it's easy being green! (easy green juice recipe)

Happy Monday everyone! Hope your weekend was a good one! I spent some time yesterday drafting a post about my "journey" (it's a bit of an overused word these days, I know - but I'm going to use it anyway) to eating a mainly plant-based diet.  I still plan on posting it, but this morning, in the spirit of practicing what I preach, I got up and decided to do something good for myself that I haven't done for a while...and made myself a delicious, nutritious, green juice.  (Hey, I said mainly plant-based, people - even though I may preach the virtues of eating whole, organic foods, consistency is not one of my strong suits - consider me a work in progress!)  :)  But I digress.  Back to the juicy details of today's morning starter...

I've never been a big coffee/tea drinker.  They just never did anything for me, especially in the "I-can't-face-the-day-without-my-morning-java" kind of way.  So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that not only is there an alternative to the above morning beverages - but it's about the healthiest alternative out there - green juice!  (Bet you didn't see that coming...) ;-) Green juice energizes your body in the best way possible - and allows you to essentially mainline the vitamins and minerals in  your fruits and veggies by liquifying and drinking them - they go straight into your bloodstream and energize DEEP down - at the molecular level!

If you've never juiced before, it can be a whole new world - what kind of juicer should I  buy? What combinations of fruits/veggies taste best together?  Well, there are several answers to both those questions, but that would be a whole other, very LONG post...so for now, for the sake of simplicity , I'm going to tell you that I use a Hurom Slow Juicer,  (a personal choice, as this make presses juice as opposed to using centrifugal force to extract it, resulting in a less frothy end product), and I like my green juice to be as easy as possible.  So without further ado, my recipe (organic produce is preferable for optimum nutritional benefits):

Ingredients

1.  A healthy handful of fresh kale (or spinach, or both)
2.  One medium apple (to sweeten)
3.  One medium lemon (for tartness, skin removed if not organic)
4.  About an inch of fresh ginger root (skin removed if not organic)
5.  2-3 carrots
6.  A sprig of mint leaves (optional)

From there, all you have to do is follow the instructions to run your ingredients through your juicer!  Sometimes, I add a strainer bag to the juice collector cup, if I'm in the mood for a less pulpy juice (but there's nothing wrong with the pulp either - it's added fibre, and it's all good!):

And what you will end up with is this - your juice in one cup, and the "discard pile", or unjuiceable pulp in another (this pulp can be saved for use in baking, such as muffins, etc. - but full disclosure - I have yet to try that)... 

From there, all you have to do is lift the strainer bag out of the juice collector cup, squeeze it out, and pour that lovely green juice into your drinking vessel of choice! Now I ask you...was that difficult?  And doesn't it look delicious??  Can't you just FEEL the goodness jumping of the screen at you??? ;-) 

So there you have it.  A little precursor to my forthcoming tale of how I actually came to be starting (some of) my mornings with freshly pressed green juice! 

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, day!  Spring is in the air people - what better time for a fresh start! :)