticky Toffee Pudding... for the first time and it was good. 
7. We started off the new year with an Oreo Poke Cake, it’s always good to start something right. I had brought some Jello Pudding back to the UK with me from my summer trip home. 
8. Lucky Charms bark is all you need to feel lucky. 
9. Jen from Jen’s Food and I started up a monthly pastry challenge! PS. This month is breakfast pastries if you want to link up here! 
10. Once again this year I was a World Book Night giver and I wrote all about it here! 
11. Eurovision has been on for ages, but the only time I heard about it was from Father Ted. So, for a blogging challenge I made this delicious no bake treat! 
12. I also took part in a Bookies to Foodies week with my friend Missie who writes over on A Flurry of Ponderings. Which was fun to see some good food inspired by books! 
13. I think this Ginormous Jaffa Cake is worthy of a look back...man was it good! 

Last year was great let’s make it another great year. There are a few things I am looking forward too and some I am hoping to accomplish. I can’t wait to attend Food Blogger Connect again this September. Also I think another bakery tour of London is long over due! I am hoping to bake more with friends and looking to extend the hashtag storybookbakes. I love reading and I think it will be a great way to combine my love for said reading and baking! There is an idea I have had for quite some time now and I hope to finally make it a reality this year! We will see! 

So, blog it’s been a crazy year, but we have gotten through it … perhaps not unscathed but mostly okay. I will try not to forget next year! 

with all my love, Lisa