Healthy Snacks: Power Detox Green Juice

Crisp, vegan Power Detox Green Juice

I don’t know if there’s a better way to get a rush of living nutrients and enzymes than to drink freshly made vegetable and fruit juice. (Smoothies are a lovely option if you’re looking to get plant fiber to boot.) According to clinical nutritionist Lauren Talbot, author of Clear Skin Detox Diet, juicing gives our bodies access to an abundance of nutrients that otherwise would be nearly impossible to consume.

Imagine eating 8 cups of spinach–or several pounds of carrots–in one sitting! Talbot explains: “You can drink and digest the nutrient equivalent of five pounds of carrots juiced much more readily than the same amount in the blended form of a soup or smoothie.” Wow.

But that’s not all–juicing is the perfect complement to a detoxifying lifestyle for other reasons. The live enzymes in juice help eliminate waste from the intestines and colon. By stimulating peristalsis (the contraction of muscles the moves food and waste through our system) certain veggies likes carrots, beets, and ginger, further support elimination. (Good news: there’s ginger in this recipe!)

If you don’t have a juicer, don’t fret! Juice can be made by blending ingredients and straining the smoothie juice into a glass. Now are you ready? Get set, and juice!

Power Detox Green Juice

Ingredients:

(Makes about 8oz.)*

8 cups of spinach

1 ripe pear or apple

1 thumb-sized knob of peeled ginger

1 lemon, rind removed

2 large leaves kale (or two stalks celery)

stevia to taste (I usually use about 7 drops of NuNaturals liquid stevia, or “Steve,” as my fiancé calls it.)

*If you’d like to thin out your juice a bit, add 1/4 cup water.

Directions:

Drop produce into juicer a little bit at a time. Gradual juicing allows for more juice to be extracted. Pour into glass and stir in stevia, if using. Wait no more than 15-25 to drink to maximize nutrient absorption.