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Check it out! It has been more than 1 week since I started my little enzymes drink experiment. Looks like the sugar has “sucked” out tons of liquid (or juice) from the fruits. I was just amazed to see the amount of liquid that can come out of these fruits. Well, I heard about it, but never seen it happening before. Just amazing. It has been bubbling since day 2, which is supposed to be a sign that the bacteria (or yeast) is fermenting. And when I open the bottle to let the gas escape, wow – it smells delightful! Something like those fruit jelly candies. Thank the gods I don’t smell any alcohol or vinegar.

Wow, look at how the apples have shrunk. A lot of the moisture is being sucked out to make the enzymes drink. Oh, ya, the colour seems a bit off putting eh? Perhaps I should start thinking of what type of sugar to use to make my next batch of enzymes drink. It seems that using brown sugar will result in some unpleasing colours. Nobody wants to drink a drink that looks a bit like urine. Rotijo suggested Red Dragonfruit. I think that might work very well. A red coloured enzymes would definitely look much better.

And this one produces some small bubbles. I was expecting bigger bubbles than this.

Oh, if I am not wrong, the thin slice of leftover fruit at the bottom is the Water Apple. The skin  (which is supposed to be red) seems to have disappeared! Wow, just shows how powerful the sugar is in “sucking” out stuff. Or perhaps it is just that the Water Apple skin is very fragile?

Another view of the 1 week old enzymes drink. I give it a quick shake once per day to coat the fruits with the liquid. Don’t want mold to form on the fruits.  And I let “burp” the bottle once every 2 or 3 days.

Well, give you guys another update this weekend when I open up the bottle and have my first taste of the urine coloured enzymes drink. Hey, life can sometimes be that exciting!

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Finally, I found the time to make myself some of the very famous fruit enzymes drink everyone is talking about. Well, okay, I am about a year too late but hey, at the very least I did attempt to make one. Most Singaporeans won’t even bother. And those health stores do carry a wide variety of Fruit Enzymes drink. Just mix the concentrate and some water and you are ready to go.  A while back, a lot of my Malaysian colleagues were talking about this. They claim that it tastes great and it supposed to be a very healthy drink. They believe it helps your digestive system. (I believe that it is legal moonshine in Malaysia, lol!) To a point, I agree with them – fruits do contain a good amount of enzymes. But I am not sure whether making this fruit enzymes drink will result in more enzymes when we consume the drink or whether just taking fruits would be better. I mean, does the process of making the enzymes drink increase the amount of enzymes or does it remain the same (from the fruits)? If it does, how does it work? How does the enzymes in those fruits grow?

I know that the sugar for the fruit enzymes are used to “suck” out the juices from the fruits. And of course, it is to create a hostile environment to inhibit the bacteria, mold and yeast so that they won’t grow. But I am very worried about the harmful effects of consuming a lot of sugar. So remember, take this enzymes drink in moderation. And that goes the same for kids as well. I am sure that it will be tasty but moderation is the key here. Anyway, this is better than all those soda drinks loaded with only sugar, artificial flavourings and preservatives.  I also wonder about the alcohol content. No matter how clean your utensils and equipment are, there will always be some yeast in the fruits (especially on their skin). So inevitably, the fruit “juice” will ferment into alcohol – it is just a matter of time. How much alcohol is produced? They tell me to allow this to sit for 3 weeks. That is even longer than what I normally do when I brew my own beer.  So many questions. I guess since most of these are done at home, it is very difficult to get a definite answer. Not to mention, different procedures will produce different results. And small amounts of alcohol is actually very healthy! Just like Kefir which has a small amount of alcohol in it. Don’t worry, you won’t get drunk.

Okay, all the equipment and ingredients need to make the Fruit Enzymes Drink – glass bottle to ferment the fruit enzymes, fruits and brown sugar. The paper towels is to ensure everything is dry. They tell me that too much moisture is bad. I kind of agree – if you dilute the sugar and the juice, bacteria, yeast and mold will have more of a chance to take hold. The idea is to create an environment that will inhibit those foreign organisms and allow the sugar to suck out the juice and enzymes.

