Transcendent Tonic Low Sugar Green Juice

This low sugar evening green juice from The Decadent Detox 3-Day Juice Cleanse is packed with chlorophyll, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Swiss chard, kale, parsley, celery, cucumber, and ginger boost immunity, combat inflammation, aid digestion, and calm the nervous system to prepare the body for rest. The optional garlic adds natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. This transcendent tonic wins in the wellness stakes.

The health benefits of swiss chard juice 

A cousin of beet and spinach, chard—red, green or rainbow—is a storehouse of phytonutrients, boasting health-promoting and disease-preventing properties. Chard figures in cholesterol-control and weight-reduction programs, and is an excellent source of vitamin C, to combat free radicals, maintain normal connective tissue, prevent iron deficiency, and enhance resistance to infectious agents.

One of the best vegetable sources of vitamin K for building blood, chard is also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin-A, flavonoids, and antioxidants like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as B vitamins, copper, calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. Regular consumption of chard may help prevent osteoporosis, anemia, vitamin A deficiency, and protect against cardiovascular diseases and abnormal cell development.

This leafy green is cooling and best balanced with warming ingredients like cayenne. The leaves and stalks produce a mild green juice like that of romaine lettuce, but more complex in flavor—it’s sweeter, tangier and a bit earthy. Since chard combines well with almost all fruits and vegetables, like spinach, it’s good company for a first foray into the realm of green juices.

The health benefits of kale juice:

With highly absorbable calcium (thanks to a high ratio of calcium to phosphorous) kale juice surpasses milk, cup for cup, in calcium provision. Rich in phyto-chemicals that combat free radicals, kale can lower the risk of colon, breast and lung cancers, as well as fight osteoporosis, macular degeneration, support the cardiovascular and immune systems, and assist in energy production.

This mighty leafy green contains lots of chlorophyll, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids and beta-carotene), vitamins C, E, B6, and K, folic acid, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and sodium.

As a warming vegetable, kale’s a natural for a balancing cooler food. And juicing is a great way to enjoy it in its raw glory, as its flavor is less bitter, relative to that of uncooked kale eaten whole. Still, kale’s kale—which is to say intense; the juice is best blended. It pairs with a wide range of fruits and vegetables, from apple, lemon, carrot and pineapple to tomato, cucumber and melon.

Kale makes a good substitute for spinach in any of these juices, but will bring in its slightly bitter sharp note. Juice it stalk and all, and enjoy your new friend with benefits.

The health benefits of parsley juice:

One of the most common herbs, parsley offers a myriad of health benefits. It’s a brilliant blood purifier, and is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which help control blood cholesterol, prevent constipation, and protect the body from free-radical damage. Its essential volatile oils can be used as a local anesthetic and as an antiseptic for teeth and gums.

Rich in polyphenolic flavonoids, parsley rates among the richest plant sources of antioxidants. It is also a good source of potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, and folates.

As a warming herb, parsley’s perfect for moderating cooling foods, especially in the colder months. We use the flat-leaf variety, as it has a more intense flavor than its curly-leaf restaurant-garnish cousin, with less bitterness. Light as a feather, parsley will throw its weight around in a juice, delivering that aromatic and pungent “clean” taste. In the right amounts, it combines well with leafy greens, sweet fruits like pineapple and mango, as well as apples, lemons, and limes. A handful juices easily, stems and all.

The health benefits of cucumber juice:

This vege-fruit truly is the ultimate cool-hydrate-cleanse food. It’s right in there regulating body temperature and easing inflammation. A relative of squashes and melons, the cuke is a natural diuretic (due to that abundant water), aiding in cell hydration, waste removal, and dissolving kidney stones.

Cucumber’s high silica content is great for the skin, and helps alleviate eczema, psoriasis, hair loss, and strengthen nails. The silica in cucumber also reduces the concentration of uric acid, which causes inflammation in the joints, muscles and tendons. A natural blood-pressure regulator, cucumber is high in vitamin A (mostly in the peel), B complex, C and folic acid, amino acids (methionine and tryptophan), potassium, sulfur, and natural chlorine. To take advantage of the nutrients in the skins, we always use the less-bitter-skinned English/Dutch variety. Any cucumber, though, goes well in our recipes.

We add cucumber to many juice blends as a way of adding mineral-rich water that’s way more beneficial than the plain filtered stuff. Cucumber juice is chock-full of nutrients, yet barely alters flavor. Cucumbers are intensely alkalizing, and a half (or whole) cucumber worked into a batch of juice offsets the acidic effects of high-sugar fruits and aids detox. Cucumber is our go-to base for sugar-free, alkaline juice blends, too. Make sure your cucumber is organic and hasn’t been embalmed in a coating of wax.

The health benefits of celery juice:

Alkalizing, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, and loaded with nutrients: essential amino acids, tryptophan, vitamins A, B complex, C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, iodine and copper, celery is also effective against respiratory conditions like bronchitis and asthma, and helps lower blood pressure.

