Green Lemonade

I first learned about this juice from Natalia Rose's book The Raw Food Detox Diet. This book was one of the first books I read about raw foods, and though I don't eat an exclusively raw diet on a regular basis, I do eat quite a lot of raw foods and believe this to be a very healthy dietary practice. I also think an occasional 100% raw food "detox" or cleanse can be very beneficial, and I try to do this for a week or more each spring.

Green lemonade fits right in as a healthy drink that can be sipped thoughout the day if you are doing a detox, but it can also be a great all-natural drink in the morning or afternoon as part of your regular healthy diet.

This is made by juicing romaine lettuce and adding in smaller amounts of some kale, collards, mustard or other dark greens. Add enough lemon or lime (usually 1/2-1 whole ones; you can even leave the peel on) and apple (1-2) to give it sweetness and cut any bitterness. Optional additions are cucumber, celery, carrot, beet (use these last two in moderation as they are quite high in natural sugars).

I recommend the Breville Juice Fountain, but if you don't have a juicer, you can make a blended juice in a Blendtec, Vita-Mix or other high speed blender. It's more pulpy from the fiber if you use a blender, but it's still quite tasty and very, very good for you.