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Pineapple juice is one of the most delicious and beloved drinks in the world. And it’s not just the taste that people love, oh no. Pineapple juice is also incredibly healthy as it’s infused with antioxidants and has a lot of inflammatory properties. All these features make this juice a perfect addition to health drinks, like smoothies, as well as a great ingredient for meals.
However, at times it might be difficult to come across pure pineapple juice. Yes, pure, without any artificial sugars and additions. And 100% one might be not only expensive but also pretty rare. Another option is to just get a pineapple and squeeze the juice yourself. But then you will have to get a lot of pineapples, which also might be a bit pricey.
So what can you do in this situation? Find a pineapple juice substitute! There are actually plenty of options to choose from – such as grapefruit, mango and lime juices which tend to be the best alternatives. Whichever pineapple juice alternative you go with will make your meal or drink just as delicious and nutritional!
All About Pineapple Juice
Pineapples contain a number of acids: sinapic, ferulic, garlic, syringic, gentisic, and galicaid as well as vanillin. Apart from these, it also contains arbutin, tyramine, chavicol, myricetin, and chlorogenic acid. All of these elements make pineapple such healthy and wonderful food. In fact, it’s known for curing acne, anti-aging properties, exfoliation, preventing chapped lips, and hypertension. Moreover, pineapple is known to be a great help when you struggle with weight loss.
It also has a lot of Bromelain, which has a lot of cognitive and general health benefits.
And that’s not even all there is, there are also plenty of pineapple juice health benefits, such as:
- Healthy digestion and gut: Thanks to the presence of Bromelain in pineapple, the juice would be very beneficial for your gut, since it helps digest proteins.
- Healthy bones: Pineapple juice also has manganese which is very beneficial for your bones and overall health.
- Oral health: It also makes your teeth strong and prevents plaque build-up due to the presence of high antioxidants.
- Hypertension: Pineapple helps regulate blood pressure reduction due to the presence of high amounts of potassium and low amounts of sodium.
- Eye health: Pineapple has a lot of Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, all of which reduce the risk of muscle deterioration, which is directly connected to the worsening of eyesight. Moreover, pineapple juice has a lot of Beta-Carotene, which is also essential for your eyes.
- Heart health: Potassium present in the pineapple can also help reduce bad cholesterol, which significantly reduces the risk of strokes.
- Reduced inflammation and improved immunity: It is a natural anti-inflammatory agent which helps to prevent muscle injuries like sprains, strains, and tendinitis, thanks to bromelain. And since pineapple has Vitamin C, it also boosts your immunity.
- Protection against cataracts: And thanks to the antioxidants and other elements, pineapple juice will also help prevent cataracts.
- Fertility: In both men and women, it has been seen to improve the problem related to fertility due to high vitamin, minerals, and nutrient content.
- Weight loss: As mentioned earlier, pineapple is a great way to lose weight, since it’s very low in calories. Plus, there have been studies to back up that claim.
Pineapple as a Cooking Ingredient
Pineapple juice is used in cooking pies, cakes, muffins, scones, chutneys, jams, chilis, candies, sauces, and stews in powder form. It is also a natural meat tenderizer since bromelain makes the food softer.
However, do keep in mind that you can’t use frozen juice in recipes that have gelatin. That is because the enzymes tend to break down the protein in gelatin, thus you could ruin the entire meal. Hence why it’s always better to use a substitute for pineapple juice in marinade.
Substitutes of Pineapple Juice
And speaking of, when you don’t have any available, you can easily use a substitute for pineapple juice in recipe of your choice. And the great thing that every replacement for pineapple juice is just as healthy and delicious as this fruit:
| Nutrition Fact Table (per 100ml dosage) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 393 kJ | 255 kJ | 40 kJ | 222 kJ | 201 kJ | 414 kJ | 12 kJ |
| Calories | 94 kcal | 61 kcal | 10 kcal | 53 kcal | 48 kcal | 99 kcal | 3 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 22.1 g | 35 g | 8.7 g | 13 g | 12 g | 18.64 g | 0.6 g |
| Sugar | 21.8 mg | 15 g | 1.76 g | 13 g | 12 g | 18.64 g | 11.43 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.2 g | 1 g | 0.4 g | 0.5 g | 0.2 g | 0 g | 0.1 g |
| Sodium | 2 mg | 4 mg | 2 mg | 26 mg | 2 mg | 53 mg | 3 mg |
| Protein | 1.28 g | 0.2 g | 0.44 g | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 3.98 g | 0.04 g |
Now let’s take a look at every substitute for pineapple juice in more detail:
Grapefruit Juice
A member of a citrus family, grapefruit is a wonderful pineapple juice alternative, as it has a lot of d-limonene. It, combined with a high number of antioxidants, helps in preventing cancer.
But keep in mind that only the pink variant of grapefruit is recommended!
Mango Juice
Mango is a very delicious and healthy fruit. It’s rich in Vitamin C and contains more beta carotene and iron when compared to other fruits. For using it as a pineapple juice replacement, you need to mix it with lime. It will balance the sweetness of mango and will make your food so much better. Yum!
Lime Juice
Since it has a lot of antioxidants and Vitamin C, lime will always be a wonderful pineapple juice alternative. And not just because of taste, but also the health benefits! It boosts the immune system and makes your skin glow and your heart healthy. However, in order to use lime as a pineapple juice substitute, you will need a citrus juicer to nicely squeeze it.
Apple Juice
An apple a day keeps the doctor away – there’s a reason why so many people say it. Apple is a widely available, classical but very healthy fruit, that can remove harmful toxins from your body. It also improves bone health and reduces the risk of cancer. We’d say it’s an amazing replacement for apple juice since you can literally find it anywhere, at any time of year.
Yogurt
Yogurt is another wonderful pineapple juice alternative since just like the fruit, it contains bromelain and is high in protein. It’s also very great for promoting bone, digestion, and immune health. But do keep in mind that in order to get a full, delicious taste, it’s best to mix yogurt with any other juice. Plus, you’ll only double the benefits.
Orange Juice
Much like apples, oranges are one of the most popular and widely consumed fruits. And that’s no surprise, given that it’s infused with so much Vitamin C for better immunity and cell regeneration. Thus, when you look for a substitute for pineapple juice, orange juice will be a great and available option. Plus, it’s a great alternative if you have a juicing machine, since there are some sorts of this fruit that go just wonderfully with this machine. For example Valencia or Blood orange are considered the best oranges for juicer, and they would be a perfect pineapple juice replacement.
Vinegar and Sugar
This is a perfect substitute for pineapple juice in sweet and sour sauce. All you need is to mix a vinegar of your choice (apple one will be perfect) with some sugar. Thus, the vinegar will give the sour essence while sugar will give sweetness. And while you can add this neat pineapple juice alternative to any dish or meal, we especially recommend it for meat.
Conclusion
Not only delicious but also very nutritional, pineapple juice balances sweetness and sourness to make every meal and drink so much more unique and amazing. But when you can’t get your hands on it, you can easily choose any substitute for pineapple juice – lemon, apple, grapefruit – whatever works the best for you!
So, have you tried any of these options before? Or perhaps you also know a great pineapple juice replacement? Then feel free to share it with others in the comments below, we would love to learn from you!