The organic sodium and potassium in celery make this juice a great post-workout refresher that helps replace electrolytes. It’s also a natural laxative and diuretic, supporting bowel and kidney health. Celery is a cooling vegetable, and we work it into our juices to take advantage of the rich mineral content and natural calming and sedative properties. We like it just as much, though, for its great flavor.

The natural salts are more abundant in the leaves, so when juicing celery, push the entire stalk (leaves and all) through the machine. That will yield a tangier, more savory juice. Celery makes a nice addition to almost any mix, especially juices made with leafy greens and other vegetables. As it sits, celery juice tends to get more assertive flavor-wise, so it’s best enjoyed right after it’s made. If you’re not using immediately, chill it, sealed up, but for no more than a few hours.

The health benefits of apple juice:

Tasty, able to break down toxins, lower cholesterol, and enhance digestion, this fruit is a popular, versatile, and cost-effective go-to for juices. With phytonutrients, powerful antioxidants like quercetin, vitamin A (in the peel), vitamin C, and significant potassium, apple is a prime detox food that’s available year ‘round. As an aid to cleansing, apples’ high pectin content provides a great bowel regulator, able to slow the colon down or speed it up, as the body needs.

Apple is a cooling food, and we include it in juices to balance the bitterness of leafy greens and other vegetables. The sweet tang of apple blends with almost all fruits and vegetables; our preferred variety is Granny Smith, which has a tarter flavor and lower sugar content than common reds like Fuji, Delicious, and Honeycrisp. That said, this fruit is versatile, and our recipes work with any apple you have on hand.

We recommend coring apples before juicing, as the jury is still out as to whether the bit of cyanide occurring naturally in the seeds is detrimental to health.

The health benefits of lemon juice:

This alkalizing tart tamer is a potent detoxifier and natural antibiotic that improves liver function, relieves constipation, and can help dissolve kidney and gall stones. High levels of vitamin C help boost immunity and alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as combat heart disease.

Lemons provide calcium and magnesium for strong bones and teeth, along with unique compounds that have powerful antioxidant properties. The flavonoids in lemons have even been shown to halt abnormal cell division.

While lemons are cooling, this superstar can be balanced with warming foods like cayenne and fennel. We use lemons in lots of juice blends to lift the earthy and pungent quality of leafy greens and vegetables, add zip and tang, and balance the acidifying impacts of high-sugar fruits. You may want to remove the rinds of these fruits before juicing, as in substantial quantities they’re slightly toxic, or you may enjoy the zesty punch it adds—a good compromise is a bit of the peel along with the flesh.

The health benefits of ginger juice:

Used in its raw form, this brilliant health-promoting juice booster gives beautiful back-end kick to blends of all kinds. In one serving of juice, as little as a half-inch slice of washed, unpeeled root packs a powerful punch. We rely on ginger as a warming agent, to counteract the cooling effects of fruits and vegetables, and to promote healthy sweating, beneficial to the cleansing process and fantastic for battling colds and flu.

This sensational herb-and-spice is an overall anti-inflammatory agent that stimulates the lymphatic system, provides cardiovascular and respiratory support, aids digestion and tones the intestinal tract, and relieves gas, bloating, nausea and gastrointestinal distress. It helps make blood platelets less sticky, and reduces risk factors for atherosclerosis. Ginger’s powerful antioxidants and anti-tumor agents can also protect against free radicals.

There’s no need to peel ginger before juicing. Much of the nutrients are in the skin or just beneath. Scrub the root, lop off a piece, and juice away. In our experience, people either love ginger in a juice, or hate it. Starting slow’s a good way to go if you’re unsure which camp you’re in.

The health benefits of juicing garlic:

These bulbs deliver powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties to boost immunity. Garlic supports cardiovascular health by helping regulate cholesterol, blood-vessel stiffness, and blood pressure; it’s also one of the richest sources of potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and selenium, flavonoids like beta-carotene and zeaxanthin, and vitamins B6 and C. Garlic also serves as a brilliant detox aid, encouraging the offload of toxins.

While it may seem an unlikely candidate for juicing, garlic’s surprisingly easygoing in the right company. 1 to 2 peeled cloves in a batch of juice add a warming element and spicy-pungent flavor. We add garlic to cucumber juice to enliven things, and use it to give complexity to the flavor profiles of sweet blends. In a savory concoction, it’s a brilliant booster.

Garlic juice, no surprise, is potent, and can irritate sensitive stomachs even faster than it alienates fellow riders on the bus. In developing our recipes we go for the minimal amount that delivers the benefits and heightens flavors—adjust to your taste.

Other Green Juice Recipes For You

Green-Aid – The Best Green Juice
Immune-Boosting Green Juice
Allergies-Be-Gone Green Juice
Alkaline Low-Sugar Green Juice

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