How to Make Kale-Aid (Strawberry Kale Lemonade)

Most people, myself included, start out skeptical of green juice. I’ve written previously about my resistance to trying green smoothies, but once I drank the metaphorical Kool-Aid, I was hooked.

Green juice was a harder sell. I don’t even drink fruit juice anymore (Think about how many oranges go into an 8-ounce glass of juice; you would never eat that much fruit in one sitting.), AND I’d have to buy a new appliance?

Though generally sweet, green juice ideally contains mainly vegetables. Normally you want the fiber with fruit to help stabilize blood sugar, but in this case, removing the fiber concentrates the vitamins and minerals. You can fit several pounds of fresh, nutrient-dense produce in one glass. While you wouldn’t sit down and eat a whole head of lettuce, a bunch of kale, three stalks of celery, an apple and a lemon, you can drink it in short order (that recipe coming soon!).

It’s important that green juice is fresh since commercial bottled juices are heat pasteurized. Pasteurization is important for safety in large-scale food production (salmonella bad), but high temperatures destroy sensitive enzymes and nutrients.

This is a good beginner juice. While kale can taste very “green” in both juice and smoothies, this recipe is heavier on fruit than what I normally make, but is still simple. I like my juices fairly tart, so the lemon/strawberry combo is great for me. Try using the whole apple to increase the sweetness if needed.

Before you ask, I have the Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain 700-Watt Juice Extractor. Why this model?

• The price is right – only $100 at Amazon or in-store at Crate & Barrel.
• It’s smaller than many other juicers; we don’t have a ton of counter space.
• While it takes a few minutes, it’s not as tough to clean as some others I’ve heard about.

If you’re juicing for yourself, I recommend it. When my husband and I were doing a juice fast together, I wished I had a bigger juicer. Breville juicers are centrifugal and won’t juice wheatgrass, don’t process greens quite as well, and slightly heat the produce while juicing. “Slow” or masticating juicers are better for those purposes, but also cost more and are harder to clean.

To increase the yield of my juice, I run everything through once, then run the pulp through again. I also dilute my juice with filtered water, or coconut water in warm weather. Tangy, refreshing, and legitimately good for you. Give it a try!

Have you tried green juice? How do you feel about it?

print recipe

Strawberry Kale Lemonade

by Stacy Spensley April-8-2013

You may need to adjust the quantities depending on the sweetness and ripeness of your fruit. The key is making it taste good to YOU. Because the juice is raw, organic produce is preferred, and wash everything very thoroughly.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch (about 6 leaves and stalks) kale
• 1 lemon
• 1 pint strawberries
• 1 (1/2-inch) slice fresh ginger
• 1/2 sweet apple such as Fuji
• 4 ounces water

Instructions

1. Peel lemon if not organic. Hull strawberries. Peel ginger. Core apple.2. Run all produce through a juicer. With my centrifugal juicer, I juice the pulp a second time. 3. Add water and whisk. Enjoy within 24 hours.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 10 mins Yield: about 20 ounces

Tagged as: cleanse, dairy-free, detox, gluten-free, green juice, greens, healthy, juicing, kale, strawberries, vegan, vegetarian