After I cut the fruits. Yes, yes, I have no skill in cutting. In fact, this is one of the few times I ever handled a knife. I normally buy my fruits pre-cut or I just order fresh fruit juice.  That is the mentality of  Singaporeans – why do it yourself when someone else can do it for you. It is no wonder our housing estates look like a cesspool on early monday morning (sunday there are no cleaners).  I am using Vietnamese Dragonfruit, apples, water apples and lemon. The lemon is actually very important. It provides a good amount of Vitamin C to fight off mold. Note that Vitamin C is often used by yogurt makers to kill mold on the surface. So if you see absorbic acid as an ingredient, don’t worry – it is just Vitamin C.

What you do it actually layer them like this. Put a layer of fruits, then a layer of brown sugar. Do this till you fill about 3/4 of the bottle.  The last/top layer should be the lemon slices. And finally top up with more brown sugar. In my opinion, it is important to have a slightly thicker layer of sugar on the top. If not, then the top layer of fruits might not get its enzymes  sucked out by the sugar.

Oh, not perfect I know. But this is my first time so please forgive me. It should be packed better. And the top is just too exposed and might attract mold spores to settle. Anyway, I will be giving this a good shake once in a while so that the mold cannot take hold. And hopefully, the taste will be great as well. Not very sure about this mixture of dragonfruit, apple, water apple and lemon though. Seems a bit funny. Well, I will give you guys at update in 3 weeks time when I try out my first homemade enzymes drink.

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Ahhh….peach. Everyone’s favourite topping. Just like strawberries, peaches are placed on top of ice-cream, mixed into yogurt, put into pies, blended into smoothies, added to drinks and so on. It is just amazing how versatile this fruit is. And we can’t get enough of peaches. If only peaches are grown in nearby countries, we would all be enjoying great tasting peaches. But we are not, so we are left with drinking peach juice and eating peach ice-cream. All those peaches from China that we are getting in our stores are not really that tasty. Or it is because the peach has to travel very far to reach us?

However, would you believe that they would add peach juice to vinegar?? I had never expected that they would add peach flavours to vinegar. Seems a bad combination eh?  But guys, I was wrong. Although the sweet aroma of the peach in the vinegar is virtually non-existence, they seem to have mixed the juice and vinegar in the correct proportion. Amazingly, it does taste pretty good. It really goes to show that peach goes well with everything. Anyway, I had bought this a few months back and forgotten about reviewing it. So, I will now correct this mistake and do a quick review on this quite good tasting beverage.

Yes, the pink is the dead giveaway. This is the small pack of Shih-Chuan Peach Vinegar.

Front view of the Shih-Chuan Peach Vinegar.

Hmm….ready to drink. Not only do they taste good, but they are good for you and are packed with lots of nutrition. But first they must tell us what kind of vinegar are they using and how the vinegar was processed. If the vinegar has been processed with heat, then most of the nutrition has been destroyed.

Only 140ml of vinegar. Hardly enough to quench my thirst! Come on, a little more of this drink will make the day go easier for most people. This, just one big sip and the pack is empty already.

Back of the Shih-Chuan Peach Vinegar pack.

The ingredients are Water, Peach Juice, Fermented Vinegar and Fructose. And oh, this is made in Taiwan. Contains no preservatives and you should refrigerate after opening. But seriously, if you can’t finish this pack in one sitting, you have a very small tummy. Smaller than my nephew’s. Remember this is made from fermented vinegar (using Acetobacter bacteria) and not those commerically made vinegar (using some chemical process). Big difference as fermented vinegar contains enzymes and commerically made vineger does not. The main reason I drink Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar everyday is because it contains enzymes. Hopefully, for Shih-Chuan Vinegar, the enzymes are still in the drink. Let’s keep opur fingers cross.

Hmmm……the nutritional table for this drink. Kind of makes you wonder what nutrition is there in vinegar doesn’t it?

Imported by Trouvaille Aiguille Group Pte Ltd. Interesting name. Is it French? I would expect this company to be importing some fancy french cheese than importing a vinegar drink from Taiwan. But sometime, life is full of surprises. This drink is also one of them. I had thought that the plum flavour vinegar would be their best flavour but I was wrong. This one takes the crown.

