Green Juice

Green juices and green smoothies are a wonderful way to get the goodness and fluid of a lot of green foods rich in chlorophyl and antioxidants and in a very digestible form. Green juices and green smoothies are particularly good for supporting liver detoxification. We can all do with a daily green drink!

I love this combination of ingredients. I put just enough apple in to take the edge off the bitterness and leave a lovely tang.

It is best not to drink too much juice from carrots, beetroot and fruits as the amount of sugars (glucose and fructose) can be incredibly high from a glass of this juice. This increases glucose levels in the blood and an excess of fructose can convert to stored fats in the liver.

Juices versus Smoothies?

There are positives to both green juices and smoothies. When I want to have a boost of spinach, kale and silverbeet, I find these are better added to a smoothie rather than juiced. I find juicing these leaves gives very little juice. But none is lost in a smoothie! Smoothies can be more sustaining and a great meal in their own right with added banana or berries, oils or fats in avocado, nuts and seeds and made with almond milk or coconut water. My breakfast booster smoothie shows one way of making this.

Cold press Juicers versus a Centrifugal Juicer

Most juicers you buy are centrifugal spinning very fast and often heating the vegetables / fruits as a result. Cold press juicers are definitely more superior in the nutrition department. They are more gentle and press the juice at a slower speed. So you usually get more juice and raw nutrients as they are not heated or damaged as much. The down side is the juicing can take longer with the cold press juicer and it is more expensive. The best quality cold press juicers are the Oscar, Green star and the Hurom juicer, which I use.

 

Ingredients

All ingredients are organic ideally. If not, then wash the vegetables and fruit with 1/4 vinegar and 3/4 parts water. Then rinse off. This washes off the sprays.

• 1 small celery or about 8 sticks of celery cut into finger lengths including all the leaves
• 1 small cucumber washed cut into finger lengths, no need to peel
• 1 handful of fresh mint
• 1 lemon chopped in about 6 pieces skin on
• 1 thumbnail of fresh ginger cut into 4 slices
•  2 green apples cut into 8

Method

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables /fruit.
2. Put through the juicer.  This made about a litre today.
3. Drink immediately.
4. If wanting to keep some for the next day, pour into a jar up to the top. Mix in a 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid (vitamin C) powder for each 300ml jar. Tighten the lid and place in the fridge. It keeps up to 2 more days preserved this way.