Kale Juice
Kale juice should taste as good as it makes you feel. This recipe strikes a pleasing chord with well-balanced sweet, tart, spicy, and earthy flavors.
Calories: 92kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large leaves curly kale including stems
- ½ packed cup (14 grams) cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 4- inch piece English or Persian cucumber
- ½- inch piece ginger
- 1 lime peel and pith removed
- 1 small green apple
- 2 ribs celery including any leaves
Instructions
- Feed all ingredients through juicer in the order listed.
- Stir well and strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Pour into a glass and serve.
Notes
- Green curly kale tends to have a fairly mild flavor, and it produces quite a bit of juice. You'll use two large leaves, including the stems.
- Cilantro has a lot of health benefits and also packs a flavor punch. I love what it adds to this juice. If you don't like it, you can substitute parsley.
- Cucumber is an easy choice for juicing. I like to use unwaxed varieties so I can include the skin. English and Persian cucumbers are good bets, as in anything from the garden or farmers' market.
- Ginger is a great inflammation-buster and adds a fiery freshness to the flavor profile. If you're not a fan, you can leave it out.
- Lime adds an element of tanginess and freshness. You'll use a knife to cut off the peel and white pith and then put the rest of it through the juicer.
- A tart green apple (such as Granny Smith) is one of my favorite green juice ingredients. It adds a bit of complex sweetness and tartness that complements virtually all juices, while keeping things relatively low-glycemic. You don't need to peel it. The rest of the prep depends on your juicer — see manufacturer's instructions for best results.
- Celery is an absolute workhorse of green juice. It has a mild, pleasant flavor and contributes a ton of volume. Put it through the juicer last to flush out any remaining goodness from the other fruits and veggies.
- I use the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer, a masticating juicer that juices pretty efficiently and preserves nutrients for a longer period than centrifugal juicers. You can make this recipe with any juicer.
- The nutrient retention in fresh juice has a lot to do with what kind of juicer you're using. If you have a centrifugal juicer, it's best to drink your juice fairly soon after you make it. With a masticating juicer, feel free to juice in larger batches. They'll keep well in an airtight container in the fridge (such as a quart-sized mason jar) for two to three days.
- Juice can be frozen for longer storage, but you'll find that any remaining solid bits fall out of suspension and sink to the bottom after defrosting. I'm not personally a huge fan of the texture of defrosted juice, but if you're okay with it, freezing can be a good bet.
Nutrition
Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2.8g | Fat: 0.7g