Healthy green juices

By Hayley Kirton

They say the grass is always greener on the other side, so are green juices really all they’re cracked up to be? Read on for the nutrition facts, plus a special Healthy Food Guide recipe…

Once upon a time, juice options were limited to orange and grapefruit and, if you were adventurous, maybe apple or tomato. Now juicing has adopted an entirely new hue as the trend for juicing vegetables to create green juices continues to grow. This vogue already has a dedicated celebrity following – Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow published a number of green juice recipes in her cookery book It’s All Good – and sales of juicers in the UK have shot up over the past year. But is green juicing really that good for you?

Fans of juicing argue that eating the amount of fruit and vegetable that goes into a green juice would be impossible and that juicing is a fast, easy and tasty way to increase your vitamin and mineral intake. Many dedicated juicers are also quick to point out how much healthier they feel since starting their habit. Take, for example, Sarah Cadji, founder of London juice company Roots & Bulbs, who told the Evening Standard she hasn’t had a cold since she started juicing three years ago. Then there’s Australian Joe Cross, who documented his own transformation for the film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, which saw him drink only juice and water for 60 days, dropping an astonishing amount of weight and a chronic skin condition in the process.

However, before you invest your life’s savings into juicing, there are some drawbacks to be aware of. Juicing fruit and vegetables rather than eating them whole means that you won’t get as much fibre, which is one of the biggest health benefits that fruit and veg have to offer. Some combinations of juice ingredients are also not as beneficial as their colour portrays them to be, offering only a fraction of your daily needs for vitamins. You should also watch out for recipes that contain a high proportion of fruit as these may push you over the recommended maximum daily intake of 90g sugar.

But if you’re keen, there’s certainly no harm in giving it a go. Healthy Food Guide’s recipe consultant Phil Mundy has created this green juice, so you can rest assured it’s healthy, fresh and tastes delicious.

Healthier green juice

Juice 2 large celery sticks, 1 medium courgette (or ½ a cucumber), 1 kiwi fruit (no need to peel), 1 apple, a handful of spinach leaves and a small chunk of root ginger (about 20g). Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon or lime (its easier to do this manually).