Recipe: Daily Glow Green Juice

When deciding what to juice, you should start with one basic principle: stick with like colours.  There are three main categories of "brights": green (cucumber, kale, romaine, spinach and other leafy greens), orange (carrots) and purple (beets).   There are also "neutrals", such as lemon, celery, apple, pear, grapefruit and ginger. If you mix two brights, you will end up with a murky brown mess.  It may in theory taste fine, but the colour will be off-putting and will likely affect your juicing experience. Once you have chosen your "bright" you can add desired neutrals to add nutrients and improve taste.

 Why juice green? Because I could never eat this many veggies in a day.  Because it makes my skin glow.  Because I get thirsty.  And because it actually tastes good.  I have been drinking two 20-oz jars of this miracle elixir daily for the past two and a half months, and I am seriously addicted.  Daily juicing may seem like a lot of work: it takes about 20 minutes from start to finish (prep, juicing and clean up).  But if you build it into your daily routine, it is the single best thing you can do in my experience to kick start your health. 

To make this magic concoction, first gather your juicing ingredients.  Use organic if you can.  I know, it gets very pricy if you are doing it every day.  But if you live in Vancouver, you can occasionally buy organic cukes that don't pass muster (they are corkscrewed, crooked, wide at one end and narrow at the other, or otherwise do not meet the ideal cucumber form) at Sunrise Market for 49 cents per pound.  Now that's a steal. 

For approximately 80 ounces (4 x 20 oz jars) of juice, I use 6 cucumbers, 3 bunches of celery, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of cilantro, 2 lemons, 1 apple (to sweeten the juice), and a knob of ginger.  Wash all of your veggies thoroughly (I use veggie cleaner), and peel the ginger and the lemons leaving as much pith on the lemons that you can.

Next, run everything through your juicer.  I always start with the leafy greens and ginger, followed by the lemon to wash everything through. I then move on to the apple, celery then cucumber.  The best order will depend on your juicer.  With my previous juicer I had to juice celery and cucumber intermittently because my juicer couldn't handle all the fibrous celery at once.

Once you have juiced all of your ingredients, pour everything into a large pitcher or bowl and give it a good stir.  Pour into 20 oz jars, screw lids on tightly and put in the fridge to enjoy throughout the day.  It is refreshing and surprisingly tasty.  The juice lasts about 2 days in your fridge, but is best enjoyed as soon as possible.


Daily Glow Green Juice
Yields approx 80oz

6 cucumbers (english will produce a darker, more flavourful juice; field will produce a milder juice)
3 bunches of celery
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch cilantro
2 lemons, peeled
1 2-inch knob of ginger
1 apple

Wash all veggies thoroughly and run them through your juicer.  Pour into 4 20oz (pickle-size) jars.  Will last approx. 2 days in refrigerator. 

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