Fall is such a beautiful, wonderful time of year. My favorite, actually! But it's also a common cold season, so it's as prime a time as ever to make sure we care for ourselves and our immune systems - which we can do in part by staying hydrated, getting proper sleep, managing and reducing stress, and nourishing our bodies with vitamin/mineral/antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruit.
Fresh juices are an effective way to intake super-doses of such nutrition, on top of whatever else you're consuming (hopefully also plenty of veggies and fruit!). Due to sheer volume, drinking juice makes it easier to take in more produce than you'd other wise likely be able to eat. Sip it straight, use as liquid in your smoothies or freeze into ice cubes for long-term smoothie addition.
Peter and I are frequent travelers, and in the enclosed space of airplanes recently I have definitely noticed a increase of sniffles and coughs. So amidst continued busy schedules at home and more travel coming up, we're trying to also recharge and take advantage of our time at home - which includes putting our juicer to use!
Making a big jug of one of my go-to juices - a vibrant green "uber juice" - felt like a smart choice tonight, to get our week started right. And I encourage you to do the same!
I call this uber juice because it's so full of so many health-supporting nutrients. Here's the recipe so you can make it too - but of course, depending on your taste buds and produce availability, play around with what you use. You can't go wrong!
Recipe: Vibrant Green Uber Juice
What You Need:
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of rainbow chard
2 cucumbers
3 small apples
2 lemons, peeled
1 orange, peeled
1 pint strawberries, green leaves removed
Chunk of fresh ginger (about 2 inches long, peeled)
Chunk of fresh turmeric (about 2 inches long, peeled)
What You Do:
Prep all produce (wash greens and anything else not being peeled, peel citrus/ ginger/ tumeric, and slice the bigger things into pieces that will fit into your juicer)
Juice away! I recommend using the sturdier things, like the kale and chard, throughout the whole process - it helps move pulpier, juicer fruit through.
If you don't have a juicer, blend everything in a blender until it's as liquified as possible - and then pour through a sieve/ strainer into a jar.
Store in the fridge and drink as desired - this should last two people 1-3 days, depending on how much you're drinking at a time.