My husband and I did a three-day juice cleanse last week, and the aftereffects are dazzling. Even though it was short as “cleanses” go – if you’ve watched the documentary, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, you saw appealing Aussie Joe Cross do juice for a whopping sixty days – our mini-experience was the perfect segue from winter to spring.
The main changes we both noticed after going back to solid food yesterday and today are:
- The desire to keep juicing as part of daily life – two glasses a day seem about right
- A readiness for a mostly-raw way of eating as the weather warms
- A somewhat decreased appetite overall and no desire whatsoever, at this point anyway, for rich, heavy food
- And of course the “glow” that comes from giving the digestive system a break and filling on the phytochemicals in those colorful, tasty, fresh juices.
You know, I just said that juices are “tasty.” They can be. But you can also juice up some concoctions that may be plenty healthy, but you want to drink them with a clothespin on your nose! To the rescue comes veteran cookbook author, Robin Asbell, with her brand new and gorgeous book: Juice It! Energizing Blends for Today’s Juicers. Every single one of these lovely blends is sheer delight – both to your taste buds and your 50 trillion cells looking for the best nourishment you can give them.
Robin invited me to be part of a blog potluck for the new book, meaning that I got to try out glorious gallons of her tantalizing juice blends (Mango Mellow Out, Kale Country, Superfruit Sangria!) and share with you one of my favorites: Green Lemonade.
I’ve enjoyed other green lemonades, and recipe maven Robin (no surprise) has a different take on this classic. The result: yum, yum, yum; a beautiful color; and incredibly easy to make. (I have to admit that I used prewashed spinach to make this juice in my easy-to-clean Breville Juice Fountain, so the time I spent making enough of this juice to serve both hubby and me was pretty close to no time at all.)
GREEN LEMONADE
cucumber * spinach * apple * lemon
from Juice It! © Robin Asbell 2014, Chronicle Books
Makes about 2 cups (480 ml.)
1 medium cucumber
4 cups/115 g packed spinach
1 large apple, cored
½ lemon, peeled and seeded
This green juice is refreshing and balanced, with a tangy finish. Lemon juice serves two purposes: It brightenes the sweet, mineral flavor of the spinach, and it adds vitamin C, which makes all that iron more absorbable.
Juice the cucumber, spinach, apple, and lemon, in that order. Run the pulp through again to extract as much liquid as possible. Serve immediately.
If you’d like to win a copy of Robin Asbell’s Juice It! post here or on my Facebook page (VictoriaMoranAuthor): your answer to the question:
What single action makes you feel healthiest?
The contest is open April 27 to May 9 midnight, U.S. residents only (sorry, Canadian friends – publisher’s criterion). The winner will be chosen at random and announced May 10.
If you’d like to check out my fellow bloggers’ take on Robin’s juices – and get more recipes to try – visit:
Morgan Wood:
Chef Fran Costigan:
Ross Sveback:
http://www.rosssveback.com/home
And of course the lady herself, Robin Asbell!
Eating vegan!
I feel better when I juice…lighter….I usually follow this recipe….kale romaine cucumber lemon celery apple and ginger
Working out makes me feel healthier even on days that I didn’t eat very healthy. I have a juicer but haven’t used it much, would love new recipes!
I feel the healthiest when I put aside any thoughts centered around myself and instead focus my energy on the other with whom I am present.