A Colorado friend of ours invited us to harvest organic grapes from his garden, which we had never done before. We picked and picked the beautiful little grapes right off the vine, until we had gathered two bowls full of them.

The grapes were a tad overripe, so we decided to toss them into a juicer. In a matter of seconds, the skin and seeds flung to the side and poof, we had over two cups of fresh off the vine organic garden grape juice. With no added ingredients, this juice had more flavor than any store bought juice we’ve ever had. It made us smile ear to ear and we felt like little children, wowed by the new experience.

Bottled juices are often made from concentrate, they are often pasteurized and they often contain an assortment of added ingredients. Companies who make bottled juices are allowed to label their products with “100% juice”, even if the juice contains added flavorings, sugars and/or preservatives.

Making and bottling our own fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and flavored waters helps us avoid purchasing drinks for convenience sake. Taking it into our own hands is the best way we can know where our food is coming from, how it is being grown, what is being sprayed on it, how fresh it is and how it is being prepared.