How do you feel your nutrition is going this holiday season? Personally, I've made some good choices and some not-so-great choices. Those darn homemade frosted sugar cookies!
To get me back on my routine and detox my body, I like to drink green juice, but have you seen the price of them at the store lately?! A 12 to 15 ounce bottle is $4 to $5! That's absurd! I came up with an alternative, and it's as good as, if not better than those overprices bottles in the store.
My favorite homemade green juice contains many of the same ingredients as those in the store--spinach, parsley, mint, cucumber, celery, lemon and lime. If you want to limit the natural sugar content in your drink, omit the fruit and it will still taste great.
This green drink is tasty, high in fiber, low in calories, and rich in vitamins—an excellent way to jumpstart your mornings!! Give it to your kids too. My son loved it at 16 months old, and now with two kids under my belt, ages 3 and 4 years, they love this drink!
If you prefer to make a smaller amount, reduce all of the ingredients proportionally. I recommend drinking it fresh rather than storing it in the refrigerator for later.
I usually follow the recipe pretty closely, with the exception of mint because I have a hard time finding it in my grocery store. Here's the recipe, and I posted some tips I've gathered from making this drink over time.
Ingredients:
2 cups spinach (adding some kale would also work)
1/2 cucumber
1 stock celery (fyi: celery adds a very strong flavor)
1/2 bunch parsley
1 bunch mint
3 carrots (I peeled mine first)
2 apples (core removed)
1/4 orange or 1 clementine
Juice of 1/2-1 lime
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/4 pineapple (nutrition analysis based off 1 c. pineapple chunks)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. This makes approximately 28-30 ounces, or 3-4 servings.
Nutrition Facts:
I plugged this recipe into my nifty nutrition analysis program (NutriBase 9 Pro Edition), and this drink is packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B-6, Folate, Manganese, Iron, and Calcium. Please note, this analysis is based off the entire recipe:
Tip #1:
In my opinion, the flavors that stand out the most are celery, parsley, and lime. Don’t forget the lime! It adds a nice flavor and wouldn't taste as good without it. Don't overdue the celery or it will overpower the flavor.
Tip #2:
When you add everything to your blender, I suggest adding the juicier ingredients first—the pineapple, orange, lemon and lime. Everything blends easier this way. It would also help to cut all the pieces into 1" portions.
Tip #3:
I use a Vitamix blender and blend it into an extremely smooth texture. The texture especially became smooth after I added some ice to the mixture. It tastes best when it's cold, so adding ice towards the end of the blending process is something I recommend.
Tip #4:
It makes about 40 ounces, so my husband and I split it, and gave some to our kids. I don’t think I would want to drink it after it sat in the refrigerator for a few hours.
This is a great drink to add several times throughout the week. It would be a great way to start the day or a yummy mid-morning or afternoon snack.
Just a side note, this drink will keep the bowels flowing. Cheers!
If you have any other tips to add from your experience with this recipe, let’s hear them!
In Health and Happiness,
Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods
