Homemade Green Juice (Blender Version)
Green juice — the staple bevvy your favorite wellness influencer flaunts in their post-hot-yoga Instagram story.
In my opinion, juices in general are waaaay overhyped (and overpriced), which we will get into in a bit. BUT, I will admit — I love packing as many veggies as I can into my day (#GPF lifestyle). And if I can make that happen more easily with ONE drink that packs a serious nutritional punch, that’s loaded with micronutrients, fiber, vitamins & minerals to boost my immunity… GIVE IT TO ME BABY.
Before we get into why I love this green juice, I want to set the record straight from a nutrition perspective:
There is nothing magical about green juice.
In fact, a lot of juices that you purchase from a juice bar (and especially the “green juice” concoctions that they sell in the larger bottles at the grocery store) can often spike your blood sugar thanks to the high sugar content. There’s nothing wrong with these sugary juices on occasion, but when you’re drinking them as a meal replacement thinking that they’re healthier than a substantial meal filled with protein, fat and carbohydrates — that’s where we can run into some issues.
Before we get into my really simple, make-at-home blender green juice, let’s set the record straight, shall we?
My Green Juice Guidelines
My rule of thumb for green juice, whether I’m buying it out or making it at home:
I opt for 90% veggie content, with only 1 or 2 added fruits. At a juice bar, this is usually called the “green dream” or something similar, and the ingredients will often include leafy greens like swiss chard, kale, spinach + cucumber + lemon + celery and maybe an apple for some sweetness.
I always drink my green juice alongside a meal, NEVER as a meal replacement. While green juice is high in micronutrient content and can provide a heaping serving of veggies and vitamins, it’s not enough for a full meal. It’s mostly comprised of carbohydrates, so my rule of thumb is to pair my green juice with a meal that includes protein & fat — my typical GPF style of eating.
Juice cleanses are a big no-no in my book. Listen, I get it — it sounds tempting when the marketing around most juices cleanses is to “detox your system” or “reset your metabolism.” Thankfully, your body is a wonderfully intelligent system that knows how to detox on its own, and “resetting” your metabolism is not really a thing. Not only are juice cleanses expensive AF, they’re also metabolically expensive — meaning you’re VERY likely to gain any weight you lost back once you start eating your normal meals again. Not to mention a juice cleanse or any restrictive diet can often lead to an unhealthy relationship with food — hence the fact that most people celebrate the end of a juice cleanse by devouring a large pizza because their body is so deprived of the essential calories it needs to function.
The solution? Eat real food. Please don’t ever intentionally go to extremes in the name of health — trust me, from experience, it backfires. Try my GPF style of eating (which I go into extensive detail about in my book) for some structure, which can also help you release the obsession around food.
Why use a blender instead of a juicer?
You can definitely use a juicer if you’d like. For me, I go through phases with green juice and don’t necessarily want to invest in a juicer when I already have a high-speed blender.
With a blender, you also have the benefit of maintaining the fiber of the veg/fruit in the juice, versus a juicer which extracts the fiber.
The only issue with using a blender is that it may come out a bit chunkier/frothier, especially if your blender doesn’t blend well. I use a Vitamix and mine’s a bit frothy, but not chunky at all.
Otherwise, I’d choose a blender ALL DAY because of its versatility to also make smoothies, soups, dips, etc. More bang for your buck :)
My Fave Homemade Green Juice — Blender Version
Now that we’ve cleared the air around green juice, let’s get to the recipe!
While green juice doesn’t have any magical powers and is certainly not a meal replacement, I do love the idea of being able to fit as many veggies as I can into my day. While most of my meals include veggies, having a green juice a few times a week (or lately, daily) helps me shove a BUNCH of veg into the blender and get a boat load of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients that help support my cells and immunity.
There’s no magic formula to this recipe. If you don’t like an ingredient, skip it or swap it.
It’s worth noting that I’m not a huge measurement person — meaning I pretty much just wing recipes (which is why I rarely post recipes on here haha). SO, feel free to play around with this recipe until you perfect it.
Blender Green Juice Ingredients
2-3 LARGE handfuls of greens (I like these protein greens by Organic Girl that offer a variety of different greens. ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT and worth nothing! You can freeze your containers of spinach/greens for smoothies so that they last 10000x longer and you stop wasting all your precious greens — check out my reel about it on Instagram!)
1/2-full cucumber, chopped in large chunks
3 full celery stalks, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. chia seeds for added fiber/healthy fats
2 tbsp. Farmhouse Culture Gut Shot
splash of OJ (if I had to guess… probably 1/4 cup)
~1 cup filtered water (depending on how much OJ you add and how many green juice servings you want to make. I usually split mine with Leo)
Optional additional ingredient ideas:
1/2 apple, chopped in large chunks
a few chunks of frozen avocado for creaminess and added healthy fats/fiber
parsley or cilantro
turmeric (add black pepper + a fat for better absorption — see why in more detail in my DIY Wellness Shots recipe)
Directions
Throw all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until everything is blended really well. I use a Vitamix blender which is freaking amazing at blending things, which is why I can usually add ingredients in larger chunks. If your blender is older or it doesn’t blend very well, I recommend more finely chopping all the ingredients so you’re not left with any chunks after blending.
There ya have it! A super simple (and way cheaper) method to make your own homemade green juice in a blender.
Let me know if you give this homemade blender green juice a try. And if you try any modifications you love, let us know in the comments so we can try it.
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Blog photo by Ellie Neely