Clean Green Juice

I have never been a huge “juicer” or juice fan.  I’ve never done a juice cleanse or juice detox.  In my college nutrition classes we were educated that juice can be so high in sugar and high in calories.  I was surprised the first time I saw a glass of orange juice in its recommended serving size.  I think at that time I was stuck in black-and-white thinking… that food was good or bad.  So juice equaled bad for me for quite some time and I just didn’t drink it on a regular basis.

I had always been more of a fan of smoothies because with smoothies, you’re pureeing and consuming the whole fruit or vegetable so you also get the fiber making it more filling and less of a blood sugar spiker I’d been warned against.  Well now that I have moved out of a black-and-white world of thinking, I opened my mind up to juices.  Not as a meal or a meal substitute, but as a delicious vitamin-packed treat to enjoy alongside or after breakfast or lunch.

It all started with one juice I happened to fall in love with.  I don’t know what possessed me to order it the first time I did, but it just sounded good… and I’m a fan of trying to listen to my body.  The Northstar Cafe in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio has a juice called Shooting Star.  It’s carrot and orange juice with ginger and lemon.  It’s delicious.  While I was home over the holidays I had the juice several times, right Kayce, Jenna, Amanda, and Dan?  I just felt great after such a nutrient-rich drink.  Instead of re-creating it, which would also be a great idea, I was inspired to start playing around with creating my own juice.

I don’t have a juicer, so if you do, you’ve got a leg up on me here!  I instead just use my blender, then strain out the pulp.  You can strain out the pulp using a clean kitchen towel and a bowl (the method I use in my Make Your Own Almond Milk recipe) or you can use a nut milk bag.  I bought a nut milk bag when I started making my own almond milk a lot.  About that same time, my husband was enjoying making his own carrot juice.  So we had good use for the bags.

No matter how you make it, you’ll feel fantastic after drinking this juice with your next breakfast or lunch.