Medicine and pharmaceutical industry annually delight us with new discoveries, treatment methods and drugs. But isn't it better to learn how to make the most of the healing properties of the food we are used to? It is not for nothing that Ayurveda specialists are so fond of the ancient Indian proverb “If you eat right, you don’t need medicine, but if you eat wrong. They won't help you. "
Pumpkin tarts, smoothies, lasagna and stews are healthy and delicious. But during culinary processing, the vitamins that are contained in the vegetable are destroyed. Therefore, in order to preserve the usefulness of the product to the maximum, it is better to eat pumpkin raw. You can add it to salads, make a pumpkin straw appetizer (goes well with sour cream or tomato sauce). Or you can diversify your diet with homemade or purchased pumpkin juice, using it before, during or after meals.
- What are the benefits of pumpkin juice
- How to make pumpkin juice
- How to store pumpkin juice
- Pumpkin juice consumption rates
- Can pumpkin juice be harmful?
What are the benefits of pumpkin juice
Apple and orange, carrot, cherry and grapefruit, grape and even pear, tangerine and banana - these juices will surprise no one. But juice from ordinary pumpkin is not very popular. And it would be worth it, because it contains a whole range of useful substances, strengthens health, has a positive effect on appearance and, in addition, has an incredible taste. Let's talk a little more about pumpkin juice.
Benefits of pumpkin juice for appearance
Many vegetables, fruits and berries can not only be eaten, but also used as a cosmetic or medicine for external use. It is real to become more beautiful and healthier with the help of natural gifts. And pumpkin is a great helper in this, and the following facts are proof of this [1] [2]
Drink one glass of fresh pumpkin juice in the morning every day for a month and you will see for yourself how good this product is for improving your well-being and appearance.
Pumpkin juice treatment
Freshly squeezed pumpkin drink is useful for bile stasis caused by cholecystitis, as well as for pain in case of exacerbation of pyelonephritis or other kidney diseases. People with serious kidney problems are advised to consult with their healthcare professional before starting this therapy. The chemical composition of pumpkin is very diverse, while the nutrients are ideally balanced for maximum absorption by the human body.
The benefits of pumpkin juice for children
During the period of active growth, the child's body especially needs a regular intake of vitamins and minerals. Enough 1-3 glasses of juice a day for the child to receive a certain amount of fiber and the lion's dose of the daily intake of vitamins A, B, C, K. In addition, pumpkin contains a lot of pectin, which has powerful cleansing properties (it removes toxins, pesticides, radionuclides). Pectin also normalizes intestinal motility and improves blood clotting.
Can you drink pumpkin juice while breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding (Breastfeeding) is a period that makes significant adjustments to a woman's diet. Many of your favorite foods have to be discarded due to the risk of developing allergies or flatulence in the newborn. After all, all the food that mothers eat during lactation is passed on with milk to babies. However, pumpkin is not a prohibited food during breastfeeding [9]
How to make pumpkin juice
Confidence in the freshness and quality of the product and all its components is possible only if you are engaged in juicing yourself. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to do this at home. It is only important to make sure that the pumpkin is fully ripe, without traces of rot, mold, diaper rash or disease.
Homemade pumpkin drink through a juicer
The easiest way to make pumpkin juice is as follows: wash the vegetable thoroughly, peel the fruit from the seeds and rind, and pass the chopped pulp through a juicer. But be careful: make sure that your model of household appliance is capable of handling hard vegetables (you can learn about this from the instructions for the device).
Juice without a juicer
If you do not have a home juicer, this is not a reason to deny yourself the opportunity to feast on health benefits. We are adopting the second method.
Three prepared pumpkin (washed and peeled from seeds and skins) on the smallest grater you have. We squeeze the resulting mass through cheesecloth. The cake remaining after cooking can be used as food (as a component for baking, for making jelly, soups, stews, vegetable cutlets and even wine) or as a cosmetic ingredient for a mask or wrapping.
If this method seems too laborious for you, try making a juice puree from boiled pumpkin pulp. To do this, you will need to prepare the pumpkin, as described above, grate it (you can use a large one) and boil it with water. It is recommended to take liquids at the rate of 1 liter for every half a kilo of pumpkin pulp. When the fruit is tender, beat the mixture until smooth with a blender or rub through a sieve. This drink contains fewer vitamins, but much more fiber and pectin, so it is also very healthy.
Boiled pumpkin juice with pulp is made even easier: you just need to stew the prepared pumpkin pieces with a little water (100-200 ml per 1 kg of vegetable), beat the softened mass with a blender or rub it through a sieve.
That's all the features of homemade pumpkin nectar. Drinking this vegetable makes a healthy snack that you can easily take with you wherever you go.
How to improve the taste of pumpkin juice
If the taste of a pure pumpkin drink seems too austere for you, use additives to add new flavors and aromas to it.
Here are some delicious pumpkin pairings:
- pumpkin and lemon;
- pumpkin, apple, carrot;
- pumpkin, coconut milk, vanilla;
- pumpkin, raspberries, milk;
- pumpkin, banana, strawberry;
- pumpkin and pear;
- pumpkin and orange;
- pumpkin, milk, honey, nutmeg;
- pumpkin and pineapple;
- pumpkin, black tea, ginger.