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I have recently came to appreciate the goodness of fruit juice. As you guys know, I have never been a fan of fruits but since I felt sick last November, I began my quest to eat right. And of course, fruits is an important part of a healthy diet. I mean which nutritionist would not include fruits into their diet plan? It is full of vitamins, nutrients and fiber and have tons of antioxidants. It is like some sort of a miracle food in a neat packet, all ready for you to consume without the need of cooking. And yes, nowadays, the only raw (as in uncooked) food we take are fruits. Most of the foodstuff we consume are cooked and thus, they lose their enzymes. So, raw fruits are our only source of enzymes we normally have.  We all know that enzymes are the little buggers which help our body break down the food we eat. Although our body produces enzymes, as we get older, the enzyme production is reduced and we are unable to effectively break down the food as we did when we were young. When we are unable to break down the food, we can’t get the nutrients in the food, which ultimately lead to death. In fact from what I read, all natural cases of death (which is ironically very rare these days) are due to enzymes depletion in our bodies.

Anyway, after understanding the importance of enzymes, I started taking fruits and other foodstuff which contains enzymes like raw honey and homemade yogurt. The thing is, I don’t really like fruits. Although I do agree that some of the fruits are indeed very delicious and tasty, but I just don’t like fruits. I hate the texture of most fruits (and even bananas). I hate all those fruit fibers getting stuck in your teeth. Then one fine day, my friend suggested drinking fruit juice instead. I thought, hey why not give it a try? Well, I have to say, I finally made it. Nearly everyday, I drink about a cup of fruit juice.  Usually those you find in the local stores like Papaya, Watermelon, Honey Dew, Apple, Orange, Starfruit and even vegetables like carrots and celery. The best tasting is actually Papaya with milk. It taste a lot like those papaya milk shake. Oh, another advantage of drinking fruit juice is that the work of breaking down the fruits have been done by the juicer, so it requires a lot less work done by your body to adsorb the nutrients in the juice. Isn’t that great?

But again, don’t think that you can substitute fruit juice with the real thing. Nothing beats eating whole fruits. One of the things lacking in fruit juice is fiber! Fiber is very important as we need fiber to move things along in our bodies. Without sufficient fiber, we cannot properly remove waste and even toxins from our body. Furthermore, whatever nutrients that is in the pulp left behind by the juicing are lost. Another great way is to use a blender instead of a juicer. But who in the world likes to eat blended fruits or vegetables.  Gross, just like what my nephew is eating. They blend all sorts of stuff in the blender and it comes out like one big mess of ugliness. Yuck.

Anyway, I add some fiber to my diet through dried fruits. The ones I bought from the store taste like sweets (perhaps a little too sweet for me) and I have no problems with them.  And from what I read, they do have some antioxidants which is certainly a plus.

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First of all, I am NOT an advocate of people drinking Soya Milk. I am unconvinced of its supposed health benefits and when compared to cow’s milk, it is even less attractive. Furthermore, I am very worried about toxins in Soya Milk would could potentially be very harmful to our health. If you would like to read more about the dangers of Soya Milk, please refer to this link. And no, I am not paid by the cow milk industry or by anyone else for that matter to make this comment. It is also interesting to note that the cow milk industry is very much related to the Soya Milk industry. The Soy companies are the ones providing the Soy feed to the commercial cow farmers. Yes, the commercial farmers feed their cows with Soy, not grass like what you see on TV. Although you might think that they are competitors as Soya Milk is presented as an healthy alternative to cow milk, they are actually not. If you look at most of the major brands selling cow milk in Singapore, most likely they are selling Soya Milk as well. I am surprised to realize that a lot of Singaporeans are naive enough to believe that the Soy Industry and the Cow Milk Industry are not related in any way.

However, if you still like Soy and are convinced by flashy “Soya Milk is Healthy” advertisements and other crap like that(like most Singaporeans), I would like to introduce to you this new Soya Milk from Nutrisoy – Fresh Soya Milk With Almond. Basically I believe it is just their low sugar Soya Milk with some splashes of Almond milk. Do note that I did not buy this, my parents are the ones would bought it. I stop consciously buying and consuming Soy products a few months ago already.  I really hope that you readers will limit your consumption of Soy products as well.

The poision Soya Milk with Almond in a carton.

Woooohoooo! Cholesterol Free! Reduced Sugar! Healthy! I guess that is why Soya Milk is gaining popularity in Singapore and worldwide. But I don’t believe one bit that Soya Milk is healthy. It is good that people are starting to realize this. So please try reading on the Internet about the dangers of Soy and Soy products.

Cool! It contains Magnesium and Vitamin E! And you get the Health Promotion Board’s Healthier Choice sticker thingy! Well, they have managed to convinced millions of people around the world that Soya Milk is healthy, so I guess it is not difficult to convince a few bureaucrats that their Soya Milk is indeed a Healthier Choice.

