Green Juice

After our breakup three years ago, I am back together with my juicer.

No drama included here, I simply have not had the time and interest to make juice until recently.

For me, green juice is not a meal, it is an extra. I usually have my juice sometime between breakfast and lunch.

I also believe, that when aiming for a more healthful lifestyle, it is better to add good habits than to use all your willpower to cut out things.

What usually happens is that the new habit, considered it is what your body really needs, will bring more balance and clarity, which will naturally change what you choose for yourself.

You learn to listen to your body and the small adjustments you make accumulate.

What made me run up to the attic and take the juicer down to my kitchen again, was a recipe shared by wellness guru Daphne Javitch.

On her brilliant Instagram account (I am sure many of you have been following since the beginning), she recently mentioned that her favorite organic green juice is made of: cucumber, celery, fennel, green apple and lemon. Occasionally she would add a little cilantro or ginger.

This combination instantly made sense to me.

Green juice can be soothing. It does not have to be heavy on kale or wheat grass or anything grassy to have clarifying, energizing and alkalizing benefits.

Two things though: it should not be too sweet and it should be organic.

As juice contains no fiber, the minerals and vitamins it contains will be absorbed right into your bloodstream – but so will the fructose (do not mess with that blood sugar) and so do the pesticides (without guarding fiber, you do not want to have those toxins in your body).

So while eating all organic foods all the time and everywhere is not the reality for most of us, if you drink pure juice, make sure that is organic.

Soothing Green Juice (four glasses)

2 fennels
2 stalks celery
2 green apples
1 cucumber
2 limes (or lemons)
small piece of ginger (optional)

Peel ginger if using. Wash other ingredients carefully. Remove rind and pith from limes.

Chop all ingredients roughly, juice and enjoy right away.

I use a slow juicer that gently separates the juice from the fiber. As juicing and cleaning up afterwards requires some effort, I usually make a generous batch at a time and share my juice with someone.

This recipe will make approximately one liter of juice. If you like, use only half of the ingredients.