Juice for thought

Here's a funny little story that some parents may relate to. I wrote previously about my feelings on kids drinking juice (completely pointless and sometimes detrimental). That said, J didn't taste juice until he was over three years old. He naturally prefers water to anything else, and when someone tried to give him pop (to spite me, I think), he couldn't stand it. Now he occasionally drinks juice, although I only buy it about three times a year and he only likes apple.

I justify this with the fact that ice cream and cookies are completely pointless too, but sometimes we all need a little treat. E has had juice once (when a babysitter gave it to him) and he refused to drink water for three days after that. So E won't have any more juice for a couple of years either.

Last night was one of the rare occasions that J wanted juice and one of the typical occasions when there wasn't any in the house. He looked at me innocently and said, "So make some." Um, what was that? He really thought that I could just grab some fruit and magically make juice out of it. Wow. In one sense it's completely nonsensical, but in another, it was a bit flattering. He's so used to me making muffins and homemade granola bars that he thinks I can make an easy cup of apple juice whenever he wants it.

It took some thought, but I did figure out how to make a (relatively) easy cup of juice. J was not surprised, but I was a little. Here's the recipe for all those ambitious parents who don't have a juicer but want to serve a completely natural beverage other than water.

Take one apple and a cheese grater. Using the small side of the grater, grate the apple into the bowl. You'll end up with some juice and a whole lot of pulp. Place a clean cheese cloth in a funnel (this helps to keep it all together), and put the funnel spout into a cup. Dump the apple pulp and juice into the cheese cloth and squeeze until nothing else comes out. The funnel will direct all the juice into the cup, and the cheese cloth makes it easy to get every last drop. You'll end up with about half a cup of apple juice, and you can add water to that to increase the amount. I didn't add any water but it was pretty strong juice, so start with a little water and add more to taste. Voila, one (or one half) cup of perfectly organic juice for your spoiled child! Enjoy!