If you can’t read from the blurred photo, I do apologize. I will copy the entire statement for you here: F&N Nutrisoy Reduced Sugar Fresh Soya Almond Milk is enriched with calcium and is a source of protein. In fact, US FDA recommends a daily intake of 25g of soya protein in a diet low in saturated dat and cholesterol. This authentic tasting soya almond milk is made from real almonds, giving you the delicious creamy taste. F&N Nutrisoy Reduced Sugar Fresh Soya Almond Milk also has the added goodness of antioxidant Vitamin E to help protect cells in the body, and Magnesium to help with the adsorption and retention of Calcium. Hmmm….I would very much like to read this recommendation from the US FDA. If this is indeed true, we should all be carefully about such recommendations. Anyway, there is no danger in the Soya protein if it has not been damaged by heating or by any processing. The major problem comes in the other chemicals and toxins in Soy.

Made from the highest grade of non-genetically modified Soya beans, using no preservatives or colourings, you can trust the natural goodness of F&N Nutrisoy. Start making F&N Nutrisoy part of your healthier lifestyle today! In my opinion, you should not. Even with the highest grade of non-genetically modified soya beans in the world, soy products can be dangerous to your health. Why take the risk when they are better alternatives to Soya Milk out there?

Here are some more nutritional information for you. The nutritional highlights of this drink is tha it contains Vitamin E and magnesium, it is cholesterol free, high in calcium, contains 8 essential amino acids, it is a source of protein, it is lactose free and contains 25% less sugar. All very cool! I nearly went and drank the entire carton after reading this. Luckily, my good sense tells me otherwise.

Anyway, they also have nutrition tips for you! Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps protect cells in the body. Magnesium helps in the absorption and retention of calcium. Calcium helps build strong bones and teeth. Lactose free content eases digestion for those who are lactose intolerant. Well, all very good “tips” but somehow unrelated to the product in question, right? The ingredients are non-genetically modified soya beans, sucrose, almond powder, maltodextrin, calcium carbonate, trimagnesium phosphate, flavouring, sodum chloride, stabilizer and Vitamin E.

But don’t do it! Resist the temptation to go buy Soya Milk! Go buy some fresh cow milk (pasteurised ones! Not those ultra-pasteurised ones) instead. They look and sound good, but in my opinion, cow’s milk is better for you than Soya Milk.

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Well, finally we got something new in the market – it is the Pokka Fuji Apple Sparkling Juice Drink, available in most local supermarkets. But it still seems to me that our local supermarkets don’t have much new varieties coming in. Everyday we see the same old boring stuff on the shelves. Perhaps it is because these supermarkets are meant for necessities and not for new products or even for anyone a little more adventurous like myself. Anyway, it is good. If not, those supermarkets will have the easy excuse to raise prices of foodstuff and necessities. Like the prices of goods in Singapore isn’t high enough already. That is what happens when you don’t have an open market and there lacks competition among the big supermarkets.

I always enjoy trying out new drinks. But do understand that this is not a real fruit juice. Think of it as a soda drink, nothing more. You should not drink this Pokka Fuji Apple Sparkling Juice Drink and believe it to be a substitute for fresh fruits. It is not even a substitute for fresh fruit juice. It is a sugar-filled carbonated drink meant for your enjoyment. However, I have to admit, it does taste much better than the other Apple Juice Drink I have tried. Not too sweet and the apple flavour profile is just right. However, the Fuji Apple taste is a bit lacking though. I had expected this drink to have this awesome Fuji Apple aroma when I open the can, but I was disappointed. Too bad. But still this does taste better than that China Brand Sparkling Apple Drink.

The can of the Pokka Fuji Apple Sparkling Apple Juice Drink. Tedious name. But as with most Japanese inspired packaging, this can is appealing. Will definitely attract the younger crowd once they look up when they finish texting on their mobile phones.

Nice right? The sweetest and most delicious apples are still the Fuji Apples. Kudos to the Japanese. And hey, this drink comes with real juice! This is just amazing! Never did I ever expect an apple juice drink to come with actual apple juice.

Rich in Vitamin C. No Preservative. No artificial Colouring. But do they need artificial flavours to this drink? Of course they do.

