Carrot and Cilantro Juice

I am surrounded by germs at the moment. Between my office and home, almost everyone is sick. I felt a little under the weather for several days, but so far I've been able to ward it off.  I'm definitely convinced that my strengthened immunity is due to all the fresh juices I've been drinking!

For this week's SPUD juicing box I opted for the Organic Dynamic Beauty Juicing Box, which is a beautiful combination of apples, beets, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, cucumber, ginger, kale, lemons, green bell peppers, and spearmint. This was the first box that I tried from SPUD and I love all the different flavor combinations you can make with these juices. 

This week I've been playing around with lots of carrot-based juices. If you are new to juicing, I definitely recommend starting with a carrot-based juice because it will be incredibly sweet, even without the addition of fruit! Some of my favorite combinations from this week's produce box include: 

• 5 carrots, 3 kale leaves, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 2 beets, 1/4 apple, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 chard leaves, and small handful of mint
• 3 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, and small handful of mint

And, of course, this carrot cilantro juice.

This juice is a sweet and zesty mix between the carrots, bell pepper, and cilantro.  I also love adding a lemon for a nice tartness and even more alkalizing power.  For an additional immune boost (and to ward off vampires), try sneaking in a garlic clove or two!

I looove cilantro so I actually added quite a big handful to my juice. If cilantro's not your thing, you can either leave it out or substitute with a different fresh herb like parsley. Drink up!

Carrot Cilantro Juice
Makes one 12 - 16 oz juice

5 medium carrots
small handful cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper
1 lemon, peeled

Juice ingredients and enjoy!

Green Goddess Juice

If it wasn't for SPUD's Juicing at Home Program, there is a very good chance I would be sitting here eating a cupcake right now. We've finally got all of our boxes and furniture moved into our new place and things are getting a bit settled, but after hauling heavy boxes up and down stairs for three hours my body is craving less-than-healthy things. Luckily, instead of reaching for something sweet, I made a glass of this tasty green goodness. I think my cells are grateful.

If you read my post last week, you know that I'm testing out SPUD's new produce boxes specifically for juicing and they are absolutely fabulous! This week I ordered their Organic All Vegetable Juicing Box, which included beets, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, cucumbers, kale, parsley, a red bell pepper, and tomatoes. 

With the moving craziness this week it was too hard to make it to the grocery store and having this produce box was a lifesaver! Being part of the juicing program has made it so easy for me to drink more fresh juice, even with my busy schedule the last couple of weeks. I can't say enough good things about SPUD as a company (especially their commitment to sustainability) and the incredible convenience of having local, organic produce delivered. (I mentioned this last week, but if you are curious about trying out SPUD's juicing program, now is the time because they have a couple of awesome juicing promotions going on this month!)

I love that this juicing box is all veggies (since I prefer green juices over fruit-based ones) and the variety of ingredients has made it easy to create many fun juice combinations! This was also my first time making tomato juice at home and I think fresh tomato juice is now one of my favorites (especially when combined with carrots and bell pepper). 

I'm also pleasantly surprised to report that I have fallen head-over-heals for the Hurom Slow Juicer. To be honest, in the beginning I was a bit skeptical about trying a different juicer because I've always used centrifugal models (like my trusty Jack LaLanne juicer) and didn't see the need to upgrade to a masticating juicer. I've been getting a lot of emails and comments from readers asking for more information about specific juicer models. I'll have another post coming up later this week with more information about juicers and how to pick the best model for you so stay tuned!

And now to the juice... aahhhh, look at all the green!

Note: All of the ingredients used in this juice are on the dirty dozen list so please buy organic to ensure that you are not consuming pesticides and chemicals in your juice. 

Green Goddess Juice
Makes 8 - 12 ounces

1/2 cucumber
2 stalks celery
2 kale leaves
small handful parsley

Juice ingredients and enjoy!

Fresh Green Celery Juice

This past week I've been dealing with some intense stomach pain and since I'm still waiting on the final verdict from the Doc, I've been doing everything possible to make it better on my own. You've already heard me hyping up aloe juice and now it's time that celery has its turn. Ever since I bought my Juiceman three years ago, I've been a huge fan of fresh vegetable juices. Fresh vegetable juice brings so many benefits to your body and is also great for people that do not get enough vegetables in their diet regularly.

Celery juice is particularly fabulous. Not only does it aid in digestion and help with inflammation in the body, but it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and has been shown to fight cancer (which we're all about these days!). You can read more about celery juice's incredible powers here.

The other thing about fresh vegetable juice is that it is alkaline and helps to restore the body's pH balance. If you are interested in reading about alkalinity, you can check out this cool article here. The basics are that foods are divided into alkaline (most fresh vegetables and some fruits) or acidic (meat, dairy, processed & sugary food). Acidic foods make the body more acidic, which makes the body more prone to yeast, parasites, infections, bacteria, and cancer. Alkaline foods help to bring the body back into balance and keep it healthier. You can check out this handy food chart here.


You can mix and match a variety of vegetables, but here is one of my favorite combinations. Ginger also goes well with this mix.

5 stalks of celery
1/3 of a fennel bulb
1/3 of an apple
1/2 a cucumber