From The Juice Generation: 7 Fresh Recipes and Vegan Smoothies (2024)

Home Food Recipes

From the book The Juice Generation: 100 Recipes for Fresh Juices and Superfood Smoothies

Refreshing and nutritious, these juice and smoothie recipes from new book "The Juice Generation," make healthy living delicious, fun, and simple.

Courtesy Peter Cassidy

Mega Green

2 leaves collard greens
1 cup spinach
2 leaves romaine
¼ medium cucumber
3 stalks celery
2 medium green apple
¼ medium lemon, peeled
Juice.

Juicy Tip: Choose collard leaves that are slightly smaller and avoid yellow or wilted ones. Remember to roll leaves into a cigar-shaped bundle before passing through a centrifugal machine for higher yield.

Courtesy Peter Cassidy

Clean Green Smoothie

This superbly refreshing smoothie spikes dark-green kale with bright-green lime, an ingredient that balances kale’s bitterness beautifully.

1 1/2 cups kale
1/4 cup cucumber
1 medium apple
1 medium lime, peeled
1 cup filtered water
Blend.

Juicy Tip: Limes are easy to blend and juice—simply cut off the rind and
leave the white pith (it’s packed with beneficial plant compounds you
don’t want to miss).

Courtesy The Juice Generation

Blake’s Intoxicating Detoxification

“Boy, does it counter the guilt I feel when pulling out the ice cream.”
—Blake Lively, actor

Courtesy The Juice Generation

See Also

Keto Buster Bars - DQ Copycat Recipe

Nutrient-Packed Vegan Smoothies

The Sage’s Smoothie (left)
1 freshly cracked young Thai coconut, meat and water
1/2 cup papaya
2 tablespoons soaked goji berries
1 tablespoon chia seedss
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 medium frozen banana
3 dates, pitted

Juicy Tip: Soak chia seeds in the blender liquid for 10 minutes before blending so they can absorb liquid. This helps them to hydrate you more effectively.

Joyful Almond (right)
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons almond butter
½ tablespoon raw cacao
¼ cup frozen coconut milk
½ medium banana
2 dates, pitted
Blend.

Juicy Tip: For a pop of pleasurable texture, use crunchy, raw cacao nibs instead of powder.

Courtesy The Juice Generation

Sweet ’n’ Creamy Greens

¼ medium avocado
1 cup kale
1 cup almond milk
½ medium banana
3 medium dates, pitted
½ cup ice
Blend.

Juicy Tip: When juicing kale, the whole leaf can go through the juicer. When blending kale in a smoothie, roughly tear the leaves off the thick stems, then compost or trash the stems.

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Agua Fresca

Fruit and herb-infused water is one of the easiest natural beverages to make. Try using ingredients you already have on hand to make these simple, but restaurant-worthy, drinks. Place fruits and vegetables in a pitcher or glass mason jar and lightly mash with the end of a wooden spoon. Amounts can be fairly rough—fill the bottom of your vessel and throw in a small handful of herbs. (You can always add more herbs next time if necessary.) Gently bruise your herbs or spices like mint and ginger on a cutting board first, so they release their flavor, then add to the mix. Fill your container with still or sparkling water, sealing it if using sparkling water, and let sit in fridge for at least 2 hours. Strain before serving. Use within approximately two days.

See more: Flavored water recipes»

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Coco Acaí Bowl

An exotic relative of the blueberry and cranberry, acaí berries overflow with antioxidants and healthy fats without a drop of sugar in sight. You can buy acaí in packs at in the frozen fruit section of most grocery stores. Use the frozen pulp in acaí bowls or smoothies. Acaí powder is another fun pantry addition; add it to smoothies or sprinkle it on granola.

2 packs frozen acaí
½ medium banana
¾ cup coconut milk
Blend.
Top with dried shredded coconut, 1/3 medium banana, ¼ cup hemp granola.

Courtesy The Juice Generation

Fruit Juice and Smoothie Tips:

Drink fruit juice at room temperature, not ice cold; this way it’s easier to assimilate. Try to resist gulping it down. Sip it slowly and swirl each sip a little in your mouth so it mixes with saliva—this contains digestive enzymes that won’t otherwise be activated, as you’re not chewing your food when you drink it.

It is good to drink fruit juices on an empty stomach as fruits digest very quickly, and you don’t want them to ferment in your stomach on top of slower-digesting solid foods. Then wait 20 minutes or so before eating anything solid. Vegetable juices also tend to give a more energizing effect when consumed on an empty stomach. If drinking them as part of a meal, pay attention to how your belly feels when food and juices combine. For smoothies, it’s a similar guideline: consuming them significantly before or after a solid-food meal leads to better digestion.

You can find more recipes and juicing tips in The Juice Generation: 100 Recipes for Fresh Juices and Superfood Smoothies by Eric Helms here.

A former food editor at Reader's Digest, Perri Blumberg is a writer and editor based in New York City. After attending Columbia University, where she received a BA in psychology, she went on to study food at a health-supportive culinary school. Her work has appeared in O Magazine, Men's Journal, Country Living, and on Mind, Body, Green, among others.