Oh juicing, I hate how it gets such a bad rap. First, people think it's only for weight loss and go into a long rant about why it's unhealthy to just drink juice. I normally let them go on and on until I remind them that I eat. And I eat a lot! But for the last two weeks I've been getting up earlier and giving myself more time between working and and heading to work in order to make a green juice. 

Unless I'm super hungover I can't eat anything before 11am so having a juice after my workout fills me up and holds me over until lunch. A few years ago I did a juice cleanse with my cousin and it had me juicing beets, oranges, pineapples, the works. But 1: I'm not a huge fan of fruits and 2: fruits have TONS of sugar! On the flip side I was never a big fan of veggies until I joined my cousin in the cleanse. Before I started juicing I would die if i saw beets or celery in my food. And ginger? No way. I didn't want that anywhere near me. But now I love those and put tons of celery and some ginger in my morning juice. 

Like I said, I'm not a fan of fruits but a juice made with celery, kale, spinach and cucumbers isn't the tastiest thing ever but when lemon and green apples are added it's like a whole new world. Suddenly it becomes something I always want more of instead of something I have to force feed myself. I used to always put carrots in mine but for some reason I stopped. Maybe it's because they made my beautiful juice look really gross. Okay not maybe, that's totally the reason.

Anyway, here's some green juice porn for you to look at along with the 'recipe' below.

Ingredients

Spinach

Kale

Celery

Cucumber

Swiss Chard

Green Apple

Ginger

Lemon

This is a juice so there really isn't much to it but before I put the leafy greens through the juicer I steam them for about five minutes. I do this because it's supposed to help the body absorb more of the iron. I also always squirt lemon on them after because vitamin c helps absorb even more iron. For me this is imperative because of my iron deficiency*. I also chase the leafy greens with lemon while I juice because it lets the juicer break it down better. I sometimes cheat by wrapping them around lemon wedges since the mouth of my juicer is so big. Also don't ask me how much of what is in it. I aside from always using a whole apple, cucumber and half a lemon the rest is just however much I think will fill a jar. I do have a food scale that I've never used though so I might weight everything one day for you guys.

Look at that amazing color! There's no way anyone can see that and not want to taste it. I love how the apple makes the earthy taste go away and the kick from the ginger. Because this isn't a cold press juicer it ends up being slightly cooler than room temperature which is great because I can't drink warm juice. The Vitamix is a great appliance for smoothies and soups but I can't ever get a smooth juice out of it and of course without ice it's always really warm and that's just gross.

If I don't chop the veggies and not including the time it takes to clean the juicer this takes about 10 minutes tops and I can finish drinking it while I'm getting ready for work much easier than I can with pancakes or an omelet. And then again, I'm getting what my body needs in one delicious and organic drink. Now let's just hope it sticks this time!

*Before anyone says popping a pill is better be aware that the body only takes in a certain amount of iron in that form. Trust me, I've done my research on that. Having cold hands and feet, along with always feeling tired isn't fun.