We’re talking juices and smoothies. If you haven’t discovered the health benefits of greens, then it’s time to!
ALSO SEE: 6 Smoothies To Boost Your Health
When you’re feeling sluggish, there’s nothing better than a juice so enriched with goodness that you can almost feel it cleansing and detoxing your system sip by tasty sip. Fruit and vegetable combinations will do just that and, if consumed regularly, they’ll make you feel and look brighter, with glossy hair, radiant skin, and sparkling eyes. Go on, try these recipes, simply packed with body-enhancing nutrients…
Digestion smoothie
This fibre-rich smoothie will aid your digestive system – it tastes really delicious, too!
- 1 banana, peeled and quartered
- 5 prunes, stoned
- 60ml orange juice
- 240ml plain low-fat yoghurt
Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately. Makes 1 glass.
Now try the Digestion smoothie…with figs
Replace the prunes with five dried figs, which can act as a natural laxative for some people. They’re not technically a fruit since they are formed by the flower and seeds of the fig plant. For an exotic variation, add in 1tsp rose water and a pinch of ground cardamom to the finished drink.
…with flax oil
Add 1tbsp flax oil to the figs variation with the other ingredients.
…for vegans
Use 175ml low-fat coconut milk instead of the yoghurt, or try it with vanilla-flavoured cultured soya.
ALSO SEE: Give Your Body A Boost With The 24-Hour Fat-Burning Smoothie Diet
Big green chiller
This wonderful concoction is like the contents of a farmers’ market stall in a glass!
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 courgettes
- 6 kale leaves
- 6 spinach leaves
- 1 small bunch coriander
- ½ a lime, peeled and chopped
- 2,5cm piece of ginger, peeled lime slices, to garnish
Put all the ingredients through a juice extractor. Pour into a glass and serve immediately. Garnish with a slice of lime. Makes 1 large or 2 small glasses.
Top Tip: The spinach used here is full-sized spinach, not baby leaves. If you have baby leaves, use about a handful.
Now try the Big Green Chiller juice…
…as a cold defier
Replace the coriander with a small bunch of parsley and add 2 peeled garlic cloves. The garlic is used as an immune booster and the parsley will help neutralise its odour.
…with peppers
Replace the courgettes with 1 green and 1 yellow pepper. Mixing the peppers balances their sweetness.
…with orange
Replace the lime with a peeled and chopped orange.
…with broccoli
Replace the spinach and kale with a small head of broccoli, broken into florets. Broccoli is full of folic acid, so this is an ideal juice for expectant mothers.
Recipes taken from 1000 Juices, Green Drinks & Smoothies (Random House Struik) by Deborah Gray.
Top Tip
If the juicer gets clogged up when processing soft vegetables, push a hard carrot through the machine.
