The phrase ‘juicing the rainbow' promotes drinking juices of all different colors as each food has phytonutrients. Phytonutrients give foods their colors, tastes, and health benefits!
Green foods aid digestion, promote heart health, boost the immune system, and potentially reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Despite their benefits, green is a food color many people dislike and don’t consume enough. The reason is that most green foods have bitter flavors, making them unappealing.
One easy and quick way to consume your greens is through green juice!
To celebrate National Green Juice Day, we’ve compiled a list of green fruits, vegetables, and herbs, plus three green juice recipes for you to enjoy!
Vegetables
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Leafy greens are high in Vitamins A, C, K, and folate. They can improve vision, protect the immune system, boost bone health, and promote cell growth.
Dark green vegetables, in particular, have the highest concentration of antioxidants and nutrients.
Juicing solely green vegetables is uncommon because they produce earthy, bitter-tasting juice. We recommend juicing greens with ingredients from the other categories for a better flavor.
Read more about how to juice leafy greens here.
Fruits
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In addition to Vitamins A, C, K, and folate, green fruits are an excellent source of potassium! Potassium helps regulate blood pressure and maintain heart health.
Green fruits tend to be sour or tart with some sweet flavors, toning down the earthiness and bitterness of leafy green vegetables.
Herbs
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Herbs are a common cooking ingredient but a commonly forgotten juicing ingredient! Despite their low yield, they have many benefits!
Herbs are renowned for their mood-boosting effects, medicinal properties, and unique flavors.
A little goes a long way with herbs! You can taste their flavors in your juice even when using a small amount.
Learn more about their benefits and get juicing tips for herbs here.
1. Apple Limeade
Not ready for leafy greens just yet? A fruit juice is one way to start simple! Our take on a traditional lemonade swaps lemons for limes and adds green apples and mint!
- 4 limes (unpeeled)
- 3 green apples
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp honey or agave
- A few mint leaves
- Ice
2. Sweet Spinach Juice
Green fruits are the best way to introduce leafy greens to your juice. To keep with the green theme, choose Bartlett pears for this recipe!
- 2 pears
- 2 green apples
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 lemon (peeled)
- ½ bunch spinach
3. Power Greens Juice
You need a bunch of leafy greens to achieve a deep green color! If you’re an expert in green juices, try this leafy green-packed recipe!
- 2 limes
- 2 green apples
- 2 bunches of spinach
- 1 bunch of lettuce
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1 thumb of ginger
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REFERENCES:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/phytonutrients-paint-your-plate-with-the-colors-of-the-rainbow-2019042516501
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/leafy-green-vegetables
https://www.rush.edu/news/eat-colorful-diet
https://www.summahealth.org/flourish/entries/2024/03/eat-your-way-to-better-health-why-leafy-greens-are-your-magic-weapon
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