Green juice is a type of beverage that is made from the juices of green veggies. The most common ingredients that a green juice recipe includes are – celery, kale, spinach, wheatgrass, cucumber, parsley, and mint. To make one, though, you can use any sort of green vegetable in your dish.
Now, regular consumption of green juice is a healthy option to start your day. Thanks to all the green vegetables as they are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and phytonutrients. So with a single serving of green juice, you can get lots of health-improving elements in one go.
Green juice recipes add a variety of green veggies. Therefore, you will get a mixture of different flavors in one glass. With the right ingredients, you can also enhance the taste of your drink.
Juicing these green vegetables helps your body to process them a lot easier than eating. Vegetables are disliked by many individuals. So, juicing could be the easiest option to take necessary nutrients while maintaining the flavor of green vegetables.
There are many recipe ideas regarding what type of green juice you wanna try. You can play with the ingredients to introduce new flavors to your juice and boost your appetite for healthy green veggies.
Potential health benefits of green juice
Green juice is a popular beverage among foodies and wellness bloggers nowadays. This juice delivers numerous health benefits that include weight loss, boosting immunity, reduced inflammation, and improved digestion.
- With different types of green veggies, you receive a ton of essential vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds from them. Take an example of swiss chard and kale. They are rich in Vitamin A and C. In the case of wheatgrass, you can achieve plenty of Vitamin E, C, and iron.
- All these antioxidants help to reduce the risk of chronic disease, manage high blood pressure, prevent iron deficiency, and boosts immunity. A study shows that regularly consuming leafy green vegetables may help reduce inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Many green vegetables show probiotic properties. Here, probiotics are tiny living organisms that help to aid the digestion process inside your guts. You can call them good bacteria. Regular intake of probiotics may reduce constipation, maintenance weight, and improve immune function.
- Green juices are rich in nutrients and low in calories. Adding this drink to your diet can speed up your metabolism and help your body by burning off some unwanted calories. Take kale, for example. It’s rich in dietary fibers, which curb your appetite, keeps your tummy clean, and helps to initiate weight loss.
- Green juice is the solution for sound health. Regular intake of it reduces inflammation, as well as supports brain health and heart. Also, people with diseases can benefit from juicing green veggies in the short term while healing.
Tips: Choosing vegetables for green juice
Choosing the right combination of green veggies is crucial for making a perfect green juice, which is both tasty and nutritious. However, if you have any personal preferences, then go for your choice. But if you are new to juicing, it might be hard to choose which vegetables to use during juicing.
Cabbage: It may not feel like the right ingredient for your green juice, but it’s nutritious and works pretty well in juices. By adding cabbage to your green juice recipe, you can achieve Vitamin K and C, as well as some micronutrients like folate and Vitamin B6. Cabbages provide a strong taste to your drink and go well with other green vegetables.
Spinach: It’s a green leafy vegetable that brings a fresh, mild flavor to your juice. You will get additional health benefits, like Vitamin A, C, and a hearty dose of antioxidants (quercetin, kaempferol, lutein, etc.). A study also shows that daily intake of spinach juice may reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Wheatgrass: This green vegetable is edible grass that is popular for juicing. With the addition of wheatgrass, you will get an incredible amount of nutrients and iron from your juice. It’s rich in minerals like phosphorus, magnesium, and copper, along with 17 other different types of amino acids. You can include this vegetable to boost the nutritional value of your green juice.
Celery: It’s also a good ingredient for your green juice recipe. Celery is a vegetable that features a significant amount of Vitamins (A, K, and C) and antioxidants. A study found that celery improves heart health as well as decreases blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglycerides. You can combine celery with the juice of apples, ginger, lemons, and leafy greens to enhance the taste of your beverage.
Swiss chard: It’s a leafy green vegetable that’s packed with a handful of nutrients and minerals. With a single serving of swiss chard juice, you can achieve Vitamin A and C, which help to fight cellular damage in your body. Swiss chard is very beneficial for those who have diabetes. You can combine this leafy vegetable with other ingredients or use it in place of kale and spinach.
Broccoli: This cruciferous vegetable introduces herbaceous and earthy flavor to your green juice. Broccoli goes well with other green veggies and boosts the taste of your drink. It contains various impressive health benefits.
This light green vegetable is an excellent source of key micronutrients, like potassium and Vitamins (A, B6, And C). According to one study, consuming a specific quantity of broccoli may help to prevent age-related cognitive deterioration. So, considering broccoli in your green juice recipe is a good option for increasing health benefits.
These are some recommended green vegetables that you can use when juicing. However, it’s not mandatory to use only these ingredients as there are other green veggies, like beet greens, watercress, romaine lettuce, arugula, endive, etc. You can always discover new ingredients to boost the taste and health benefits of your drink.
How to make green juice step by step?
Making green juice is quite effortless. You just need to follow some simple steps to make one in no time.
- To start the process, first, you need to collect the freshest and most fragrant green veggies from a local farmer’s market or high-quality grocery store.
- After collecting, wash all your vegetables well, chop them, skin and all, into small chunks.
- Place all the processed ingredients into a high-speed blender or a juicer and process until smooth.
- You can add some sweet fruits or sugar to reduce the bitterness from the juice.
- After juicing, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. In case you are using a juicer, you don’t need to go through this straining procedure.
- To get the most juice out of the pulp, press it with the back of a spoon. Discard the pulp.
- Pour your fresh green juice in a glass and serve with 2-3 ice cubes.
Juicing and storage tips
- You should consume the drink right after you prepare it. Though, you can keep it overnight in the refrigerator to chill. However, the longer you store the juice, the more nutrients will be oxidized from it. So, it’s better to practice enjoying your juice fresh.
