Green Juice

Recently, I read a few blog posts about kale smoothies.  It inspired me to get out my humble little juicer and start making my morning green juice. Granted, green juice may not be for everyone but I enjoy it and it works great for me (soothes my sensitive bowel, boosts my vitamin uptake and helps control my appetite).

Here's my basic recipe:

• 3 kale leaves
• 1 cup of sunflower sprouts or wheatgrass
• 3-4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
• 1 cored pear or apple (adjust amount for sweetness)
• 1 peeled nub of ginger (more than 1/2 inch can get a little spicy)
• 1/2 peeled cucumber

All these items take a trip through my low-tech hand-cranked juicer (marketed for wheat grass juicing but it can also handle modest amounts of other goodies).

And with a small amount of effort, I get a deep emerald green liquid.

This I pour over ice and sip throughout the morning.

 

 People have a hard time believing me when I say that it's tasty.  The fruit provides just enough sweetness and the ginger gives it a little extra kick that I like.  And despite it being nearly almost all liquid (most of the fiber gets macerated and tossed) it fills me up for the morning.  I have a glass of green juice and some green tea later in the morning and I'll all set until lunch.

If you're interested in trying it out for yourself, the Healthy Juicer is relatively inexpensive, simple to use but does require hand washing.  I got it because I didn't want to invest too much money in an electric juicer but now I like it so much that I don't think I need to upgrade anytime soon.  Just a few things to keep in mind:  use the freshest ingredients you can find.  I get what I can from my local farmers market and Whole Foods supplies the rest.  Also, never throw the fibrous waste down the garbage disposal - ask me how I know.  If you don't have a compost pile, throw it out in the garbage.  

There are tons of great Green Juice recipes out there.  Martha Stewart has one.  And so does Gwyneth Paltrow.  Experiment and see what you like.