Enjoy a refreshing moment with Pokka Fuji Apple Sparkling Juice Drink! With Vitamin C and no preservative, it is the perfect enjoyment for a cool fun time. Savour its delicious real apple juice taste today! Hmm…..I expected more flowery words than this. I guess the marketing guys at Pokka are busy with something else.

The ingredients that goes into making this delicious drink are – carbonated water, sucrose, apple juice, ascorbic acid, flavouring and natural colouring. See, told you got artificial flavouring. If they don’t add any flavouring to this drink, most consumers will never consume this again. We are just too spolit by the artificial flavourings that we expect the real thing to taste like that.

Anyway, this is made in Malaysia.  Hooray for Malaysia!

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Nah, not really that exotic. This is like the Rooibos Tea (or more commonly known in Singapore as SOD tea), except that it is from the Honeybush plant. And just like Rooibos Tea, the resulting brew is reddish, that is why it is also called red tea. And as with the Rooibos Tea, this comes from South Africa. Hmm…..looks like South Africa has tons of such nice interesting teas. Unlike the more common green tea, red tea taste sweeter and more aromatic. And furthermore, in my opinion, it taste more complex. I have seen people who dislike green tea, find that red tea is more agreeable to them. Of course, the uniquely attractive red colour of the tea is a big plus to drinkers.

However, there are difference between the Rooibos Tea and the Honeybush Tea. First of all, they come from different plants. The Rooibos Tea is made from errr……the leaves of the Rooibos plant, while Honeybush Tea is made from human hair. Na, just joking. The Honeybish Tea is made from the leaves of the Honeybush plant. Although, I agree that the taste between the tea are somewhat similar, I can easily smell the difference between the Rooibos leaves and the Honeybush leaves. Honeybush leaves have this faint flowery honey smell (probably why they are called “Honey”bush, duh!). As for subtle difference in taste, the Honeybush Tea does not have the complex aroma of the Rooibos Tea. I have only tried Honeybush Tea twice, but I still prefer the more aromatic Rooibos Tea. Some people might like the sweeter taste of the Honeybush Tea though. The female population in my office seems to like it more than green tea.

100g of Honeybush Tea leaves. Looks a bit like saw dust right? Bought this online from eBay.For light parcels, postage is cheap, even from the UK.

Another view.

Hmm…..they really look like little flakes of sawdust! But the smell is just wonderful. When I open the ziplock big to take this photo, the smell is really really strong! And yes, smells a bit like honey.

Dang, the leaves float on the surface. But not to worry, most of them will sink to the bottom soon as the leaves soak up the water. Although people call it Red Tea, in my opinion, this tea tends to be more brownish than red (the photo of the tea seems to be a bit off from the actual colour).

Another view. It does take a while for the leaves to sink to the bottom. The leaves are all flaky and light, unlike green tea which will easily sink once they are soaked. I guess the next thing, I will get myself a tea bag and dump the Honeybush leaves into the bag, saving me some trouble. I hate having to dodge leaves when I am sipping tea.

Anyway, if you are looking for a good alternative to green tea and you are worried about Caffine, then Red Tea is the best option. They have rich in antioxidants and minerals and are low in Tanins. Although it might take a little getting used to, I think that most people will find this Honeybush Tea delicious and refreshing, even as an evening drink.

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Looks like berries are all the rage these few days, eh? F&N Fruit Tree Fresh have their own version of blueberry and cranberry juice while Marigold Peel Fresh has this “Powerberries” version. Anyway, all these juice drinks are made in either Singapore or Malaysia, so you should not expect the juice to be “freshly squeezed”. Tropical countries do not have a ready supply of berries. Most of them will be made from concentrates, which in my opinion, sucks big time. It is kind of sad to see all our supposed healthy fruit juices are actually made from concentrates? A lot of the health benefits from juice will be lost during the heating process and I am surprised that Singaporeans still believe that drinking these “fruit juices” are as good as drinking fresh juice. And please do not substitute your daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables with these packaged fruit and vegetable juice!

Ahhh….the Marigold Peel Fresh Powerberries Juice drink.  Note that this is a juice drink, not fresh fruit juice. It is important for us to know the difference.  Oh, before I forgot, this juice drink does not have any sugar added which is a good thing.

Made from 100%! Wow. Check out the photos of all those different kinds of berries. If I am not wrong, they are cranberries, blueberries, mulberries, raspberries and Acai berries. So many berries. LOL!

