We are all hearing about the benefits of juicing and detoxing. Celebrities like Blake Lively, Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore swear by the results. However, many of the store-bought juice cleanses can get very pricey (from $65 to $90 per day). After attending a great event for Vitamix Blenders, I decided to try my own hand at juicing/cleansing.
Kimberly Snyder, celebrity nutritionist and author of the Beauty Detox Solution, believes cleansing is a critical way to reach your highest potential of health and beauty. Kimberly Snyder swears by her “Glowing Green Smoothie.”
Major changes started happening when I started drinking my fiber-filled Glowing Green Smoothie; my energy, skin, weight and hair improved. The Glowing Green Smoothie retains all of the fiber of the greens and fruit, rather than removing it. Fiber is critical for cleansing by sweeping out toxins, helping to keep your digestive tract and body clean, and also keeping you more full so that you tend to eat less throughout the day.
Drinking her Glowing Green Smoothie in place of breakfast is also a great way to incorporate tremendous amounts of greens into your diet — perfect for getting a great glow to the skin (can I say great wedding pics??). A serving of the GGS contains over 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Kimberley Snyder recommends “starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.” The best part: you can create large batches and freeze some for later use.
A week of the Glowing Green Smoothie will have you looking stunning for the big day — not to mention feeling revived and energetic — at a fraction of the cost of commercial juices. Get juicing!
Glowing Green Smoothie
Yield: 7 1/2 c (1.8 l)
Ingredients
1½ to 2 cups (360-480 ml) water
¾ pound (340 g) organic romaine lettuce, rough chopped, about 1 head
½ head large bunch or 3/4 small bunch organic spinach
3 to 4 organic celery stalks, halved
1 organic apple, cored, quartered
1 organic pear, cored, quartered
1 organic banana, peeled
½ fresh organic lemon, peeled, seeded
1/3 bunch organic cilantro with stems (optional)
1/3 bunch organic parsley with stems (optional)
Directions
1. Place water, romaine, spinach, celery, and optional ingredients, if using, into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
2. Select Variable 1.
3. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 8.
4. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth. Stop machine and remove lid.
5. Add apple, pear, banana and lemon juice to the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
6. Select Variable 1.
7. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
8. Blend for 30 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.
—Naima DiFranco
