“Green Lemonade”

So, I read the Raw Food Detox Diet, and one of the staples of it is “Green Lemonade”. Suffused with an enthusiasm to detox, I ordered a juicer from Amazon. It arrived yesterday. I washed all the parts and set it up, and luckily opted to wait until today to use it because the thing is freaking NOISY. I doubt my neighbors would’ve appreciated hearing the equivalent of a lawn mower from my apartment late at night!!

So I just made my first batch of “Green Lemonade” and while I realize this isn’t going to be a very interesting post for most, I thought a record would help me, at least.

Into the juicer went:
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
5 stalks of Kale
2 small limes, whole
2 large apples, whole at first but ended up having to cut them
fresh ginger, about a 2″ chunk

Now mind you, this was a heaping big pile of produce, at least in my worldview. I ended up filling the quart juice catcher maybe half full, and lots of that was foam. I really hoped for all that, I’d have lots of juice. I can see where this could get expensive…

The juice is a dark green. Not very appealing to look at. I raised it to my mouth. The smell was of fresh cut grass (if you’ve had wheat grass juice you know what I mean). I love to smell cut grass but drinking it…well, let’s get this over with. I sipped.

The good news is that it didn’t *taste* like fresh cut grass!! It didn’t taste entirely good either, but a handful of ice cubes to chill it down improved the flavor a lot. It’s a little too bitter. Now, the recipe called for a lemon, unpeeled, and I used 2 small limes, and they weren’t very good limes at that (they’re the ones I skipped over when I was cutting wedges for my Corona!!). So probably the rind< ->juice ratio wasn’t very good. Also of course Romaine lettuce is fairly bitter, too. And I *love* the taste of ginger and it was a bit too subtle for me.

So next time I’m going to try the recipe this way:

1 head of celery (easier to clean, less bitter, and probably more juicy)
5 stalks of Kale (the juice from this stuff is almost black, its so green!)
2 better limes (at least partially peeled — I just prefer lime to lemon)
2 large apples (quartered. The juicer manufacturer brags that you can use whole apples, but mine didn’t fit, and even cut in half they jammed. Plus I was glad I cut them because the core of one to them was pretty funky and I’m really glad I cut it out.)
fresh gingers, about a 3″ chunk

I wonder how adding a cucumber would effect it? (I’m thinking of ways to maximize the juice quantity for the amount of work that goes into making the stuff.)

15 thoughts on ““Green Lemonade”

  1. Hey there,

    The Raw Food Detox Diet has been getting a lot of coverage here in the UK, but the book won’t be available until next year! But I’ve ordered mine through Amazon.com and until it comes, your recipe for Green Lemonade will come in very handy…

    I’ve got a Breville ‘whole apple’ juicer for a while and love it — but I’d avoid cucumber as it’s surprisingly bitter, strange, given how watery it is. I also noticed on the RFDD website that the author suggests (to someone who doesn’t want to juice twice a day) that they make a double batch in the evening, saving the second batch in a bottle for the morning. Sound like an idea?

  2. Interesting about the cucumber. Thanks for letting me know before I ruined a batch of juice! Celery does a great job, though, of increasing the juice quantity. What I found surprising about that was that it gave the juice a hint of V-8 flavor (that’s a commercial vegetable/tomato juice, in case the brand isn’t available in the UK). That was fine since I like V-8, but I was just really surprised at which ‘flavor nuance’ in V-8 came from celery!

    I’ve tried making the double batch but it just doesn’t taste the same the second day. However, I’ve made the double batch in the morning and had the 2nd portion the next morning, so that’s a full 24 hours later. Making it the night before might work. I’ll give it a try.

    I really appreciate the comments Iv’e been getting here. I was losing faith and enthusiasm for the whole process, sliding back into my old, unhealthy ways of eating. You folks have inspired me to get serious again!

    The silver lining here is how poorly I’ve been feeling since I’ve been slipping. It was like the good aspects of eating well came upon me so slowly that I didn’t really notice them. But now that they’re gone, I really do.

    Oh, and Bonnie, I think I have the very same juicer!

    Let me know if I can answer any other questions while you wait for the book to arrive. And in case I never mentioned it, I emailed Natalia Rose with a question once and she responded with a very nice email. She seemed like a real sweetheart.

