Spicy Tomato Vegetable Juice

Question: What do you do when you get a nasty summer cold with a sore throat and blocked sinuses?

Answer: I suggest a spicy tomato based vegetable juice with raw onion and garlic.

I have been fighting a cold for a few days and late last night the cold won. This morning my throat was sore and my sinuses were blocked. In the old days I would have made a pot of chicken soup. Since chicken soup is out I turn to vegetable juice, which is much quicker and easier to make when you feel lousy.

Today I made a tomato based vegetable juice with raw onion and garlic to open my sinuses. Within 5 minutes of my first sip my nasal passages were open and I could breathe through my nose. Being able to breathe normally makes a cold so much easier to tolerate. I keep this juice in the refrigerator and will sip on a small glass every few hours so that I can keep my sinuses open.

This juice is best for people that enjoy big flavors and bit of heat. There is a lot of “bite” from the raw onion and garlic that comes through in the flavor. The hot crushed peppers add heat to the juice. You can tame the assertiveness by adding less of the onion and garlic, but that is the part that I believe opens the sinuses. However, if you don’t have a cold and just want to make your own tomato juice I would reduce the onion and garlic by half to start.

Garlic has been used for hundreds of years as a natural antibiotic. Since I am not a scientist I cannot prove that it does any good, but I do know that I feel better when I consume garlic at the first notion of a cold.

Spicy Tomato Vegetable Juice
Makes 4 – 6 ounce servings

Ingredients:

14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 carrot, scrubbed and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, scrubbed and roughly chopped
¼ of a red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon of hot crushed peppers (wet hots)
½ teaspoon of dulse flakes
¼ teaspoon of celery seed
½ cup of filtered water

Directions:

Toss everything in the blender and process until it is completely smooth. Store in a sealed jar until ready to drink. This juice is best served very cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 33.19
Calories From Fat (6%) - 2.14

Total Fat - 0.26g
Saturated Fat - 0.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 175.69mg
Potassium - 312.46mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.69g
Fiber - 1.99g
Sugar - 3.64g
Protein - 1.24g

Comments:

I would describe this as tomato juice with the volume turned up. The juice is spicy from the raw onion, garlic and hot crushed peppers. It has a nice thick texture, which is still drinkable. I make juices like this when I have a cold and want to open my sinuses without medication. The raw onion and garlic are great for sinus relief.

This juice is also good with jarred roasted red peppers and smoked paprika. There are many variations of cold vegetables juices that you can make in the blender. Once you get started making them you may not buy the canned varieties any longer.