One of my husband’s contributions to our healthy eating habits was to make fresh fruit and vegetable juice in the morning. We use a Breville juicer which basically extracts the juice from whatever fruits and vegetables you put in it and leaves all the pulp behind. The end product is fresh fruit and or vegetable juice the consistency of apple cider. Throwing away all that pulp/fiber was nagging at me though and I knew that it was more beneficial to include it in my diet. Doctors recommend that we consume about 20-30 grams of fiber a day and by having a green drink or any other fresh fruit and vegetable blended drink, you could potentially start your day with at least 6 grams of fiber.
So here is my first crack at making the infamous “green drink” that so many celebrities and tv personalities have been talking about for a few years now. I first saw it as many did on Oprah when Dr. Oz was on one of his weekly visits. The recipe includes spinach, cucumbers and ginger which are rich in anti-oxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger can also help ease an upset stomach and nausea.
The drink I made was based on Dr. Oz’s recipe but I omitted the parsley since I didn’t have any on hand. I also cut the recipe in half since it was just for me. The end result was pretty much what I expected. It was like fresh green mash, and that’s that I have a darn good blender. No it’s not a Vitamix although I’d love to have one of those but it hurts just thinking about paying almost $400 for it. I have a HealthMaster, yes the one that Montel sells. I like it. It is infinite times better than any standard blender.
Back to the green drink. Very thick, but in the name of good health it was bottoms up for me. Adding more water may help with that. Another issue, I was a little heavy handed on the ginger which may be too strong for some people.
If this is too much for you, start with a juice extractor, you will still get all the vitamins and minerals from your fresh produce and an energy boost in the morning. As for the infamous green drink, I will tweak the recipe and try it again.
Green Drink
1 1/2 cup chopped cucumber (about 8 oz)
1 cup spinach
1 stalk celery, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon finely chopped or grated ginger
1 apple, cored and chopped
juice of 1/2 a lime
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup water
Place all ingredients in a heavy duty blender and blend until smooth.
Add more water if needed to reach desired consistency.
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