Juice Products Association and Sip Smarter are pleased to announce Registered Dietitian Diane Boyd (capefearnutrition.com) as the Grand Prize winner of its healthy recipe contest, Creative New Beginnings For 100% Juice: Looking Beyond The Glass, for her colorful and delicious Pomegranate Vegetable Soup with Lentils. Early in the year, JPA asked 2,000 foodie dietitians and healthy living bloggers to create interesting, innovative recipes using several varieties of 100% fruit juice. The winners were crowned in late February. Brynn McDowell (thedomesticdietitian.com) was named as the runner up for her Baked Salmon with Pineapple, Garlic, Herb Sauce recipe.
These winning recipes can be highlighted during National Nutrition Month in March or served up anytime throughout the year. Diane’s Pomegranate Vegetable Soup, the perfect marriage between 100% pomegranate juice and other healthy ingredients like red lentils, carrots, and spinach, takes only 40 minutes to create and is vegan-friendly. Similarly, Brynn’s salmon recipe consists of only four simple ingredients – including 100% pineapple juice – and is perfect for those adhering to a pescatarian diet or Mediterranean diet lifestyle.
Other entries in the contest used juice in similarly creative and healthful ways. For example, this Orange Tofu Lettuce Wrap recipe uses 100% orange juice to put a spin on an Asian cuisine classic. One-hundred percent pineapple juice finds its way into this Pineapple Sweet & Sour Pork with Coconut Rice to complete the dish as well. You can find other entries from the recipe contest here.
In addition to providing a number of vitamins, minerals, and bioactives, 100% juice has many positive health benefits. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, one cup of 100% fruit juice is equivalent to one cup of fruit and contains similar nutrients to the fruit it is squeezed from. Plus, juice complements fruit and when consumed in appropriate amounts, is an affordable way for both children and adults to meet their daily fruit goals.
