Cucumber Kale Green Juice
{Original post published April 4, 2018}
I love myself a green smoothie, but green juices have been calling my name these days. There's something about the rush of nutrients and the pure green flavour that just gives me a little high.
I've actually really grown to love the whole process of pulling out my juicer, prepping my veggies and cleaning it all up afterwards. It's funny, because that used to be the reason I didn't do it regularly... I just felt like it was too much work for one cup of juice. Truly, it is pretty inconvenient, but there's something so satisfying about it for me now. It's become almost like a little act of self-love in my day... like I'm telling myself Liz, you're worth cleaning the juicer for.
A little shift in mindset can make a huge difference in how we approach things, hey?
Anyways, here's my current favourite recipe. I usually try to avoid adding fruit but if you're a newbie go ahead and throw half an apple in there. You might need to give your tastebuds time to adjust to the greenylicious flavour, but I promise if you do it regularly enough you'll begin to crave it!
PS. If you don't have a juicer, feel free to blend all this up in a high speed blender with a bit of water. You can strain it through a nut milk bag or a fine mesh sieve to get a smoother texture, or just embrace the fibre like a champ.
Cucumber Kale Green Juice (makes 1 large glass)
1/2 long english cucumber
4 stalks of celery
3 leaves of kale- stems included (or a few handfuls of baby kale)
1/2 a large lemon
1 piece of fresh ginger, 1-2 inches (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 an apple (optional)
Directions
Wash all the veggies and chop into the right sizes to fit through your juicer. I usually leave my celery stalks whole and cut my cucumber into fourths. If using a blender, chop everything into 2-4 inch pieces. Cut the peel off of the lemon, leaving as much pith as possible. There's no need to peel the ginger or the apple. I like to put all my prepped juice ingredients together in a big bowl so they're handy before I start juicing. Then just set up your juicer and juice it all up!
When you're done, clean your juicer and give yourself a pat on the back :) And keep in mind it's best to drink fresh pressed juice right away to get the optimum nutritional benefits!
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