I first began juicing back in 2012 or so. I found a Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express (Amazon) online and got it for about $50.
I’ve now been juicing consistently for several years. Making a green juice is part of my daily routine (usually in the evening) pretty much every single day.
I credit juicing for giving me:
- Increased energy throughout the day
- Improved digestion
- Better skin
- Better immune system function (I almost never get sick)
There are many great juicing recipes out there, but I’ve never really followed a specific recipe due to travel and lack of availability of certain ingredients.
Rather than following an exact recipe, I’ve found that juicing works best when I include certain types of ingredients. These ingredients together make for a nutrient-rich and refreshing juice that also tastes pretty good.
Here are the 5 elements of a perfect green juice:
A leafy green vegetable
A leafy green vegetable is where most of the nutrients in your green juice will come from and it is probably the most important ingredient.
Some good leafy green options are:
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Spinach
- Bok Choy
I include a lot of leafy greens in my juice, and will usually do at least 3 stalks of kale as well as some bok choy, and maybe another leafy vegetable as well.
A watery green vegetable
A watery green vegetable adds volume to the juice and helps dilute the strong flavour of the leafy green vegetable, which generally tastes quite disgusting. Watery vegetables are also good for hydration and contain other nutrients themselves.
Some examples of a watery green vegetable are:
- Cucumber
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Green peppers
Tomatoes also work well here.
Carrots
Carrots are tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive. They can be found pretty much anywhere in the world. Carrots are a staple of green juice basically everywhere for good reason – they contain Vitamins A, C, and B-6, as well as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
A sweet fruit
The main reason for including fruit in a juice is to improve the flavour. Excess fructose (the sugar in fruit) isn’t good for you, but just include enough fruit so that the green juice doesn’t taste terrible.
One serving of fruit is usually good. That might be:
- One apple
- Several chunks of melon
- One pear
- A handful of grapes
- A big handful of berries
Beets, because they are very sweet, are also a good substitute for fruit.
Ice
I always include ice in my green juice. It tastes better when it’s cold, it’s more refreshing, and overall it’s much more enjoyable to drink.
Some more ingredients you can include are ginger, lemon, and turmeric. These are not essential but can be a nice addition.
So that’s it – all you need to make a delicious and nutritious green juice. If you’re not consuming many (or any) vegetables, I would highly recommend juicing as an easy method to do so.
(You can also make huge, delicious salads to consume large amounts of vegetables.)
Thanks for reading and good luck on your journey to better health.