We got a little behind the 8-ball in terms of our grocery shopping and found ourselves short of Green Juice – oh, the horror! 😉
There are several top-quality juice bars around Atlanta, so I went online in hopes of finding one that would be willing and able to semi-replicate the juice we’ve been making ourselves over the past 15 days. While some of them had concoctions that came close, none was able to make a juice containing all the ingredients we wanted. Bummer! We settled on a small bottle of an all-greens juice from Kale Me Crazy and resigned ourselves to a major grocery trip tomorrow after our morning class.
There are a lot of theories on how long fresh-pressed or fresh-squeezed (or, in our case, fresh-blended) juices hold their nutrients. From everything I’ve read, it’s best to consume juice immediately after juicing, but that’s just not practical for everyone, especially busy Tennis Families.
We’ve been blending up a big batch at the beginning of the week, keeping it in the fridge ready to drink before each meal. It’s kind of a pain in the neck to make – it takes A LOT of greens plus some tweaking with the lemon and ginger to get the flavor how we want it. And, not all the greens are readily available at my local Kroger or Publix, so it usually means an extra trip to Whole Foods for the more obscure ones like dandelion.
If you’ve never tried green juice, I want to allay your hesitation over drinking something green. The first time I tried it was at a juicer demo in my local cooking store. They were sampling the juice, and I just couldn’t bring myself to taste it. I couldn’t imagine that green liquid could possibly taste anything but disgusting!
The guy offering up the samples suggested that I close my eyes while I tried it. Surprise surprise! It was delicious! If I hadn’t known it was full of all sorts of veggies, I would’ve thought I was drinking some sort of fruit juice. By adding just a little apple, lemon, and ginger, the flavor profile becomes something really yummy and non-green tasting.
All I can say is that I know I feel better drinking a few ounces of green juice before each meal, whether or not I’m getting the maximum amount of nutrients from it. Maybe it’s psychological, I don’t know, but the juice freshens my taste buds and gets them excited for the food coming next. Plus, it just feels healthy. So, until Chef V starts delivering her Green Drink to Atlanta (which, she commented on Emma’s Instagram, may be happening soon, thank goodness!), I’ll just continue to drink our weekly-made batch and hope for the best!
Day 16 Menu
Pre-Breakfast: 8-12 ounces of water plus 8-12 ounces of Green Juice
Breakfast: Smoothie (for my husband: gluten-free toast spread with fresh almond butter & sliced apple)
Mid-morning snack: Organic Blueberries
Pre-Lunch: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Lunch:Creamy, Zesty Spinach Soup (& Grilled Chicken Breast for Matthew)
Afternoon snack: Apple slices with almond butter
Pre-Dinner: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Dinner: Greek-Style Grilled Lamb Chops with Grilled Artichokes and Sweet Potato Wedges
Recipes
Creamy, Zesty Spinach Soup (adapted from The Colorful Kitchen)
Ingredients:
1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets
½ package of Earthbound Farm Spicy Spinach (This is a combo of spinach & mustard greens in case you can’t find Earthbound Farm in your grocery – we used 2 big handfuls each of spinach and mustard greens)
2 cups vegetable broth (We used 2 1/2 cups of water plus turmeric, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, pink salt, Italian Herbs, & a dash of cumin)
1.5 cups (or 1 can) of chickpeas
1 clove garlic (We used 3 cloves)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp tamari (We used 1 tsp)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional garnishes: broiled greens, chickpeas, drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add cauliflower and boil until tender (7-10 minutes). Drain cauliflower and transfer to blender. Add all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer back to pot and heat to heat to desired warmth. Serve with garnishes and enjoy!
Greek Style Grilled Lamb Chops
Ingredients:
6 small lamb chops
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped
Sea salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Pat lamb chops dry. Brush with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place on grill coated with cooking spray. Grill 4 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
Ingredients:
4 artichokes, washed and trimmed
1 lemon, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste
Lemon slices or wedges for garnish
Directions:
Fill a large pot with water. Add lemon quarters. Bring to a vigorous boil. Place artichokes in a steamer basket in pot and cook for about 20 minutes (may be longer depending on the size of the artichokes), until leaves offer just a slight bit of resistance when pulled. Remove artichokes and let cool slightly. Cut in half vertically and remove the chokes. Brush cut sides with olive then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a hot grill and cook until well-browned and caramelized. Squeeze lemon wedges on top then serve hot. Note: Also delicious served cold!
Helpful Links
Click here for Chef V’s website
Click here for the Queen of the Kitchen website
Click here for a Google list of Green Juice recipes
Workout of the Day
Define Mind Hammock Class at DEFINE-Atlanta (Lisa & Emma)
Power Walk (Lisa & Matthew)
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