Recipe: Green Juice……For Beginners…..

Sluggish is the best way to describe how I have felt for the last few weeks.  Tired, cranky and just out of sorts…..I think it may be due to stress (duh) but also my “wonderful” diet of fast food, fried food, Coke and my all too often visits to the potato chip aisle at my local corner mart.  I have balanced my diet on the backs of the Unholy Trinity of caffeine, chips and cupcakes.  This has to stop!

Enter my new (err…old) juicer that I received last year as a Christmas present.  We had a pretty intense love affair which slowly waned as they so often do with my kitchen gadgets.  However, feeling the way I did, I thought it was the perfect time to reacquaint myself with this nifty gadget and introduce juicing as part of my regular diet.  Before anyone gets into arms – this is not a “diet” per say.  I am not trying to lose weight, but looking for a fast and nutritious way to add more fruits and vegetables to my lousy diet.  And should it help me lose my “man paunch” in the process, more power to the juice!

I tried a few green juice recipes and felt like I was drinking lawn clippings, so I modified the one I liked best to create the “Mean Green for Beginners….”

Ingredients:

• 5 kale leaves (stalks removed)
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1 cup green seedless grapes (approx. 20 grapes)
• 1 small granny smith apple
• 1 english cucumber
• 1/2 cup water (if using a blender)

Directions:

If you have a juicer, follow the directions from the manufacturer to juice the ingredients.  If you are using a blender, core and cut apples.  Place grapes in blender first, followed by the apples, cucumbers, spinach and then kale.  Add water to thin out.

Makes two servings.

I found this recipe to be easy to palette thanks to the addition of the fruit as well as not too filling.  But more importantly, I found myself energized!  It was pretty miraculous how quickly my energy levels changed once I added the juice as part of my afternoon regimen in lieu of my lunch Coke.  My 2pm power nap (perks of working for yourself) was a thing of the past and I could power my way through dinner and beyond!

Right now, I am a lean working machine thanks to this mean green concoction!  Do you have a favorite juice recipe?  If so, share it with me as I would love to have more in my arsenal.

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