It is still winter and icy cold in the streets where we live, but when we turn up the heat and close our eyes we pretend that it is slowly getting sunny and warm.
We like to act like it’s summer by drinking some fresh aloe vera juice. It is refreshing and has some pretty cool side effects too! Pure aloe juice is 99% water. The remainder consists of minerals, vitamins and other natural stuff that are found in plants (fat, sugar and acids). The polysaccharides found in aloe vera are very good for your immune system and it can relieve digestive issues such as the irritable bowel syndrome. The gel is also pretty good for your skin, so nobody can get angry if you have an impromptu water fight and dump the content of your drink on top of someone, right? But all of these things aside, the juice tastes really refreshing and the aloe vera plant is very good looking!
You can make two kinds of juices with aloe vera. One is called ‘inner leaf gel juice’ (more on this one later) and the other is called ‘whole leaf juice’. And even though whole leaf juice has a really cool ring to it, we warn against making it! The ‘latex’ that separates the skin and the aloe vera jelly inside the leaf contains something called ‘anthraquinones’. Consuming too much of this can lead to diarrhea and gallbladder lesions. So please avoid juicing the whole leaf!
*Aloe beverages, that follow IASC standards are ok for consumption.
So inner leaf gel juice, you are our friend! Even though your name isn’t as cool as ‘whole leaf juice’, the process of making it is a lot more fun. You will need a knife, a spoon, a blender and some aloe vera leafs. The leafs are supposed to grow back, but our non existing green fingers mostly kills any plant in 2 weeks, so you will have to tell us if that is true…
For flavour we like to add half a cucumber and the juice of half a lime, but you could also make something sweeter by adding fruits, such as grapes or apples.
* there are people allergic to aloe vera, try a little first if you are not sure!
Aloe Vera Juice
makes 2 cups
1 leaf of your aloe vera plant (or some store-bought pure aloe vera juice)
water
optional: cucumber, apple, lime
Take the leafs off with your knife, and slice off any bits that look yellow or gross to you. Wash the leaf and slice it open through the length of the leaf. Take your spoon and take out all the gooey and slimy bits, and collect them in a blender. Avoid collecting anything that is green, yellow or any other color, really… Add some water and blend well. We feel that 1 part aloe vera and 2 parts water works pretty well!
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