3 Easy Steps to the Health Benefits of Green Juice!

Well, if you follow this blog, you know I’m detoxing. I could still post many of my wonderful, “published” SkinnyTinis, but it’s not a part of my life this week, so I thought it would be more fun if I incorporated something that was. GREEN JUICE! I’ve been juicing for just about a year and a half now and I’m sold. It’s funny how once you get used to have the powerful impact of the fresh greens — how off kilter you can feel when you don’t have it for a while (well, plus the 5 day Vegas retox didn’t help much either). So here’s my story on how I got into juicing, and how easy it could be for you to pop the habit into your lifestyle. it started as one of my many dietary adventures…

1. How I picked a Juicer: I buy everything on Amazon. I respect the consumer reviews and I went with the cheapest juicer I could find. The prices have come down a bit in the past year or so, but I went with the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor for $59. I don’t always buy the cheapest thing I can find — it was the review that said it was a good introductory juicer that did it for me. I figured it was a good way to test the subject. And right-e-o I was. I love it! And 18 months later, that little cheap juicer is still crushing veggies into a pulp!

2. How I knew what to put in the Juicer: The cookbook that inspired the juicing was Kris Carr’s Crazy, Sexy, Diet. She is awesome, hilarious and very well versed in the subject of clean eating for life and the health benefits associated with a plant based, alkaline diet. I was sold! I also really like the gals who created the Blueprint Cleanse, they have a book. The Three Day Cleanse that is full of great juice and smoothie recipes.

3. And what I’ve learned to be the best GREEN JUICE recipe: I’ve tried many variations of green juice. Everybody has ended up on their own favorite recipe, their own combination to better health. Here is what I’ve determined to give me the best bang for my juicing buck:

• 1 small green apple
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 inch ginger
• 3 stalks celery

My second favorite to Green Juice is Carrot Apple Ginger juice. I’ll do this right before a big workout because I appreciate the sugar content and I can literally run for 2 hours with just these calories in the am:

• 1 green apple
• 5 ugly, raw carrots*
• 1 inch ginger

*buy the big bag of hairy, gnarly, wiry carrots. Like the 5lb bag for a few bucks. No sense in wasting $$ on the cute little out of the bag, snack-style baby carrots. They are higher in sugar content anyhow. And don’t waste time peeling them either. Just put the suckers in the juicer and let it do the work.

If I have something else interesting, I’ll toss it in there, but those are what I shop for. I try to do one a day in the morning, but during this 10 day detox, I’m a minimum of two per day.  It’s not particularly filling, but very energizing and clarifying. Really something you have to try for yourself to understand.

So bottoms up kiddos — cheers to green juice Friday!

(Put all of this in the Juicer)

 

(And this is what you get!)

Cheers!