Pre Workout Green Juice

This pre-workout green juice recipe with spinach, romaine, pear, apple, celery, lemon, and ginger from Brendan Brazier is sweet and delicious and loaded with nutrients to energize you for a workout.

The Health Benefits of Spinach Juice

Highly alkalizing, spinach contains nearly twice as much iron as any other green, and helps to build blood by helping red blood cells carry oxygen. It also helps strengthen all other cells, particularly those of the respiratory system and brain. Rich in chlorophyll and carotene, spinach can help reduce the development of abnormal cells and macular degeneration. Rounding things out, spinach also provides carotenoids, lutein, vitamins A, B complex, C, K, folic acid, iodine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, sodium and manganese, and many amino acids.

This popular and readily available mild leafy vegetable serves as a great introductory green for juicing. While spinach is cooling, we include it in every seasons cleanse since it’s a versatile ingredient that pairs well with all fruits and vegetables.

The Health Benefits of Romaine Juice

This leafy legend was believed by the ancient Greeks to induce sleep, so it came into their banquet halls at the end of the meal. The Romans carried on the custom, and it’s from them that the green derives its name. Romaine does more than aid sleep and alleviate pain. It offers compounds that prevent macular degeneration and osteoporosis, iron-deficiency anemia, and cardiovascular disease. The leaves are an excellent source of vitamin A and beta-carotene, as well as vitamins K, B, C, and folate, xanthin and carotenes. Romaine reinforces all this with iron—and calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper. And with a nice crunch, too, come to think of it.

We use romaine as a natural sedative in evening juices. It is cooling, but as it’s inexpensive and available year-round, we include it in cleanses for every season. Juice the core from which the leaves grow, along with the leaves themselves, for a mellow, slightly bitter, fresh “green” flavor. Pair romaine with any fruits and vegetables; it’s especially nice with lemons and limes. Too much romaine can yield a bitter juice. A pinch of Celtic sea salt helps balance flavor.

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 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 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.

Remove the rinds of these fruits before juicing, as in substantial quantities they’re slightly toxic.

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.

About Brendan Brazier

Brendan is a former Canadian Pro Ironman who is the formulator of Vega, creator of Zon Fitness, Thrive Foods Direct, and Thrive Energy Labs. His is also the author of Thrive, The Thrive Diet, Thrive Fitness, and Thrive Foods.

Brendan is a sought after speaker, lecturing about environmental and sustainability issues all over the world. He joined David Suzuki and Stephan Lewis at Canada’s largest environmental tour, “Students For Sustainability”; addressed U.S Congress on Capitol Hill; and has spoken at major corporations like Google. Check out his TEDx talk on plant-based performance nutrition.

Brendan also trains a lot of celebrities like Hugh Jackman, and high-profile athletes in the NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, PGA, Olympic, and the Tour De France. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Veg News Magazine, and many others.

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

Get Healthy With a 3-Day Juice Cleanse

1. DOWNLOAD the FREE 5-Day Energy Boost.
2. START the 3-Day Juice Cleanse.
3. JOIN our Cleanse Facebook group to get support.