Jan 8

Jan 8 Green Lemonade: Juicing in the New Year!

Lucinato Kale is a cool weather plant. I grow it in the Fall in a large patio pot mostly for making freshly juiced Green Lemonade. But I don’t always grow kale and rarely buy it. So spinach is my green ingredient for Green Lemonade, a recipe that was my best food find of 2012. The ingredients are lemon, apples, ginger, romaine lettuce and kale or spinach, giving one a boost of vibrance infusion of live enzymes.

A year ago I began experimenting with freshly pressed juices. First was the debate between a VitaMix and a juicer, and then the search for the right juicer. I am not a gadget collector; I've spent years ridding my kitchen of the unnecessary, space consuming tools that actually impede cooking and I certainly did not want an expensive "piece" on my counter to be only used occasionally. The search ensued and finally, with a Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon in hand, I followed the recommendation of Natalia Rose in her books The Raw Food Detox Diet and Detox 4 Women and bought the Breville Fountain Juicer.

For convenience I keep Green Lemonade ingredients together in one refrigerator bin. I separate the leaves and soak the greens in water as soon as I bring them home. Lay them flat between two clean towels. Roll up and place directly in the bin.

The following are the ingredients in Natalia Rose's Classic Green Lemonade,

but I will take the liberty of adding a few of my own notes in italics:

Organic kale now can be found in many major grocery stores; if you are out of lettuce replace it with a handful of fresh spinach; I have found organic lemons are much tarter than conventional; the variety of apple changes the taste; Stevia can be added, if necessary, to cut the tartness; the juice tastes different almost every time due to these factors so for best results taste and adjust the proportions to your liking.