5 Minute Green Blender Juice

Need an energy boost? This simple green blender juice is ready in 5 minutes flat, no juicer required! Packed with 3 affordable and nutrient-dense greens, it’s a delicious way to get more vegetables into your life.

I LOVE green juice…other than one of my yummy green smoothies, there are few things you can eat that just make you feel so good, almost instantly. Feeling sluggish? This easy green juice recipe will fix you up, better than coffee ever could! 

It’s hydrating, of course, because dehydration can lead to fatigue and even, ugh, constipation. But, this green blender juice also makes it really easy to pack in a lot of vegetables so you can get a near instant boost of vitamins, minerals and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals to help your body do its thing.

You know what I don’t like? How green juices are used as a ‘detox’ or ‘cleanse’. Because A) your body detoxes just fine on its own, thank you very much and B) restrictive eating doesn’t actually make you healthier.

Also hot tip: a green juice is NOT a meal. It’s something to be sipped alongside a meal or or as a healthy snack, okay?? It doesn’t have healthy fats or plant-based protein, so it’s not balanced enough to be a standalone meal.

Take it from a dietitian: juicing can be a healthy practice when you embrace the spirit of adding nutrient-dense plant foods to your diet. Which is why I fill this blog with loads of nourishing plant-based recipes to help you feel your best. 

So let’s free poor green juice of its association with crusty detoxes where everything tastes like despair and embrace the fresh, energizing and bright flavour of my go-to green juice, which I originally created for Good For Your Gut Cookbook. I’ve been drinking this exact green blender juice for a few years now, whenever I need a little boost!

Why add a green juice to your life?

I am all about positive, additive plant-based nutrition. Your health is determined more by what you actually eat than by what you leave out. And there are SO many health benefits to adding a green blender juice to your life! Plus, making green juice yourself is also WAY more affordable than buying it.

• Because you’re blending the juice, you don’t lose any of the valuable fibre, which is so important for a healthy gut and microbiome
• A green juice is a really easy way to add more vegetables to your diet and makes a healthy snack. 
• It’s made from nutrient-dense plants! Celery is rich in electrolytes, while the ginger stimulates stomach emptying to settle the stomach. Parsley is highly underrated as a green leafy vegetable; it’s inexpensive, surprisingly nutritious and not at all bitter. With plenty of vitamins A, C and K and anti-inflammatory carotenoids and flavonoids it’s a really great way to get more green power into your life.

Gather your ingredients

Get out your vitamix, team!! You need just 5 simple ingredients to make this easy green juice recipe and about as many minutes to make this energizing treat for two: a trio of affordable green vegetables, along with anti-inflammatory ginger and a bit of lemon and (optional) apple to brighten the flavour

• Curly parsley: it has a zippy flavour, tons of nutrition and no bitterness!
• Celery: rich in natural sodium and fibre, it adds a hint of savouriness (omit for low FODMAP diets)
• Cucumber: don’t peel cucumber!! That’s where so many of the beneficial plant pigments live
• Ginger: this anti-inflammatory rhizome brightens the flavour of the juice as well as aiding in digestion. Because ginger is pro-kinetic, it helps lessen a sensation of fullness or nausea in the stomach, making this a great juice to sip if you’re pregnant.
• Lemon: the secret to a bright, refreshing green juice without any trace of bitterness or earthiness? It’s a piece of lemon…peel and all! If you’re curious about the health benefits of lemon, you don’t want to throw out the peel because that’s where most of the phytochemicals live!
• Apple: if you’re new to green juices, or used to sweeter juices, a small apple will add a bit of natural sweetness along with a bunch of fibre so go ahead, toss one in!

How to make green juice in a blender

I have never owned a juicer, in part because I have a tiny kitchen and every tool I add to it needs to pull its weight…but also because I HATE cleaning a juicer. 

Plus, I really like fibre…so I’d much rather make my green juice in my trusty high-speed blender so I don’t throw away all the fibre. And it is SO easy to make a juice in the blender!

• Step one: wash, trim and roughly chop your fruits and vegetables and place them in your blender. Throw in the parsley, stems and all. Cut off a chunk of cucumber and pop it in the blender. Quarter the apple, take the seeds out and toss it in! All those peels are nutrient-dense and will be liquified by your blender!

• Step two: add your water and blend on high for a full minute. Really let ‘er rip. 
  
• Step three: drink it down and feel AMAZING! You can pour over ice if you want it cold but I like it straight up.

Do you have to strain blender juice?

Nope, you don’t… You can strain the juice by pouring it into a nut milk bag or a fine mesh strainer over a bowl if you want. It makes the juice a bit smoother but it also removes some of the fibre so I don’t. 

How to make any green juice taste better

Take it from someone who loves to eat and writes cookbooks for a living…I’m not one of those people who will just knock back a juice or smoothie even if it tastes bad. 

It has to taste good…or what’s the point? Of course, everyone’s taste buds are different. So I want to arm you with the tools you need to adjust your juices so they suit your taste.

Tastes a bit dull? Try a tiny pinch of salt…yes salt! I don’t usually add it to this juice as celery contains sodium, but adding a little pinch of salt to juices or smoothies enhances flavours (and won’t make them taste salty!)

Want it a bit sweeter or need to balance out bitterness? Sugar neutralizes bitterness. Add an apple, a peeled orange or even a ½ cup of orange juice.

Taste is a bit bitter, or ‘muddy’? Add the juice of a lemon. The acidity brightens flavours.

Tips, Tricks and Substitutions

• Low FODMAP? Omit celery, skip apple and add more cucumber!
• Really, you can use any greens you have on hand..it will change the flavour a bit but you can always adjust it with the tips above! Try substituting spinach or kale for parsley. 
• Juice too thick? Just add another cup of water and blend.
• This green blender juice will last 3-4 days in the fridge. I like to make a double batch of this juice, pour it into mason jars and store in the fridge so I’ve got an energy boost on hand. 
• The juice will separate as it sits, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad! Just shake up and enjoy.
• You can totally make popsicles out of this juice for a nourishing hot weather refresher.

More easy juices and smoothies

• Cucumber Smoothie with Kiwi + Mint
• Turmeric Ginger Smoothie with Greens
• Turmeric Ginger and Mango Smoothie
• Blushing Beet Smoothie Bowl