Green juice and me, we aren’t the best of friends. To me, green juice is “that friend” who is not really your friend but you put up with them because everyone else is in love with them. I know all the benefits of juicing and watched all the documentaries about it but I just haven’t found a taste I like enough to drink on the regular. I am more of a smoothie gal; spinach, banana, chia seeds and almond milk are all I need to make my favourite green drink.
I was at The Big Carrot, a fancy grocery store, and they have a juice and smoothie bar connected to the main entrance. I had my eye on coffee but the sun was out and I was feeling refreshed so I went into the juice bar. On their huge menu, I was searching out smoothies but a juice caught my eye, a kombucha and beet juice mixture. Say what? Like kale chips, I have a small addiction to kombucha and I generally treat myself to it when I do well on a test or assignment. This is an expensive reward system since most small bottles are priced at $4 each. Kombochu almost has a beer-like quality to it but it has very little alcohol. For those who don’t know, kombucha is a naturally carbonated fermented tea and before you go running for the hills over this hippy-dippy sounding drink, it is actually delicious and good for you. Fermented foods and drinks have loads of good bacteria in them to keep your insides happy by promoting detoxification. Now we are going to get really hippy… what if I mixed it with a green juice? The beet + kombucha juice was amazing and I almost chugged it while grocery shopping but it didn’t have too many greens in it. I bought a few bottles of Tonica*, some green vegetables and went home to make my own version of this drink. Like the beet juice I had at The Big Carrot, I drank this one without making a sourpuss face and wanted more. I never thought I would like green juice at all but now smoothies have a little more competition.
Don’t have a juicer? Me neither. If I buy one more kitchen appliance, I will be labelled as a bad cohabitator by Mark and forced to sleep on the balcony. I used my Vitamix and a cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer to make my juice. Just blend and gently squeeze through the cheesecloth. A nut milk bag would also work as long as you don’t mind your bag having green stains on it. Don’t squeeze the bag or cheesecloth too hard or the pulp will come shooting out and get into your juice. I fill 2/3 of my glass with green juice and top with chilled kombucha the rest of the way. Serve with a thin slice of lemon and enjoy! Could this drink be any healthier?? If you are feeling really hippy awesome, add a tablespoon of chia seeds to the drink to make a “bubble green juice tea”. The chia seeds will swell up and acts like the tapioca in bubble tea but with a nutritional punch.
What have you done to turn something you didn’t like into something you love? I never use to like kale until I made kale chips and now kale is a staple in my household. Leave your comments and suggestions below. Happy juicing!
* I do not have any affiliation with Tonica, I just like their kombucha.
- 1 red apple
- 6 green kale leaves
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1 lemon
- 1 inch knob of ginger
- 20 mint leaves
- ½ cucumber
- 1 cup of water
- 355ml bottle of your fav kombucha (I used Tonica Nude Brew but their ginger-flavour would be good too!)
- Add all the ingredients but the kombucha to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth. Lay multiple layers of cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or pitcher. Pour the green mixture over the cheesecloth and through the strainer. Grab the corners of the cheesecloth and bring them together at the top to make a sac. Gently squeeze the sac until most of the juice has been extracted into the bowl. Do not squeeze too hard or the pulp will burst through the bag. Divide the green juice between serving glasses and top with chilled kombucha. Serve with a thin slice of lemon if you like.
- Special equipment: Juicer or blender + cheesecloth or a nut milk bag
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