Hmmmm….what is this Anthocyanin? It is a naturally occurring antioxidant found in berries. They have about 1500mcg of Anthocyanin in every serving.  So I guess this means that this Anthocyanin is a very effective form of antioxidant?

No 1. I am not sure what they are number one for, most likely they are the most popular manufacturer of packaged fruit juice in Singapore? Who knows? Who cares? And oh, there is the Healthier Choice logo by our Health Promotion Board. Listen to their advice and eat all foods in moderation!

Power up with the delicious blend of five berries. Each naturally gifted with antioxidant (Vitamin C), all working together to deliver a purple wonder. And with no sugar added, every refreshing cup calls for a refreshing refill. Cool, but hey, a lot of other fruits also have a high content of Vitamin C what! What so special about berries then?

Anyway, I agree with them. This blend of different types of berries is actually very very delicious. And the purple colour juice looks great. But then most berry (except cranberries) juice I have tasted would taste quite decent too.

The ingredients in this juice drink are juice concentrates (grape, acai berry, blueberry, mulberry, raspberry, cranberry), permitted stabiliser (of plant origin), vitamin C, permitted flavouring, anthocyanin (grape skin extract), permitted preservative and critic acid. It is interesting to note that the anthocyanin (supposedly the naturally occurring antioxidant found in berries) comes from grape skin extract instead from the berries. And just like F&N Fruit Tree’s, they do add preservative, flavouring and colouring. Disappointed.

Well, we have come to the end of my little review. Hope that you have enjoyed reading and I wish you the best of health.

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The name is just kind of sad. And long. I was wondering what they were thinking when they were thinking of a name to name their drink. Hmmm….I got it, let’s call it “Blueberry & Cranberry & Mixed Fruit Juice”! So there you have it, few of the most brilliant minds working in F&N came up with such a charming name. Unlike of course, Peel Fresh’s “Powerberries” name, which sucks badly. Seriously! LOL! It is just too bad that F&N never list down all the fruits they use it this drink, I think they will probably run out of space.

Anyway, it is interesting to note that this packaged juice is actually quite nice and agreeable to me, which is surprising since I never liked Cranberry juice. Unlike most other juices which do not have any added sugar, this is not at all sour. A plus for them. So I am guessing that the amount of blueberries is way more than the cranberries, since we all know that cranberry juice is sour. And they probably add other fruit juices to enhance the sweetness as well. You aren’t going to sell fruit juice to the general consumer if the juice is going to be very tart. Oh, by the way, Peel Fresh also has a juice based on blueberries called “Powerberries” which is a mix of different kinds of berries. All those advertisements are making me giddy.

There, the F&N Fruit Tree Fresh – Blueberry & Cranberry & Mixed Fruit Juice. Hey, it is made with pure squeezed juice and concentrates. I never liked concentrates as I believe that the process which made the juice into concentrates tend to darken the colour and destroy the taste and aroma. Furthermore, high heat process will destroy some of the nutrients and vitamins in the juice.

Maybe I am right? Just look at the amount of blueberries(blue ones) as compared to the amount of cranberries. Although it is full of antioxidants, Cranberries are infamous for being very tart.

Ha, no sugar added, which is good. Adding sugar to fruit juices is a crime.

Hmmm….health tip from the Health Pormotion Board! And bought to you exclusively by F&N. They ask a question – do you know that different fruits and vegetables are rich in different nutrients? Furthermore, brightly coloured fruits (eg. oranges, cranberries and blueberries) and vegetables (eg carrots, spinach and tomatoes) contain more nutrients and phytochemicals than pale coloured ones. So include colourful fruits and vegetables in your daily diet to obtain a medley of nutrients for your body. I completely agree. Go ahead and eat more colourful fruits and vegetables. However, I need to tell you guys that drinking packaged fruit juices is NOT a substitute for eating fruits. Even if you drink “fresh” packaged juices, you will still need to consume fresh fruits as the packaged juice do not have all the nutrients and vitamins present in fresh fruits. Heck, even freshly squeezed fruit juices direct from the fruits shop is not a perfect substitute for eating fresh fruits.

