Definitive Green Juice Recipe

I have so many “posts” that I want / need to write; I believe I now have 28 “started” and many more ideas jotted on scraps of paper or in my iPhone “notes” or passing ethereally through my mind. There are also many posts I want to write that deal with some of the more “complex” issues I have already discussed here – I often live on the very misguided assumption that other people think the way I do when that couldn’t be less true. I want to clarify some basic ideas; some of MY personal beliefs and how I established them; what I think about certain things and how I came to think about them in those sorts of ways.

At any rate, I am feeling a little “OVERWHELMED” by all of that (see my post on being “overwhelmed!” I have another post in the works – almost finished, actually – regarding this subject and another “feeling” and how Dr. Dyer sort of missed the boat on the many “grey area” instances in which action is possible theoretically but not realistically) so I am just going to post the Green Juice recipe I have been making literally every day (or every other day, depending if I make a “double batch”) because it helps me with my adrenal issues (I cannot speak for everyone who is dealing with adrenal problems, I just know this DOES help me!) and it’s just a great way to get a lot of veggies without having to chomp on them with teeth that really aren’t up to chomping right now (as I promised before, I have at least one other post on that coming as well!). Here it is!

*Note: At Wegman’s, I found these little cups of “partially dried” parsley; they are my NEW lifesaver since parsley is AWFUL to pick when you use so much of it. I relied on the frozen cubes for a long time but I cannot seem to find them at ANY store in my area, so I tried these and they work very well! The packaging indicates that about 1/2 of one of the “cups” is about 1 bunch of parsley, so for my purposes and depending on the day, I use about 1/4 – 1/3 of these “cups.” You can also use real parsley – Italian flat-leaf, preferably organic – and use about 1/3 of a LARGE bunch. If you have an immune deficiency like I do or you are immunocompromised in any way like I am I do suggest that if you are using FRESH parsley and FRESH spinach, that you “parboil” the two in boiling water for about a minute, then drain and ice. I know you lose some of the vitamins by doing this, but given the recent trend in very serious pathogens being found in leafy greens, I try not even to take the chance!*

1/3 of one “cup” of “partially dried parsley” (OR about 1/3 LARGE bunch flat-leaf parsley thoroughly cleaned, preferably parboiled)

• Put about 2 cups of cold water in your blender and then dump that parsley into the water so that it starts to rehydrate while you’re prepping the other veggies
  

About 50-60 FRESH ORGANIC Baby spinach leaves (I like to fold them in half and peel out the stem just so I don’t have to “strain” much out of the juice at the end – that choice is completely yours! I say organic here because of the aforementioned issues with leafy greens and again, I do suggest parboiling the spinach with the parsley unless you KNOW your spinach is a-okay, i.e., if you grow it yourself or know a grower, &c.)

About 6-7 stalks of celery; tops removed, bottoms removed, strings removed; ORGANIC IS A MUST HERE (I say that with everything you consume ALL of or that has a peel you eat like with an apple or a strawberry); if you’re buying bunches, this is about one small bunch of celery or about 1/2 large bunch; make sure to wash your celery thoroughly! (again, I achieve this just by breaking the celery by hand at the very top and the very bottom and peeling out the strings that are attached to the very ends; I then break the piece of celery in half and repeat the process; there are also usually strings on the outer edges of the celery – you can usually see if the “big strings” have been removed if you look at the “cross-section” of the celery and you see little empty “holes” along the top outer curve)

1/2 seedless cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into small chunks (I usually just chop up the whole cucumber and either munch on the rest during the day or use it for green juice the next day! Cucumbers don’t store well for long so be sure to use it within a day!)

1/2 packet of PURE Stevia (or to taste; they put all kinds of crap in the “non-pure” kind so please look for the pure ones! You can also measure it out – about 1/8-1/4 tsp depending on your taste – it is easier to find PURE Stevia in bulk!)

The juice from about 4 LARGE Lemons (again, make sure you wash your lemons! You don’t eat the peel usually – not here, at least! – but you cut through it, so you want to make sure it is clean!)

That’s it!

I usually place the parsley and spinach together in the blender first with the water and blend for 60 seconds. Then I add the cucumber and celery and blend another 60 seconds. I add the Stevia and the lemon juice last and blend about 30-45 seconds. I then strain the juice through a rice washing bowl (I don’t know the “proper” name for this – if you have cooked Japanese homestyle food or other Asian cuisines you propbably know what I’m talking about – it’s kind of a medium-holed strainer that you use to wash your rice with before cooking it) into a pitcher. I then can add more lemon juice to taste and dilute as I think it needs to be diluted.

*Note 1: This is a GREAT TIP for keeping your fresh spinach … fresh! I buy the little “clamshell” plastic “boxes” of baby spinach leaves – every time I use them, I place a piece of dry paper towel on top of the remaining leaves. The next time I use the spinach (the next day, at the latest for me personally!) I remove the paper towel, close the lid and give the spinach a good shake, take what I need, and place a new piece of paper towel on the top (and then shut the lid, of course!). Keeping the moisture down in the spinach container really prolongs the life of the spinach – the bad parts are those where it gets too wet and ends up as that nasty slimy dark green or yellowish-brown muck …. this more or less helps avoid that entirely as long as you use your spinach within a few days!*

*Note 2: As you may or may not know, I saw a new prosthodontist this week – he gave me quite a firm lecture about drinking juice – even veggie juice – and proceeded to show me the photos of a patient’s teeth – the enamel was literally GONE from this person consuming copious amounts of tomato juice. When he pulled up the pictures I screamed “OH MY GOD, THAT’S DENTIN!” and the dental assistant replied in shock “YES, YES IT I!” haha a funny memory, yes, but I have been advised to drink WATER after I drink juice (like take a sip of juice and take a sip of water right after kind of deal) and to LIMIT the amount of juice I do drink. It’s really crazy that you can eat through that much of your teeth just by the acidity in foods … but you can!*

At any rate, I hope some of that was helpful and perhaps even informative! I will be back as soon as I can do so to write more on the subjects I mentioned above … and many more! I hope you are all having a wonderfully happy and healthy weekend, no matter where you are in the world! Until then, I do, adieu.

❤ Always, Beth