In medical school, we received extensive education on herbal medicine. One of the great Naturopathic doctors who helped integrate the use of botanicals and primary care naturopathic medicine was Dr. Bill Mitchell. His case books tell great stories of people acheiving wellness through natural therapies. I've seen this first hand in my own practice, also, which is why I became a Naturopathic doctor in the first place!
This berry juice was one of Dr. Mitchell's passions. His family still carries on his legacy, and sells a great product. I've used that product personally and with patients, and it's delicious, but I knew I could make something easily at home and reap similar benefits.
Berries, mostly the blue and dark dark colored berries, contain anthyocyanodins. Anthocyanodins are potent antioxidants, and they have a great affinity for the vascular system. Men, young and old, should be on this berry concentrate daily. Women benefit the most after menopause, as their cardiovascular health risk increases.
Here's the recipe: get cooking! Be sure to read the whole recipe first before embarking.
Dr. Meg's Blueberry Juice.
makes 1 quart jar + berry "compote" leftovers
8 pints organic blueberries
8 pints organic blackberries
^ I previously lived in Seattle, and had access to local farms, this equates to 2 flats of berries
1 cup filtered water
1 Tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
1) Turn your slow cooker on to WARM setting, you want things to heat up for extraction of constituents, but not to "cook" the berries.
2) Add all your berries to the pot, add water, and coconut oil. Replace lid.
3) Simmer on warm for 48 hours, stirring occassionally, only about 3 times per day.
4) When done, berries should look "shriveled" like you defrosted frozen blueberries, and the juice should nearly cover the berries and be dark blue in color.
5) With a fine mesh strainer, gently scoop the berries out, and press-out juice lightly with the back of wooden spoot into a funnel that goes into a large 1 qt mason jar. Do this in batches. You will be left with about 1 qt of berry juice and berries.
6) Store in the fridge. I like to eat the berry portion with breakfast (see my recipe for chia pudding) and then take shots of the juice OR add to a large portion of water and drink throughout the day.
7) The berry juice is not very sweet, so it won't affect your blood sugar levels much.
Enjoy :)
