by Lidya Sin

Created on: October 11, 2009

Tomato juice is refreshing and healthy, with lots of vitamin C, A, and very low calorie. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful natural antioxidant to fight free radicals in our body. Tomato juice is healthy and fresh, and it is a more practical way to consume tomatoes with all its health benefit.

Homemade tomato juice is made fresh ingredients without preservative or other chemical additives and can be made in less than 5 minutes. You can easily make a large batch of tomato juice and freeze them for future use. Put the tomato juice in airtight container and freeze them for a few days. Tomatoes lose their flavor when refrigerated for too long but they are still edible and their nutrition is still intact. When the tomato juice has lost its flavor, blend it again with fresh tomatoes to make new batch of juice, or add a tablespoon of lemon juice. When you drink tomato juice immediately, you don't need to add lemon juice as tomatoes already have natural acidity.

Because of my eyes problem, since I was a kid my mom always mixed the tomato juice with the carrot. The tomato will hide the raw carrot taste that I, and other kids, disliked, and thus it is the easiest way for your kids to eat carrots. You can also use this method to hide other veggies because tomatoes taste stronger than some veggies and thus can hide their taste.

Pick fresh and ripe red tomatoes. Never use green tomatoes as they taste sour and bland when juiced. You can discard the sugar if you want to cut down calories or your sugar intake.

Recipes (for 2 glasses):

Pure Tomato Juice

250g fresh ripe tomatoes, quartered

1 tbsp sugar, or to taste.

Blend everything in a blender or juicer. When using blender, strain the juice through a sieve and discard the pulp. You can also drink the juice without discarding the pulp for more filling drink. If you opt to not straining the juice, peel the tomatoes before using.

Tomato and Carrot Juice

200g tomatoes, quartered

100g carrots, cut lengthwise, and cut to about 10 cm long.

2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

Half cup of ice

Blend everything in a blender. Strain the juice through the sieve and discard the pulp.

Tomato and Veggies Juice

1 cup of fresh parsley leaves, chopped coarsely

100g celery sticks

100g carrots, cut lengthwise, and cut to about 10 cm long.

200g tomatoes, quartered

Half cup of ice

Blend everything in a blender. Strain the juice through the sieve and discard the pulp. It is advisable to strain this juice and discard the pulp as the pulp is coarse and hard to swallow.

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