Alright, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna talk about the weather. Guys- it is SO darn hot here in Oaxaca. Like three showers a day hot. And it’s been this way since the beginning of February… I just didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid I’d have no friends after the polar vortexes (times a billion) you’ve all been dealing with. If you could just give me a little bit of that cold, I promise to share some of this heat.
Of course, there is no air conditioner anywhere to be found here. All I have is my trusty fan. Here’s the other thing too- in Mexican cities, people don’t really wear shorts or very summery clothing, even when it’s burning hot out. In fact, I have seen lots of people wearing long pants, boots, and sweaters in the middle of the day. I wish someone could explain this to me.
As a “gringa”, I tend to get a little too much attention on just an average day, so if I were to show lots of skin it would be a nightmare. I already walk around with my headphones in most of the time so I can’t hear what anyone says to me. So on most days I opt for a long skirt or dress, or even capri pants. It’s gotten to the point where I look in my closet and want to cry because ALL I want to wear is shorts or a short and flowy dress.
For now though, I’m getting by with lots of sweating, sitting in front of the fan all day, and a couple showers with COLD water. Are we still friends now that you know it’s been summer for months here?
I’m cooling down with fresh juice, too! One of my favorite things about Mexico is that there is a juice shop on almost every corner. It’s so easy to get a refreshing fruit or vegetable juice! I know this is becoming more popular in the U.S., but it’s not so much a trend here in Mexico, as it is tradition.
My go-to juice is the “vampiro” or vampire. As you can tell from the photos the name is pretty self explanatory. The beet makes this a blood red color. I set out to make my own vampiro at home without any fancy juicing equipment and no high speed blender. Trust me that you can use whatever blender you have because my blender is about as sh***y as it gets and it still whizzed up raw fruits and vegetables. It doesn’t even blend all the ice in my smoothie, so I’m not sure how it cut through carrots and beets, but I’ll take it.
When I was getting my glass and jar ready for the photo shoot I accidentally filled the jar with some tap water, which you can’t drink because it isn’t properly purified, so I had to throw out half my juice…so sad!
Make this juice, store in the fridge for tomorrow, and you’ll be feeling energized and refreshed even if it isn’t 95 degrees where you are.
- 1 cup chopped raw carrot
- ½ apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup chopped raw beet
- 2 large celery stalks with greens, chopped
- small handful fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
- Add carrot, apple, and orange juice to blender first and cover with water. Blend until smooth.
- Next, add beet and celery and blend again until smooth. You may need to add some more water at this point. Your blender will be almost completely full.
- Add parsley and lime juice and blend until smooth.
- Using a sieve, strain juice into a large container. Push down on pulp with a spoon to remove all liquid. Save the pulp (there are lots of recipes you can use it in- google is your friend).
- You can strain the juice a second time if necessary.
- Serve cold or on ice.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Check out this post I wrote last year when I decided to have a fresh veggie juice every day for 5 days to see how I would feel. I also proved that you can make lots of different juices with just a blender!
And make sure to save your pulp and you can use it to make crackers, or this One Bowl Juice Pulp Bread // Muffins from {never} homemaker. I made it last night with my pulp and I really liked that it is vegan, uses whole wheat flour, and isn’t too sweet.
Joyti says
Ooo, this looks delicious. And I love the blood-red color. Yum!!!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Thanks, Joyti, for stopping by and for your comment. I love the color too, but just be careful because it stains!
Whitfield says
The fact of the matter is that many of these drinks are loaded with sugar and other sweeteners. Many of them have just as much of that stuff in them as soda does, making them just a small step below the nutritional value of soda. The ironic thing is that you’re usually trying to be healthy when you’re having these drinks!