Name: Cranberry, Squash, Apple & Carrot Juice
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1/2 cup cranberries - fresh or frozen; 2 small carrots; 2 apples; 1/4 Butternut squash (peeled. A piece about as bit as a tennis ball. )

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This jewel coloured juice showcases fall fruit and vegetables and with the addition of cranberries is perfect for Thanksgiving.

The nights are definitely drawing in and my thoughts are turning to the warming and comforting foods of autumn. Food in fall and winter need not be heavy and laden with fat and calories; although I am naturally drawn to richer dishes in the winter months when cosiness and comfort win out against cold and wet. At the moment, I am enjoying fruit and vegetables that are harvested now,and find that the reds, yellows and oranges reflect the changing colours of the turning seasons.

This juice uses a mix of cranberries, butternut squash, apples and carrots – perhaps the most attractively coloured seasonal produce. It would make a great alternative to a glass of orange juice at breakfast time, and the ingredients make it perfect for autumn or fall; it would be perfect as a Thanksgiving drink (with or without the addition of some celebratory vodka!). If you like the idea of this you may also like my cranberry smoothie with peas.

I have been using the Optimum 600 slow juicer, which is of the slow, or masticating, variety. A heavy auger slowly turns, squashing the fruit or vegetables against a fine grid or sieve and squeezes and sieves the juice. It is a very different process from the high speed centrifugal juicers which rip the fruit or vegetables apart with a loud high pitched shriek. I tested several juicers a year or so back, and vastly prefer the slow juicer. There were three main reasons I preferred it: first, it is almost silent, an important consideration when you live in a flat in central London. Secondly it extracts far more juice, and thirdly, it copes far better with leafy greens, and larger pieces of fruit – you can drop a whole apple in, for example, and the tough skin of squash or pumpkin does not bother it at all. A win on all counts and an investment in my health.

Admittedly it is a little bit of a business to clean, but like most things if you do it immediately it is far easier and less painful than if you leave it (these should be my watchwords for most aspects of my life). I now disassemble the juicer, remove most of the bits of pulp by hand and drop it into a sink full of water to soak, then rinse it off once I have drunk my juice.

One of my favourite features of the juicer is its ability to make purees, and if you feed frozen bananas or fruit through, the result is an ice cream or sorbet – I could make these in my blender, but the juicer somehow feels gentler and is so much quiet.

Love refreshing drinks? Check out my Cranberry Cooler!