blissful eats with tina jeffers: Green Detox Juice

Since I don’t really like eating breakfast much in the morning I have turned to juicing as a way to start the day.  The ingredients in this juice have natural detoxing properties and can help with inflammation and aid digestion.  Juicing gives your body a break from digesting solid foods and drinking one first thing in the morning help extends the amount of natural fasting that your body goes through while you are sleeping. 

If you don’t have a juicer you can easily use a blender instead, you will have the added benefit of the fiber but when you are trying to fast the fiber actually causes digestion so you aren’t really giving your system a chance to rest and recover.

When juicing aim to use the best quality organic fruits and vegetables you can find.  If you are using fruits that aren’t organic be sure to remove the skins before juicing. 

I also like to add a handful of parsley to the mix.  You can get creative and juice your favorite fruits into the mix but don’t forget the lemon or the ginger it really adds a great brightness and flavor.  What's your favorite way to juice?  For more juice and smoothie recipes visit me at www.scalingbackblog.com!

Green Detox Juice

Makes roughly one 16 ounce serving

Ingredients:

5 kale leaves

1 fuji apple, cored and quartered

1 pear, cored and quartered

1 cucumber

¼ lemon, peeled

1 inch piece of peeled ginger

ice for serving

Method:

Juice the kale and then add the apple, pear and cucumber.  Follow with the lemon and ginger.  Scrape off any foam that accumulates on the top and serve over ice.