F&N Fruit Tree Fresh is made from 100% juice of the choicest hand-picked fruits including blueberries & cranberries. Blueberries are wonder fruits prized for their nutritious properties and contain natural antioxidant (from naturally occurring Anthocyanins). Each serving of this delicious juice meets 100% of your RDA of vitamin C (antioxidant) and serves as one serving of fruit in your daily diet. (Bad advise here – even if no nutrients and vitamins are destroyed in the process, there is still very little fiber in fruit juice, especially filtered ones) With no artificial sweeteners or sugar added, what you get is pure taste of juice as nature intended.

Check out the nice blueberries and cranberries surrounded by the words which states that they are high in antioxidants Vitamin C & E with naturally occurring Anthocyanins.

Check out the nutrition tips -  eat 2+2 servings of fruits & vegetables daily. One medium size fruit (eg. orange) or one glass of juice is a serving of fruit. Too bad, most of us don’t consume enough fruits & vegetables in our daily diets. Vitamin C is one of the essential nutrients vital for life. Vitamin C & E are antioxidants that help protect cells in the body against free radicals.

The ingredients are fruit juices from concentrates (pear, Apple, Blueberry, Cranberry), Aloe Vera Juice,Citric Acid, Flavouring, Stabilizer, Vitamins (C&E), Preservatives and Colourings. Hmm…..they added preservatives! And Flavourings and even colourings. This is kind of disappointing. No wonder it tasted and looked so good.

Made in Singapore. Well, errr…..hoooray! However, I am still very much disappointed with the addition of presevatives, flavourings and colourings to this juice. But I guess sometimes it is a business decision. Presevatives increase shelf life and increase profits, flavourings and colourings help to bring back customers to their products and that also helps to increase their profits.

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For me, if I have an easier option, I think freshly squeezed juice is definitely better than all those packaged juice, simply due to the fact that even if they claim that it is “freshly squeezed” , they will always be some way during the process in which vitamins, nutrients or something is lost. The only way to prevent that is go get a fresh fruit and squeeze it immediately. Of course, you will need to drink it immediately as well. Or the vitamins and the nutrients might escape. And manufacturers tend to add some chemicals or heat processing in order to preserve their juice – make money what! Longer shelf life means more profit for them. That is the nature of business. We can’t go much about that. But what we can do is spend money on stuff that we want and would want them to come up with. Yes, in other words, you vote with your wallets. So if you want convenient juices without all trouble of squeezing them yourself but you want them without preservatives or any additives, then you should avoid those brands which do and buy those that don’t. It will encourage them to start producing foodstuff that we want.

So, let me introduce to you this Ashton Valley brand of fruit juices. If you are lazy and do not want to squeeze your own juice, this is the best alternative. It comes without any preservatives and best of all, it is NOT from concentrate – direct crushed juice. Yes, that means no high heat treatment. It is important that we get the juice as fresh as possible.

Photo of the Ashton Valley Crush  Apple & Strawberry Juice in a big glass bottle. Although it looks quite big, it is actually just 1 litre of juice. But very heavy. I had to carry this from Sheng Siong to my house. My arm almost broke off half way.

I like the design of the bottle. And the colour of the juice is just beautiful.

There you have it – Red and Green Apples & Strawberries. Looks so tempting. 100% Australian Fruit. You see the continent of Australia (green and yellow island) on the right? Yes, it is to tell you that it is from Australia.

No added sugar. No added preservatives. No added colour. No concentrate. If a beautiful girl walk pass me, I also no concentrate on work what. I think they meant, not made from concentrate (as in those juices that have been boiled into a thick syrup). Their juice plant is right here in the orchard so the fruit is always fresh. Their juice is crisp and pleasant on the palate and may be enjoyed on its own or as an accompaniment to most good foods. True, especially in warm weathers, this drink is absolutely delicious. Even my father (who doesn’t really like cold drinks) enjoys this.

Oh, this is a product of Australia. Land of Kangaroos. I like Kangaroos too. I mean, who doesn’t? They are so cute till the moment they kick your head off.

Some nutrition information for you to err…absorb. As for the ingredients, they are freshly squeezed apple and strawberry juices and vitamin c! Wow! Very short ingredients list usually mean one thing – less processing and that means healthier food (or drink in this case)! So if you see a product with a long list of ingredients with very weird chemical sounding names, then you better avoid them.

See, there are sediments at the bottom. Proof that it has not been processed at all. Most juice manufacturers will pasteurised and filter their products so that it will look good for their customers. I would prefer all those good stuff in my drink.

If you have any interesting drinks you would like me to review, give me a hoot below.

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