Thursday, December 27, 2012

Green Juice


Whew, it has been a crazy year...can you tell by the way I haven't posted since July?! So sad!

Whenever I'm crazy stressed, I tend to eat the worst food possible. Example: as I type this I am eating pad thai. So, to kick my butt back in order, I am going to start juicing again.  I promised I would post my green juice recipe forever ago...so here it is! I adapted this recipe from the Crazy, Sexy Cancer "Make Juice, Not War" green juice. You can see Kris Carr make her juice on YouTube here.


Here are my only guiding criteria when juicing:

  1. Keep the veggies/fruit all the same color. This way your juice is a beautiful bright color and not brown. Ugh, who wants to drink brown juice??
  2. Use what is in season. Juicing can be expensive, especially when juicing things with little pay off like leafy greens. You see a sale on swiss chard? Use that instead of kale! On my budget I can't break the bank for the greens I'm "supposed" to use, so I use whatever is on sale to keep my budget in check.
  3. Change up your "sweetener". Bored with green apple? Try a pear instead!
  4. Always use a cucumber. I don't care if you don't like cucumber normally. The cucumber bulks up your juice and is great for hydrating. Without it, you just have one glass of really strong, expensive juice...
My recipe makes enough for two/three servings (dependent on how much juice you get out of your veggies). I usually make the juice the night before and store in small mason jars filled all the way to the top. This way you limit the oxidation/browning effect on your juice. It can store up to two days, but it's best to drink as soon as possible. 

Ingredients:
1 inch piece of ginger, unpeeled
1/2 head of romaine (approx 10 leaves)
3 handfuls of baby spinach or 4-5 kale stalks
2 stalks of celery
1 broccoli stem
2 medium granny smith apples
1 medium cucumber (peeled if not organic)

Directions:
Juice all ingredients in your juicer and enjoy! My only suggestion is to juice the ginger first, then alternate hard/soft items, and end with the cucumber to push any remnants through the juicer.

Can you tell how bright green this is?? I like drinking juice in a wine glass like Kris Carr...makes me feel special feeling like I'm drinking something healthy.