If you love Middle Eastern, Asian or Indian food, you would most likely came across the ingredient ‘fennel’ before.
Fennel is a very interesting and fun ingredient. Tons of culinary uses, it can be grilled, braised and sautéed. Alternatively, you can also make salads and juices from it – the possibilities are just endless.
Aside from its flavor, fennel is also known as a medicinal plant. During ancient times, practitioners often used it in natural remedies because of the immense health benefits it gives.
Just in terms of nutrition, fennel already has:
- B-vitamins
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Beta carotene
- Flavonols
- Dietary fiber
- Sodium
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Niacin
That’s basically quite everything the human body needs.
People who include it in their diet has up to 10% of their daily required potassium intake. With that it also means you’ll be able to always maintain the electrolyte balance in your body.
Fennel is also a great addition to low-carb regimens because it makes one feel full and satisfied easily. Reason being, each cup contains 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of carbs.
Other Fennel Juice Benefits Include:
- Treating anemia (contains iron and histidine).
- Really good for digestion.
- No issues with bad breath.
- Keep bacteria at bay.
- Great for sore throats.
- Helps nursing mothers stimulate breast milk naturally.
- Prevents osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Maintain healthy cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.
- Women can use it to regulate menstruation.
While most of its parts are edible, the fennel bulb is especially of high recommendation when it comes to making fennel juice.
Here’s how to juice fennel bulb:
- Thoroughly wash the fennel bulb.
- Chop the bulb into quarters.
- Feed it through the juicer.
- Pour into a glass and serve.
Seeing as fennel has quite the distinctive aroma and taste, you can opt to mix it with other ingredients to get the ideal juice.
Below are five fennel juice recipes that will help you get accustomed to this healthy vegetable.
Fennel Juice Recipes
1. Fennel And Apple Juice
We’re going to start with this crisp detox recipe that has a light texture and is delicious to taste.
This rejuvenating drink will help kick start your health recovery, especially after events and holidays where we tend to go a little overboard with our eating. Some people go as far as claiming they can literally feel the nutrients being absorbed by their bodies after drinking it. So, if you’re on the hunt for a new favorite green juice, you know which one to try.
You will need:
- ½ lemon
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 bunch of spinach
- 1 cucumber
- 1 bunch of mint
- 2 green apples (cored)
To prepare the juice:
- Juice all the ingredients (you can also use a blender to prepare the juice).
- Serve the juice over some ice.
- Store the extra juice in an airtight container. You can only store it for a maximum of 3 days.
Nutrition:
384 calories, 64g fat
2. Fennel, Apple, Carrot And Ginger Juice
As far as light breakfast drinks go, this ingredient combination will give you a beautifully balanced juice. A hit among those who are not fans of heavy smoothies.
You will need:
- 1 cup of fennel (sliced)
- 1 tbsp. of fresh ginger root
- 1 ½ cups of apple juice
- 1 seeded and cored apple (quartered)
- 1 tbsp. of lemon juice
- 1 orange (peeled and halved)
- 2 carrots (halved)
- 2 cups of ice cubes
To prepare the juice:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until you get the desired consistency.
3. Fennel Apple Limeade
The limeade consists of an interesting and enticing combination of ingredients. The ingredient list includes stevia but this is wholly optional as some people tend to find apple alone is enough to offset the juice’s intensity.
You will need:
- 1/3 fennel bulb (sliced)
- 1 ¾ cups cold water
- 1 green apple (chilled)
- 3 drops of stevia (optional)
- 1 celery stalk (coarsely chopped)
- 2 ½ tbsp. lime juice
- 4 ice cubes
To prepare this juice:
- Wash the apple. Core and cut it into slices.
- Put the lime juice, celery, apple, fennel, water, and ice in a blender.
- Blend until it’s frothy.
- Add sweetener as desired and blend until its fully incorporated.
- Use a nut milk bag, cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer to strain.
- Serve and drink.
4. Fennel Pineapple Zucchini Juice
If you’re new to green juices, this is a very good recipe to start off with to help you ease into other stronger ingredient combinations.
You will need:
- 1 lemon
- ½ fennel (large)
- ¼ pineapple (small)
- 1 zucchini
- 2 celery stalks
You can substitute:
- Pineapple with an apple or a pear
- Lemon with a grapefruit or lime
- Zucchini with cucumber or celery
Feel free to play around with the recipe to get your ideal combination. If you want a light aniseed flavor, add more fennel to the juice. The pineapple ratio will also determine the sweetness of the juice.
To prepare this juice:
- Wash all the ingredients
- Peel the lemon and pineapple.
- Remove the pineapple’s core and slice into small pieces.
- Put the ingredients in a blender or run them through the juicer.
- Serve and enjoy.
5. Fennel Immune Booster Juice
As the name suggests, this juice is good for your immune system. It has a ton of vitamins and the anise flavor is almost non-existent so don’t worry.
You will need:
- 1 small fennel
- 1/5 of a lemon (with the peel on)
- 1 cup of purple grapes ( 12 large grapes)
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 orange
- 1 small apple
To prepare the juice:
- Wash all the vegetables and dry them.
- Chop the fennel into small pieces.
- Cut the grapes from the vine.
- Peel the orange and grapefruit and slice them into pieces.
- Put all the ingredients through the juicer, including the lemon.
- Pour into a glass and serve.
The Most Challenging Thing About Making Fennel Juice
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, fennel has quite the distinctive aroma and taste which admittedly, is not for everyone.
Some likened it to an anise-like flavor, many have a hard time liking it. Incidentally, the taste and smell of it are probably the biggest challenge when it comes to making fennel juices.
Fortunately, there is a way to overcome all this funkiness – if you have the right combination. Our fennel juice recipes above tackled this problem thoroughly so rest assured you will attain the perfect balance flavor-wise.
Wrap Up
It is entirely possible to make fennel juice manually. However, we’d highly recommend using a blender or juicer because you do get the most yield this way.
Remember to make the most out of your fennel. Do not throw any parts away. There are tons of cooking recipes that make use of its feathery fronds and stalk – just do a quick Google research and you will have plenty of inspirations.