- by Caitlyn Furness
Some of us are diving into the 6-week detox this week. This means we are up to our ears in green juices and green smoothies. Last week was a preparatory week for the detox, and this week is technically week one of the GI (gastro-intestinal) repair phase, which is supposed to last for two weeks. We’re supposed to drink up to 2 quarts of the green stuff a day, either green juices or green smoothies. I’m there now, but I had to work my way up to that over the last six months! When I first started drinking these, green juices especially, I had to add a lot of apple juice and lemon juice to it, but now, I can do more green juice and less fruit. In fact, now I can munch 
dandelion greens straight and I even like them that way! Don’t worry though, I still have a problem with wheat grass juice! But thankfully, my favourite green detox drinks are simple to make.
In fact, my point of writing this post is to show how easy it is to make up a smoothie, even when you’re on the go. Last week, a family member was in the hospital, and I was running back and forth because of it. I never knew when I’d have to pick up and go in a hurry. Smoothies and salads were my lifesavers! I’d make a couple smoothies, put them in my stainless steel bottles (which happen to be bright pink!), and away I’d go with no worries about having food in a hostile hospital environment with take-out food everywhere!
Here’s one of the recipes I was carting around in my pink bottles:
Berry Blaster Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2 frozen bananas
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- 4 ribs celery
- 2 giant handfuls kale
- Small handful dandelion greens
- 1 T chia seeds
- 1 T coconut oil
Directions:
Put all the ingredients into your blender and blend (start with the softer ones first if you have a regular blender)! You might have to do this in batches if you don’t have a high-speed blender. Of course, you can use fresh bananas and blueberries in place of the frozen, but it’s winter, and this is what I have on hand now.
Enjoy!
That’s right. Matt and Angela aren’t talking about it. Tera has kept it a secret. But I’m here today to reveal the dangers of drinking green juice in a white shirt. And a white sweater. While driving. And the car in front of you slams on its brakes… I’m sure you can see where this is heading. (To the dry cleaner!) Yup, I got a big old splash of green juice this morning on my little white shirt dress. And my sweater sleeve. And shift stick, and seat, and steering wheel…
By the time I got to work, the stains had faded to yellow, and I blotted out the rest in the sink when I got here. Good thing my juice didn’t have any wheat grass!
Carrots aren’t just good for Bugs Bunny to munch on! Or just for giving your smoothies an orange color! They are also 
I am just loving beetroot at the moment, and have come up with a super recipe for beet smoothie, which not only has great liver cleansing powers, it’s also my favourite colour….Purple!
Everyone knows that leafy greens are important, but often, we don’t really know why they are, we’re not sure which greens are best, and we wonder how much of them we should eat on any given day. Standard American Dieters often try to have a daily salad, but it’s often a fairly small one that is generally drowned in store-bought dressings made with soybean oil (one of the most genetically modified crop in the US), cottonseed oil (a very pesticide heavy crop), white sugar, artificial colorings etc. and iceberg lettuce is a SAD favorite.
Green juices don’t have to mean shots of wheatgrass. They can be delectable when made properly, and they are quick to make, too. For green juices to be palatable, you need to add the secret ingredient: fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice will take away the green taste and add a refreshing lemonade like flavor to the juice. Adding a little spiciness with ginger juice will make your green juice even better. By drinking 30 ounces of green juice a day, you can consume a whole head of lettuce on average without even noticing it! Don’t forget to add dark leafies such as kale.
People on the SAD (standard American diet) often equate salads with boring. Growing up in Europe where bottled salad dressings are hard to come by, I had to learn to make my own. Try your hand at new recipes such as sweet dressings with mangoes, or spicy dressings with mustard, or even fat free dressings with blended tomatoes and fresh herbs! When I don’t have time to make an exotic dressing, I simply mix olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar at a 2:1 ratio, add a pinch of sea salt, a little mustard, and sometimes a little crushed garlic.
When I eat out at restaurants, I’m often disappointed by the salad selection. You can make large, delicious and satisfying salads without having to resort to the traditional iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Try layering lettuce with peeled citrus fruits and avocado, or tossing spinach with strawberries! Try different greens, such as arugula (also called roquette) with fresh mushrooms. The possibilities are endless.
The Raw Vegan Network Member’s Recipe e-Book
Today as I started to make a green smoothie, my son Connor yelled out, “Mommy, Juice?” This is his way of saying that he wanted to make juice in the juicer. I absolutely love creating delicious tasting juice from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, but every time I pull out the juicer, Connor wants to help. This is great, but when the bowl of fruit and veggies is empty, he doesn’t understand this and for the next 30 minutes or so, he just throws a tantrum.
*If you don’t have a juicer on hand you can use your blender to blend all of your produce and then you can strain it through a nut milk bag or any very fine strainer (if you’re in a hurry check your hardware or paint store for a paint straining bag).
