Yesterday's Green Juice

Yesterday's green juice contained the following ingredients:

• 1 cucumber (only need to peel if not organic)
• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 large celery stalk
• 1 mango, peeled
• little chunk of ginger root, peeled
• 2 big handfuls of kale, any variety

Green Juicin'

Hey look, I'm still here! It's been more than a year since my last post and I doubt anyone even reads this little blog anymore, but I like keeping it if only for my own reference - it's handy to be able to scroll back and remind myself of some good recipes when I start to get bored... and to those of you who may still be around - hello again!!!

Anyways, I read Crazy Sexy Diet recently and it got me all excited about juicing. In the past I've stuck with smoothies, and I still like smoothies for the fact that all of the good fiber is incorporated into your drink, but variety is good, and green juices have a lot going for them as well. I got a used Champion juicer a few weeks ago on Craigslist and ever since, I've been making juice nearly every day.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but here's a shot of a big 'salad-in-a-glass' juice I made tonight - it contained an entire bunch of spinach (leaves only), one cucumber, two celery stalks, 1/4 lemon (sans peel), one mango (also peeled), and one pear.

Wishing I was somewhere tropical...

... this smoothie almost takes you there. :-)

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup coconut water
1 heaping cup pineapple chunks, fresh or canned
1 heaping cup frozen mango chunks
1 banana, fresh or frozen
flax seeds, flax oil, or chia seeds, optional

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. I'm sure this would also be good with some greens added.

Yum!

Delicious Tropical Juice

watermelon chunks, chilled
mango chunks, frozen
papaya nectar, chilled
a bit of agave nectar, optional

Blend and enjoy!

Tropical Paradise

This is another one from my other blog, again without absolute measurements... sorry.

Tropical Smoothie

frozen strawberries
frozen banana chunks
pineapple chunks (from a can)
frozen mango chunks
orange juice
a splash of flax oil

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Pomegranate Smoothie

(originally posted on my McFarland Designs blog)

I don't have exact measurements for this one - more of just a general guideline. :-)

Pomegranate Smoothie

frozen banana chunks
frozen strawberries
frozen mango
pomegranate juice, frozen in ice cube trays
ground flax seed (1 tablespoon per person)
apple juice

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Popsicles

Last night I made fruit popsicles for my son. They didn't set up quickly enough for him to try one last night, but right now he's eating a popsicle for breakfast. And I don't even have to feel guilty because it's all fruit!

Fruity Popsicles

1 cup apple juice
1/2 can pineapple chunks and juice
2 handfulls frozen mango chunks
2 medjool dates

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

This recipe made more than I could fit into my new rocket popsicle molds, so I saved the leftovers and this morning, I added an orange, half a bunch of spinach, and a couple of ice cubes, and I had a delicious green smoothie for breakfast.

Sorry, No Photo...

...I gulped this one down today after my run without even thinking of taking a photo. It was tasty though!

Serious Spinach Smoothie
makes one large or two smaller servings

1 ripe pear, quartered and cored
2 hand fulls frozen mango chunks
2 hand fulls frozen blueberries
4 dates, pitted
lots of spinach - I used an entire bunch, minus the stems
just enough orange juice to make it blend

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Granted, this smoothie looks a bit like a science project gone terribly awry, but trust me, it's tasty!

Sludgy Green Smoothie
makes two medium-large smoothies

1 cup orange juice
1 orange
handful or two of frozen strawberries
handful or two of frozen mango chunks
2 ice cubes
2 handfuls of greens (I used kale)

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Orangey-Schmorangey

The red chard in this smoothie imparts a pretty strong, earthy flavor; if you prefer a milder tasting beverage, feel free to use just the leaves of the chard (I included the stalks) or substitute a milder green leafy vegetable such as spinach.

makes 2 medium-sized servings

1 cup mango (I used frozen chunks)
2 mandarin oranges
1-2 handfuls red chard
1/4 cup water
2 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

A break from the green...

A girl cannot survive on green smoothies alone - sometimes a fruity pink concoction is in order! I neglected to actually measure ingredients, so feel free to consider these amounts as rough guidelines.

Fruity Pink Smoothie
makes two large servings

1/2 can of pineapple chunks and juice
2 bananas (I used frozen chunks)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup vanilla non-dairy milk (or more as needed to achieve desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Tropical Green Smoothie

No photo today; I figure you don't need me to post a picture of every single green smoothie I make; after all, a green smoothie is a green smoothie is a green smoothie. :-)

Tropical Green Smoothie
makes 2 medium-sized servings

half of a pineapple
1 cup mango (I used frozen chunks)
2 kiwis
1-2 handfuls kale
1/2 cup pineapple juice
4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. This would probably also be good with a banana added.

Another Green Smoothie

If you're ready to take your green smoothie adventure to the next level, here's one that's actually green in color. This was a 'cleaning out my refrigerator' kind of breakfast. :-)

(pictured with one of Hannah's Superfood muffins)

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Smoothie
makes 2 medium-large servings

1 orange, peeled and quartered
1 apple, quartered
1 banana (fresh or frozen chunks)
1/4 pineapple
1/2 cup mango (I used frozen chunks)
3 dates
2 handfuls kale
1/2 cup pineapple juice
4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.