Pumpkin juice with spices
Pumpkin nectar itself may not be very tasty, and not everyone likes its specific smell. But the advantage of pumpkin fresh is that it can be drunk both with sweet additives and in combination with vegetable juices, salt and spices. Milk and yoghurt cocktails with the addition of pumpkin are delicious.
Which spices to use, decide for yourself based on personal experience and preferences, but most often cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, vanilla are added to pumpkin cocktails.
The simplest pumpkin cocktail recipe is yoghurt. To prepare it, you will need 100 ml of pumpkin juice, 100 ml of carrot juice, 200 ml of plain yogurt, 3 tbsp. l. sugar, cream. Mix all the ingredients and whisk in a blender for 3-4 minutes. The drink is served sprinkled with dried and crushed pumpkin seeds or nuts.
Carrot and pumpkin drink
Pumpkin goes very well with carrots, so be sure to try the following recipe: mix 150 ml of pumpkin juice with 100 ml of carrot juice, add a tablespoon of cream (use vegetable oil for the lean version).
Pumpkin latte
For lovers of original drinks with coffee, the following recipe is suitable:
How to store pumpkin juice
Freshly squeezed juices have a very limited shelf life - it is better to use them in the first 2-3 hours after preparation. But if it becomes necessary to hold the drink longer than this period, care should be taken to preserve its benefits as much as possible.
Freezing
This method allows you to preserve both the taste and vitamins of the product. It is recommended to freeze pumpkin puree in ice cube trays or trays for making homemade ice cream. By the way, popsicles made from sweetened pumpkin nectar are a great summer treat for kids. In the freezer, fruit ice is stored quietly for several months, but it cannot be re-frozen. This is the easiest way to prepare, so we recommend stocking up on not only frozen pumpkin slices for stews or casseroles, but also pumpkin juice.
Conservation
If you decide to preserve pumpkin juice in jars for the winter, sterilization will be required, that is, the juice will need to be boiled. Several options are available here as well.
The first way is to brew juice in a juicer
If your kitchen has such an assistant as a juicer, you only need to prepare and cut the pumpkin, put it in the upper container of the juicer pan, and fill the lower part of the device with water up to the mark. Then the tank is closed and put on fire. On the side of the juicer there is a tube through which the finished product will flow - place a pan or jar under it to collect the juice.
After about half an hour, you will notice the appearance of the first juice. If you want to get fresh juice without pulp, wait until it stops pouring out of the tube and remove the pan from heat.
If you want a pulp drink, open the lid of the juicer and stir the boiled pumpkin well (it will be completely soft by then). The crushed pulp will pour out through the straw in the same way as the juice before.
The second method is pumpkin nectar with pulp without a juicer
To prepare pumpkin juice without using a juicer or juicer, take a saucepan or deep metal bowl, put the prepared and chopped pumpkin into it and add 200 ml of water for each kilogram of raw material. Then cover the pan with a lid and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin slices are completely tender. Beat the softened mass with a blender (mixer) or rub through a sieve. If desired, the resulting puree can be mixed with sugar. You can also boil a vegetable in a multicooker - this is even more convenient: you can put it on the "Stew" mode for 2-3 hours in the evening and go to bed calmly, and in the morning rub the already cooled puree through a sieve.
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After that, pour the finished juice into clean prepared jars, sterilize it for 30 minutes, roll up the lids and wrap it for 12 hours (until the jars cool completely). It is recommended to store pumpkin in glass containers in a cool and dry place without direct sunlight. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in home preservation.
Usage rates
For medicinal purposes, pumpkin drink is drunk on an empty stomach (on an empty stomach). The dosage for an adult can range from 1 to 3 glasses a day [10]
But do not forget that juices, especially canned with sugar or in combination with fruit and berry nectars, are high in calories. So be sure to calculate your daily calorie intake so as not to gain excess weight during the juice therapy process.
Freshly squeezed natural pumpkin juice without additives does not harm the figure at all, because 100 g of the drink contains an average of 38 kcal [11]
Drinking pumpkin juice is allowed from the age of six months (in the absence of medical contraindications) [10] [12]
Can pumpkin juice be harmful?
In stores, it is easy to find canned juice of industrial production in cans. Of course, buying one is easier than making a drink at home. But think about this: buying a store product, you will not be able to check the quality of raw materials, compliance with production technology and composition. And the manufacturer thinks first of all about his benefits, not about your health. For example, preservatives, acidity regulators, flavors or even coloring agents can be added to ready-made juices to make the drink look brighter and more appetizing. But the word “homogenized” on the packaging should not scare you: it means that the juice has been brought to homogeneity. Recovered nectars can hardly be called useful at all. And don't forget about the high sugar content of these drinks. So, if possible, it is better to refuse purchased juice.
Self-made fresh juice is much better, but it is worth remembering that it is not a panacea, and if used incorrectly, it can do harm at all.
Pumpkin juice is contraindicated for people with diseases associated with low acidity of the stomach, or inflammation of the intestines. In addition, it should not be taken in case of diarrhea, because a drink from this vegetable weakens, which means that it will only worsen the condition [12] with blueberries, bananas, pears, and black chokeberries.
With increased intestinal sensitivity, pumpkin juice is best diluted with water or whey in a 1: 1 ratio.
It is known that pumpkin is safe even for allergy sufferers, but if you are prone to allergic reactions, choose lightly colored varieties.