Powerhouse Green Juice!

Mmmm, raw nutrition at it's finest. A green juice is a powerhouse of nutrients that gets into your body quickly and heals you and boosts your energy at the cellular level right away.

If you are lucky enough to have a juicer, please don't let it hide in the depths of your kitchen or pantry, put it to work! Yes, I know, it is a pain to clean, but isn't your health worth a little extra trouble? I mean after all,  it is easier than your exercise routine (I hope you have one, if not, why not?) 

I have a very old, very inefficient juicer. It is a centrifugal juicer, the kind that has a cone shaped blade mechanism and spins really fast ... damaging the nutrients as it juices. I did a lot of research on juicers after I found out I had Breast Cancer, and looking into alternative therapies I decided on The Gerson Method, which insists on the Norwalk for their cancer patients, which I could not afford. After learning about juicers and writing about my findings HERE, I have pretty much avoided this old juicer, planning to someday get an  Omega,  Champion,  Green Power, or Green Star masticating juicer. However, I have recently been exposed to gluten, or "glutened" as I call it, and need to detox and heal quickly, so I pulled out the old Juice Lady.  I then had myself 2 huge glasses of green power and feel my intestinal villi singing, dancing, and healing already .... well not really, but I bet they are!  You know the saddesty part of owning a centrifugal juicer is that this recipe yeilds about 64 ounces of juice from one, but you will get more than twice as much juice from the same produce juiced in a masticating juicer! 

This juice is soooo delicious! Even if you don'y like the taste of kale, which you cannot taste in this recipe, I think you will love this juice!  

In just a few minutes you can consume a head of kale, 6 apples, 3 handfuls of spinach, 3 lemons, 5 stalks of celery, parsley, and a cucumber, minus the fiber. You will positively glow from all the nutrients! Be sure to consume your juice within 15 minutes of juicing, the enzymes released during juicing begin breaking down the nutrients right away. This is why any juice purchased from the market or juiced days in advance at home is called "dead juice". In an ideal world, juicers would be self cleaning and self replicating, (a juicer in every room!) and run on solar energy so you could juice while driving to work, LOL! 

Enjoy your invigorating workout, and your invigorating green juice today! 


5 organic red apples, fuji, pink lady, gala, or mix, quartered
3 organic lemons, skin removed
5-6 stalks organic celery
1 head of organic kale 
3 big handfuls of organic spinach
1 organic cucumber
small handful of organic parsley 
*if you cannot get all organic, make sure your spinach, kale, and apples are organic at least, they are on the "Dirty Dozen" list of the EWG)

Run through the juicer, skim off the foam, and enjoy! 

Now go wash those juicer parts before they get crusty! Be sure to add the fiber to your compost pile, or dig a hole next to your rose bush and bury it (and the lemon peel) there, your roses will thank you will gorgeous blooms this summer!

Here is the nutritional info on this recipe:

• Parsley is high in Vitamins K, A and C, folate, and has anti-inflammatory properties. The activity of parsley's volatile oils qualifies it as a "chemoprotective" food, and in particular, a food that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens.
• Kale is a super food, loaded with Vitamin A, C, K, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level. Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.*Remember kale becomes bitter if stored too long! 
• Spinach is high in A, C, and iron and is often recognized as one of the functional foods for its nutritional, antioxidants and anti-cancer constituents.
• Lemon is a strong antibacterial, antiviral, immune-booster,digestive aid and liver cleanser. Lemons contain many substances--notably citric acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, pectin, and limonene--that promote immunity and fight infection.
• Celery provides healthy sodium, B1, B6, potassium, vitamin C, iron, and anti inflammatory properties. 
• Cucumber is high in potassium, and are known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three lignans have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancers.
• Apples are a good source of potassium, and provide most of the sugars (125) carbs (170) and calories (650) in this juice.  
• Of course all the veggies and fruit here contain protein. 

Calories 780
Total fat 0
Saturated fat 0
Trans fat 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 350
Potassium 1525 mg
Total carb 232
Dietary fiber 0
Sugar 145
Protein 18
Vitamin A 896% RDA
Vitamin C 772% RDA
Vitamin K 454% RDA
Calcium 80% RDA
Iron 60% RDA


Sources:
Fresh Produce Guide,Try-Foods International, 2009.
http://www.naturalnews.com/036769_cucumbers_health_benefits_rehydration.html#ixzz2LHBzztMT
http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/Physical-Health/Hidden-Health-Secrets-of-Lemons.aspx
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html