  3. Have you heard anything about switching out the green lemonade with the odwalla green superfood? Wonder if it has the same values nutritionally.

    thanks

  4. Sorry Jon, I haven’t heard anything about the odwalla superfood.

    I’m afraid I’ve reverted to my old, unhealthy ways of eating these days. 🙁

  5. If you read the book, Raw Food Detox Diet, she does state that those commercial branded “juices” are not good for you at all.

  6. I really loved reading everyone’s comments about the green lemonade! I read the book and have been having this juice daily for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago my juicer broke and didn’t have the ability to juice for 5 days – I didn’t feel good at all.

    I will tell you that if you are using lemon (rather than lime) it has a super “fresh” and bright taste. I don’t know if that is the correct way to describe it, but it’s really good. I feel myself detoxing and being more able to eliminate regularly.

  7. I’ve been enjoying the green lemonade too! Only I make mine with a couple of apples, three mandarin oranges, three beets, a bunch of carrots, and a splash of natural honey. It tastes like….um….something “good”. The color is deep red, and the vitamin C in the three lemons keeps it from oxidizing. All that stuff generated about 2 quarts and I refrigerate and drink morning and afternoon.

    If nothing else it helps me think I’m doing something healthy for my body. Who said fad food has to be boring!

  8. I think the green lemonade is yummy. Be careful with the peelings of lemon and lime. I know Natalia says to leave them on, but only if organic and I prefer the taste when peeled. The apples are really important for the sweetness. It’s really much better to make it fresh each time rather than storing in fridge. It doesn’t take long.

  9. I’ve been juicing too. The recipe I use is a head of celery, a head of spinach, two fuji apples cored (don’t want the seeds in there as they turn to poison) and one lemon peeled. I have the same juicer and it said to peel citris fruit. I am doing so. I have to cut my apple too. I think it meant little apples when it said this, because fuji do not fit, but they have great juice!
    Mine tastes great straight from the juicer. Never as good by lunch time, but hey…
    I slipped and I’m back on! I just need more recipes to stay with it. Plus with a family of 8, the other 7 are NOT into it I have to keep remembering how much better it makes me feel! (They are major carnivores and mommy is not. ACK! but mommy does all the cooking) Makes it more challenging.

    Anyone in the same boat? Ideas?

  10. I’ve been enjoying the ‘green lemonade’ from Natalia’s book for several months now. I have an old juicer that was passed down to me…a Juice Man Junior. The recipe always gives me around 32 ounces ( I use 3 apples if they’re small). My sister ordered the juicer recommended and claims that she only gets about 20 or so ounces of juice from the recipe. Anyone have a comment on this?

  11. You should try the Green Star Juicer. It’s has a low RPM motor so you don’t burn any enzymes from the veggies & fruit. It also has a twin blade so you get a lot of juice out of it! I got mine wholesale for $375 (it’s worth the price and your paying for your health!). You can find sites online that sells it for that price. Good luck and happy juicing!

  12. I just ordered the book and am waiting for it to arrive. My Waring juice extractor arrived yesterday and I’m super excited. But now I’m reading these posts and getting worried… does it really take THAT many veggies and fruits every day to make this stuff??? My husband and I are both grad students and while we invest in our health, dumping a week’s worth of groceries into a glass of juice is a bit out of our price range…

    Help!

  13. Hiya Stacy,
    There’s no denying that you got through a lot of produce with a Juicer, but still, it’s all veggies and fairly common produce, so you can keep the cost manageable if you shop smart and are willing to be flexible.

    Although that said, it’s been a while since I did any juicing… 🙁 But mostly that’d due to me being lazy!!!

  14. The Champion juicer is the best. Instead of chopping the veggies, it grinds them. When veggies are chopped, the only juice you get is the stuff flying out of it-but there’s still some in the left over pulp. When they’re ground up, you get much more of the juice. I just got one on Ebay for $139, but even if you buy one new I think it’s only $235 or something. I’m crazy about using as much of my fruits and veggies as I can, so I really like it! Also, it seriously takes 5 minutes to clean, and it’s super quiet.

    By the way, I’m not a promoter or anything-I just got this juicer and it’s been the best thing ever. Most Raw sites I’d looked at raved about the Champion, ad I totally know why!

    Good luck everyone!

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