- Add green veggies that are fresh, firm, and bright in color. You can insert kale, romaine lettuce, or collards to give your juice a more complex and delicate flavor.
- It’s better to add fruits to your green juice. Organic fruits like green apples, blueberries, and dates will reduce the bitterness of your drink by adding natural sweetness to it.
- Try adding turmeric, cinnamon, bee pollen, and maca powder to your green juice recipe to improve the flavor and nutrition values.
Five fresh and nutrient-packed green juice recipe ideas
- Morning green juice
It’s is a Vitamin-rich refreshing green juice recipe that is loaded with nutrients and lots of flavors. With the addition of celery and cucumber, you will get the required energy boost and hydration to start the day. These ingredients are dairy and gluten-free.
You will also get natural sweetness from organic apples and a slightly peppery flavor with a spicy aroma with the addition of ginger in your green juice.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Celery stalks | 2 |
| Cucumber (ends cut off) | 1/2 |
| Green apple (cored) | 1 |
| Grated ginger | ½ teaspoon |
| Fresh spinach leaves | 1-3 ounces |
| Fresh mint leaves | 6 |
Procedure
- Wash all our green veggies.
- Insert celery, cucumber, apple, ginger (cut, cored) into a blender and process until you get a smooth texture. Note: add some water (half a glass) while juicing your green vegetables.
- Add remaining ingredients (spinach and mint leaves) and blend until liquefied.
- Pour the juice into a glass and top with ice cubes for a refreshing taste.
- Healthy green juice with lemon
This recipe includes a bunch of healthy and nutrient-packed green vegetables that will provide necessary antioxidants with a mix of flavors to your green juice.
You will get the goodness of kale, romaine, lemon, apple, and ginger all in one glass. Start your day with this delicious detoxifying and cleansing drink.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| One bunch of Kale | – |
| Romaine lettuce | One head |
| Medium carrot | 1 |
| Celery stalks | 5 |
| Medium cucumber | 1 |
| Fresh green apple | 1 |
| Lemons | 2 |
| Fresh ginger | 1-inch piece |
Procedure
- Wash all your ingredients with clean water.
- Place your ingredients in a juicer and juice until smooth (see your juicer’s instruction manual).
- Pour the freshly squeezed juice into a glass and serve. Note: you can fridge your juice to get a chill flavor.
- Digestive aid green juice
This green juice recipe contains ginger which helps to improve your digestion naturally. You will get a combo of spicy-sweet and mild flavor from your drink. The addition of celery added extra benefits, like lowering blood pressure and propagating weight loss.
A recipe like this allows you to include more veggies and raw fruits into your diet. In addition, this version of green juice could be a healthy alternative to your morning coffee.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Celery stick | 1 |
| Fresh kale | 2 (40 g) |
| Fennel | 1/4 |
| Ginger root | ½-inch piece (about 1 cm) |
| Pears | 2 |
Procedure
- Wash and chop the ingredients. Note: you can peel the ginger and the pears. But it will be more beneficial to health if you keep them on.
- Place your ingredients into a juicer and juice until smooth.
- Pour the fresh juice into a glass and serve with some ices.
- My favorite green juice
This recipe features three different types of green veggies. It includes kale, romaine, and parsley. On top of that, you will get a hint of sweetness from green apples. So, this drink is full of freshness and deliciousness.
A leafy greens-packed recipe like this features powerful nutrients, like Vitamin A, C, K, and B6. You will also receive calcium and manganese. These healthy minerals help to maintain your bone strength, mood, immunity, and sleep quality.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Large kale leaves | 2 |
| Romaine lettuce | 1 head |
| Fresh parsley | 4-8 oz |
| Large granny smith apple (chopped) | 1 |
| Lemons (peeled) | 2 |
Procedure
- Wash all your produce well with clean water.
- Chop kale, lettuce, parsley, and apple into small pieces. The chopped pieces need to be small enough to fit through your juicer’s chute.
- Place all the chopped ingredients in your juicer and juice until smooth. Note: before juicing, squeeze lemon juice over the ingredients.
- Serve the fresh juice in a glass with ice cubes. Enjoy!
- 4-Ingredient fall juice.
This recipe includes four basic and simple ingredients. With celery sticks, you will get extra health benefits of swiss chard in your juice. The making procedure is easy and takes less time to prepare.
The sharpness of celery and chard is countered by the natural sweetness of organic apples and oranges in this recipe. Daily consumption of this drink will help to boost your energy by providing sufficient amounts of Vitamin C.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Fresh apples | 6 |
| Oranges | 2 |
| Swiss chard | 4 cups (145g) |
| Celery sticks | 2 |
Procedure
- Wash all your ingredients well with clean water.
- Peel the oranges and divide them into quarters.
- Chop the fruits and green veggies into small sections.
- Place all the processed ingredients through a juicer feed chute. Juice until smooth.
- For better texture, you can strain the juice through a fine-mesh strainer (optional).
- Pour the fresh juice into a serving glass and add some ice cubes to make the juice chill.
FAQ
Should you drink green juice daily?
It’s recommended to drink green juice in moderate amounts. Drinking too much green juice may increase your blood sugar and damage kidney functions. Furthermore, if you have diabetes or another medical condition that causes poor blood sugar management, drinking green juice may not be the best choice for you.
How long can you store green juice?
In case you are using a centrifugal juicer for producing green juice, you can store it for up to 24 hours or one day in a refrigerator. But if you are using a masticating or twin gear juicer, you may store the juice for 2-5 days straight in a fridge. However, the storage time depends on oxidation. It breaks the cell wall of your vegetables and exposes them to the air. So, it’s better to drink your green juice fresh.
Should you drink green juice on an empty stomach?
The answer is yes. If possible, drink your green juice on an empty stomach. Also, wait for about 30 minutes or an hour before inserting anything else into your stomach.