It's over half way through the day, you've been working and running errands, maybe you've been up since 5am, your eyes are starting to get heavy, your energy is lowering, and the first thought that comes to your mind is "SUGAR!" You are in desperate need of an Afternoon Delight/Pick Me Up! While this mid day slump is a sign that the body does need some sort of fuel or exercise (maybe it's just a glass of lemon water or to step out into fresh air for a walk around the block), most likely sugar isn't exactly what you need. Inherently, we as humans have a natural affinity for sweet foods. At birth we are fed milk which naturally has a sweet taste to it. Over the years we are rewarded with candy. At holidays there are treats, cookies, and confections that are made special, and even as adults we woo over gourmet chocolates, pasties, ice cream, and cakes. Sugar gives us that immediate gratification as well as provides fuel; however this form of fuel runs short quickly and we are hardly better than where we started.
As an alternative a green drink is a fantastic way to add zip to your taste-buds and get you moving in the morning or for the rest of your afternoon. While the idea of a green drink can be scary (am i hearing GROSS & BITTER!?!), if you use the right ingredients you will have a refreshing, filling, energizing, YUMMY, and alkalizing pick me up that not only fuels you with the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants your body needs, but also will boost your attitude and sharpen your mind, making you feel VIBRANT! So all you Juicers and Blenders: Get those appliances back out on the counter top where you'll use them regularly and let's all make ourselves a little Afternoon Delight!
Settin' Up:
You'll need a juicer and a blender
1 Lemon (you may want to cut in half and squeeze with a citrus/lemon press rather than running through the juicer, this eliminates having to peel the lemon which i find an arduous task)
8 kale leaves (de-veined)
2 large handfuls of baby spinach (divided)
1 cucumber, peeled
1 green apple, peeled and halved
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1/3 of a ripe avocado
approximately 1/2 (to a full) cup purified water
Rinse your greens and de-vein the kale by pulling the stem out, leaving just the leaf (this eliminates bitterness**)
JUICE your cucumber, HALF of the baby spinach, ALL of the kale, HALF of the apple, and the ginger
Add your lemon juice to this mixture
Add the water - tasting after a 1/2 cup is added to make sure you don't dilute flavor too much, if still quite strong add the remaining water (usually about 1/2 -1 full cup water total depending how much liquid your juicer and produce supplies, you may need more)
Transfer this juice to your high speed blender (vitamix recommended)
Add the remaining half apple, handful of spinach, and the avocado - Blend Well
Pour into your favorite tall glass, sit in the sun, and sip away
"Skyrockets in Flight, AFTERNOON DELIGHT!!!"
**When juicing greens, to help eliminate bitterness pull stems out of bitter greens, add additional lemon, ginger, or tart fruit like green apple. Overall, you'll find your drinks to become extremely palatable and change the way you feel about green juice/drinks.
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