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One thing I hear over and over again from friends, co-workers, and students is that once they started drinking green juice, their lives changed for the better. I hear things like, “I just don’t feel right if I don’t have my green juice every day.” Or “I can get away with not eating super healthy as long as I drink a green juice most days.”

Or “It’s the best hangover cure I’ve found!” Personally, drinking 1 to 2 pints of green juice in the morning keeps me feeling nourished, hydrated and mentally sharp. Yes, it’s that amazing!

What’s the difference between drinking green juice and a smoothie? Green juice doesn’t have fiber, so the liquid is able to immediately penetrate your cells through your bloodstream without having to be digested.

This means a more quick transit time and quicker absorption. What does that mean for your body? Immediate hydration, increased enzyme activity, higher alkalinity, and mineral absorption. No middle man (the digestive tract) needed.

Another benefit of drinking green juice vs. smoothies (not that smoothies are bad; they are just needed at a different time of day such as after a workout) is that green juice is uber-low glycemic.

When we drink juices that don’t have fruit, we are getting all the vitamins and minerals from the veggies without the insulin spike and the subsequent hit to the pancreas. It’s been well-documented that increased insulin spikes lead to premature aging and death. Not sexy!

So, the next time you really want to feel amazing (perhaps after a night of drinking or a weekend BBQ) take 15 minutes (yep, that’s all the time you need) to make a quick and easy green juice (no juicer necessary). Here’s how to do it:

GREEN JUICE LEMONADE​

<li “=”” bold_text”=”” data-unit=”px” style=”line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 20px !important;”>2 large organic cucumbers (the fatter the better)  <li “=”” bold_text”=”” data-unit=”px” style=”line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 20px !important;”>2 bunches of organic celery  <li “=”” bold_text”=”” data-unit=”px” style=”line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 20px !important;”>1 bunch of parsley, dandelion greens, kale, cilantro or spinach <li “=”” bold_text”=”” data-unit=”px” style=”line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0px !important;”> Juice of 2 lemons or limes

Directions:

1. Chop all the vegetables into 1-inch chunks.

2. Put into a Vitamix or Blendtec Blender.

3. Blend for only 10 seconds using a plunger to make sure all the veggies get blended but stop before they get too oxidized.

4. Pour into The Amazing Nut Milk Bag and squeeze the liquid into a pitcher or bowl.

5. Add the lemon juice and store in 2 pint-sized jars (I like to save my leftover kombucha bottles).

Shopping Tip:  for 2 days’ worth of juice, buy twice as much produce, and wash it all at the same time. Wrap 1/2 of the veggies in a towel and place in a plastic bag in the fridge for easy juicing the next day.

Tip #2: Buy a large bag of lemons or limes and Juice them all at once. Store in your fridge for up to 2 weeks in a glass jar.

Tip #3: For an even tastier juice that picky eaters and kids will love, try my Green Juice Cappucino. It’s green juice to the max!

Article by Elaina Love, Faculty Member here at the BodyMind InstituteElaina Love’s Raw Chef CertificationElaina’s Website: https://elainalove.com/Elaina’s Live Classes: http://purejoyplanet.com/