FP – Cranberry Juice

            I’m a bit finicky when it comes to what I drink, which has caused some problems for me in the past.  So recently I started looking at my own ways to make a tasty drink, that is both healthy and doesn’t force my to spend a fortune in the stores. 

            Recently I have been making home made cranberry juice as it is my all time favorite juice.  The process is quite simple.  Throw a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries into some water (I start with 1 L).  Boil it until the berries have all broken open and flattened and then add a 15 ml of lemon juice and 30 ml of honey.  You need the lemon to get rid of the bitterness and you should honey to taste, 30 ml is my preferred amount. 

Once all the ingredients have combined you have some options.  First you need to choose the strength of your juice.  The 1L I start with boils down to half a liter of very concentrated juice.  I mix the concentrated juice with a liter of cold water to bring it to my preferred concentration but you can use less or more depending on taste.  You can also choose to leave the pulp in.  (Like I do because I like to chew my juice.)  Or you can take it out and save it for the next time you make cranberry sauce or do some baking.  Here’s the price breakdown. 

600g (6 cups) Cranberries for $3.88 or 1 cup for $0.65

946ml Lemon Juice for $1.99 or 15 ml for $0.03

375ml Honey for $4.57 or 30 ml for $0.37

2L Water FREE

Total cost for 1.5L is $1.05 ($0.70/L)

The cost for Cranberry Juice in stores is $2.99 for 1.89L ($1.58/L)

Amount saved = $0.88 or 56% off

Since 1.5L will last me a week and I make this every other week it should save me $24.64 a year.  Not to mention that I don’t have to wonder what someone else has put in my drink in terms of preservatives and artificial sweetening.  No plastic jug needing to be recycled either!