The Ways of Oranges
Our juicer and fresh oranges.
Now, while you can no longer purchase the one I have, you can get the 2nd generation here. It’s the same thing, just a sleeker design, and it still has all the perks and necessities that make it a great juicer.
No, I’m not a sponsor of Ninja, I just really love their products. Although... If anyone from the company is reading this, I really, really love your products (hint hint).
Oranges.
While they are easy enough to find at most stores, I have to give a shout out to Florida. If you ever find yourself traveling through, be sure to stop and grab yourself some fresh citrus. Support those roadside stands and the farms there. They need all the support they can get, and nothing is better than fresh fruit straight from the Sunshine State!
Check out this Orange and Citrus Groves page from visitflorida.com that I came across. So many wonderful stops and places you can order from.
Hint: Stick your oranges in the fridge for a bit before peeling them. It makes it a bit easier when they’re cold.
Ten oranges made just under two cups of juice, and that will vary with each bundle since oranges can differ in size. Now, it doesn’t seem like much and it’s not, but extracting the juice isn’t all that we use from the oranges.
Our jar of orange peels
Lastly, I’m going to toss that left over pulp into my Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor and grind it up as fine as I can. Because the pulp was so thick, I had to go ahead and add a tad of water to help the blending along. When it was completed, it looked like a glorious orange sauce that would, unless you smelled it, would look like unseasoned pie filling (Ooo, great idea!)
As much as I want to try that, for now, I just went ahead and poured it into a glass jar and into the fridge for later when I finally get out that dehydrator. Once dried, I’ll grind it again into fine powder by using my Ninja Coffee and Spice Grinder (I swear I’m not a paid sponsor -Yet)
There are a number of things that oranges can be used for, and they are so beneficial to your body and the earth.
Until next time, do a little dance. As for me, I’ll be doing my little happy dance as I finally dig into that french toast that yeah, is probably cold, but still so worth it!
Rita
Good Morning!
This morning the kids and I got together and made some fresh orange juice and French toast. I used to be obsessed with SImply Orange, but as time went on and I learned more about the ingredients of store-bought juices, my husband and I went ahead and invested in our own juicer. Thankfully, the kiddos love freshly made everything.
Anyway..
With juice made at home, you don’t have to worry about any of the '“extra” ingredients they are adding today. No artificial colors or added sugars or salt. You get to control everything. If you have a blender, you can make that simple juice into smoothies or slushies, and during the warm months down here in Tennessee, those nice cold drinks are a must-have!
Don’t have a juicer? You need to check out the cold press juicers that Ninja offers! I have had mine for about 3-4 years now and it’s still going strong. It comes pulp filters to choose from, a drip lever, pulp and juice catcher. It’s so easy to assemble and dissemble for easy cleaning (it’s dishwasher safe), which is a big factor for me.
While the kids dug into their french toast and juice, I went ahead and got to work with the remaining grinds and peels.
The peels work great for many things.
Dehydrate them and grind them up to use as an orange zest. Use them in brownies, cupcakes, muffins and a variety of meals.
Add them to your compost. They’re high and nutrients and great for your plants.
Natural pest repellent (recipe coming soon)
Natural home cleaner
Natural home cleaner. This is what this batch is going to be used for. All we’re going to do here, is add all the peels to a glass jar and fill it with distilled vinegar. You can add more than I did here, but this will do until I get more vinegar.
From there, I’m going to let it sit, occasionally giving it a good stir for about two weeks. Afterwards, I’ll go ahead and filter out the orange peels with cheese cloth and set that off to the side to rinse and add to my compost later.
Afterwards, I’m going to grab my spray bottle and fill it half way and the rest with water. if you decide to do this, you may want to have less orange vinegar and more water depending on what you’re going to use it on and how sensitive you are to the smell. Since I’ll be using this on pretty much everything in my RV, I’m going to fill that bottle half and half.
Hint: Be sure to always clean your fruits before any type of use, that includes using them in cleaning solutions.
*Please note that the products you see here today are not paid by a sponsor, but if purchased through provided links, a small commission may be given by affiliation