Should've Had A V8? Make Your Own More Delicious Vegetable Drink At Home

Fruits and vegetables are kind of a big deal. Whether you're growing them, buying them, juicing them, or eating them, working them into your daily routine is a must. All natural fruit and vegetable juices retail for double digits and people can't get enough of them. Though many companies have dabbled into the retail-juicing scene, V8 was one of the originals.

V8 juice was created in 1933 by W.G. Peacock, the founder of New England Product Company, which manufactured individual vegetable juices under the name "Vege-min." Peacock eventually combined the eight juices into one and V8 was born. Campbell Soup bought the company in 1948 and revamped the brand to include variations like V8 Splash and Hot Spicy V8. Each 8-ounce glass still provides two servings of vegetables. The original V8 100 percent vegetable juice on shelves today includes the same eight vegetable juices it did in 1933: tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach.

While the premise of V8 is healthy, the actual juice isn't all that. The juice in V8 is made from concentrate, which means it's a watered down version of the whole fruit's juice. Also, additional flavors are added to enhance blandness. There aren't any artificial flavors or preservatives, but if you are watching your salt content, you'll definitely want to skip store bought V8. (An 8-ounce serving contains a hefty 640mg of sodium.) Splash varieties contain high fructose corn syrup and fruit juices from concentrate.

Without all the added extras, V8 could actually be a great addition to your diet. Ready to make DIY this popular supermarket juice?

1. Get Your Supplies
   Choose reliable produce outlets that offer fresh fruits and vegetables. To create the foundation for your DIY V8, be sure to include tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach.
2. Prepare Your Produce
   Even if your produce is organic, it has traveled from somewhere, so it's a good idea to wash your fruits and veggies using a produce cleaner.
3. Chop It Up
   Chop your veggies into bite size cubes. Make sure they are small enough to cook into your desired texture for the V8 — we don't want too many chunks!
4. Simmer It Down
   V8 is not raw. That means you will have to simmer your veggies a bit if you want to create the true, "old school" flavor. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pad. Add the tomatoes, carrots, celery and beets and simmer on medium heat for 30-45 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Time to Blend
   Transfer your cooked vegetables and parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach to a blender. Pulse 2-3 times to break up any chunks. Continue to blend until consistency is smooth, but thick.
6. Make it Smooth
   Transfer the juice from the blender to a food mill. Using the smallest holed plate, run the mixture through the mill evenly.
7. Blend It One More Time
   Run your juice through the blender one last time, just to make sure your homemade V8 is at the consistency you want.
8. Get Fruity
   If you are making a "splash" style V8 juice, add your fruits as your base juice makes its final round through the blender. Think complementary flavors like strawberry and banana, kiwi and berries, or mango and peaches for the best possible outcome. If the juice is too thick for your liking, add cold water to the blender to thin it out even more.
9. Drink It Down
   Tada! You've done it — now it's time to sit back, relax, and drink up your daily fruit and veggie intake. It's that easy.