We have covered ad nauseam the fundamental differences between homemade smoothies and juices. Both smoothies and juices should play a crucial role in your diet. They are simple yet effective vehicles to increase the amount of fruit & vegetables to your day and when made effectively, can be quite satiating and tasty. Scores and scores of juicing recipes abound on the Internet. Instead of listing 5-10 recipes, I am going to give you my super juice recipe which I feel encapsulates the best of goal-oriented recipes (e.g. kidney/liver detoxifier, memory booster) into a super juice.
A great primer for this recipe is our article and podcast on the pros & cons of Smoothies & Juices.
Ingredients
- 1 Celery Stalk
- 2 Cucumber
- 1 Large Beet
- 4 Large Carrots
- 1 Inch Piece of Ginger
- Handful of Spinach or Kale
- 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
- 1 Lemon
- 1/2 Coconut Water
Instructions
After Juicing all the vegetables, squeeze the lemon and add 1/2 cup of coconut water, chia seeds.
In this super juice recipe, the celery, cucumber, and beets will bring volume. The lemon, ginger, spinach will bring high-octane nutrition. The carrots, beets, and apple will bring sweetness. The coconut water, and in particular the chia seeds, will bring healthy fats and fiber. The latter of which is important since you are not receiving any fiber from the ingredients due to the juicing. (Perhaps one of the pros to smoothing.)
This super juice recipe will be sweet…sweeter than most green juice recipes and I am fine with that critique. The goal of this recipe is to yield high amounts of nutrients while at the same time, make it palatable enough with sweetness for the new initiate to the juicing world. It will look very similar to the juice 2nd to the right on the above image. Beets bring a lot of color.
If you don’t have a juicer, there is a quite a lot of variety that run the price gamut. If money is no object then go with Omega or Breville models; for the more frugal go with a Gourmia one. (Click on the respective names to purchase them on Amazon.)
Lastly, clean your juicer right after you use it. It is infinitely easier to clean it then.
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A. Gregory Luna, Double-Certified Health Consultant
Contact me now to get on the road to optimized nutrition and weight loss.
(We would appreciate your comments and juice recipes below.)