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.

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.

Day of Smoothies

I overate yesterday big-time (homemade vegan cinnamon rolls in the morning, plus vegan cheese tasting and dinner out in the evening - lots of fun, but ugh!) I decided I needed to detox a bit today, so I had a green smoothie for each meal with a smaller-than-usual portion of solid food. I know, I probably should have stuck with just the smoothies, but what can I say - I have a healthy appetite. :-)

Breakfast -

Minty Green Smoothie
makes one large or two smaller servings

This smoothie had a fairly thin consistency; if you prefer a thicker smoothie, reduce the amount of non-dairy milk and/or use frozen bananas instead of fresh.

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla rice milk)
1 large ripe banana
1/2 can pineapple chunks, drained
4 dates
5 small mint leaves (use fewer if your leaves are large)
3 ice cubes
as much kale as you can handle

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Lunch -

Blueberry Green Smoothie
makes one large or two smaller servings

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla rice milk)
1 large ripe banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
4 dates
4 ice cubes
as much kale as you can handle
handful of alfalfa sprouts, optional

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Dinner -

Mild & Fruity Green Smoothie
makes one large or two smaller servings

1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 ripe pear
1/4 cantaloupe
4 ice cubes
as much kale as you like

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.