My favorite way to start the day is waking up and grabbing a nice cup of hot green tea, 
sit on the old meditation mat for awhile,
and top it off with some fresh, green juice. 
Unfortunately, this happens less often then I would like. There is one part of it, though, that I make sure to do at least 5 times a week, if not daily – make green juice.
As green juice advocate Kris Carr says, “Make juice, not war”. Our body is in a constant battle to balance out our pH levels. Most of the time, we are way too acidic. This acidity comes mostly from our lifestyle and dietary choices. Stress, sugar, too much dairy and meat, coffee, caffeine, alcohol, etc can all contribute to acidity in the body. When our blood becomes acidic, our body tries to combat it by leaching calcium from our bones…yikes! It can also deplete our energy levels and cause us to become quite cranky. One of the best ways to bring our body alkalinity back to a normal level is through green leafy vegetables and other low sugar vegetables. Since it would take way too much time to eat an entire bowl of veggies, and probably not enough room in the belly, juicing gives you a straight shot of enzymes. When you juice, the fibrous portions (aka the pulp) are separated from the enzymes. This way the enzymes don’t have to work as hard to get into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the juice balances out the acidity. By starting the day with a fresh green juice, we detox the organs and kick start our energy levels.
Here is an easy green juice recipe to get you started. All you need is a juicer and some nice fresh veggies.
Don’t be frightened by the color! It is quite tasty 🙂
Basic Green Juice:
4 kale leaves
2 romaine leaves
1 handful spinach
1 handful mixed greens
1 large cucumber
1 lemon
1 apple (deseeded)
*feel free to add any fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, mint, or basil to brighten up the flavors a little more
Start with the herbs and dark leafy greens (such as kale and spinach)and add them to the juicer. These have less water and create less juice. Then add the fruit and cucumber. These juicier items (aka cucumbers, apples, and lemons) help to push out the lingering juice from the juicer. Make sure to rinse of your veggies first, keep the juicer running while adding items, and pour into a glass when finished.
The greens add the nutrients to balance, cucumbers add the bulk of the juice, the apple adds a touch of sweetness, and the lemon adds some brightness to the juice.
Once you have your basic juice down, add in some extra veggies from here. Use this as your base or your go to juice recipe. Questions and comments are welcome. Now go out and juice, you juicing machines!
Cheers!
Jessi
