Thursday, May 6, 2010

Kale Lemonade


I wasn’t certain what to call this, but this is what it tasted like to me. As I told you earlier today I am trying to reduce the produce we have on hand. The kale was taking up a lot of room in the refrigerator which made it my first target.

Since juicing is an easy way to consume a lot of produce I decided to juice the kale not having any idea what I was going to add to it. I tasted it straight and it was bitter. I decided to juice a lemon to see what that would do to the flavor. Additionally lemon is good to add since plant iron is better absorbed with vitamin C. Definitely better but we aren’t there yet. It still needed some sweetness so I juiced 4 carrots. The taste is better, but is not quite right just yet. I stirred in stevia until it tasted sweet and that was it, kale lemonade.

I had no intention of posting this when I started making it but it turned out better than I expected so I wanted to share the idea. I will give you the amounts I used so you can see the nutrition, which is just amazing. Here is what I did:

Kale Lemonade
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale (about 8 cups), cut into stalks so you can feed it into your juicer
1 lemon, cut into chunks
4 carrots
3 scoops stevia, or to taste

Directions:

Run everything but the stevia through the juicer. Stir the juice well and add stevia to taste. Best served cold.

Nutritional information: **

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 209.12
Calories From Fat (9%) - 18.55

Total Fat - 2.27g
Saturated Fat - 0.3g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 227.32mg
Potassium - 1757.02mg
Total Carbohydrates - 46.85g
Fiber - 10.33g
Sugar - 8.5g
Protein - 10.51g

** The nutrition numbers are overstated by the fiber that was removed through juicing. I have no idea how that impacted the other numbers. The program I used doesn’t have the fresh juices in the database.

Comments:

The green color is a little unsettling but it tastes much better than it looks. This juice really needed the stevia. I thought I could make it sweet enough with only carrots, not even close. I will definitely make this again. I even think Dan will like it, which was not what I expected when I started preparing this. The lemon flavor is on the light side. Next time I may use two lemons and possibly add a little sparkling water (like Pellegrino).

Each serving of this juice contains 68,200IU of vitamin A, 350mg of vitamin C, 420mg of calcium, 5mg of iron, 110mcg of folate, 2,200mg of vitamin K, 210mg of phosphorus, and 110mg of magnesium. I drank both servings of juice today for lunch, the cup pictured above. I should be glowing with good health any moment now. Given my breakfast and lunch I won’t feel too bad having a slice of lasagna for dinner tonight. ;-)

It is time for me to get back to cleaning and make a run to the grocery store. Talk to you again later.

10 comments:

  1. Rose,

    That wasn't what I started out to make but it is what it tasted like by the time I was done. Did you notice the micronutrients on this? I was blown away by that. This will be making repeat performances at our house.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the green color! I am used to it, as well as to brown smoothies too, depending on what I add that day. But to make them more appealing to my kids I often add blackberries, they become a lovely purple then:) I like this lemonade idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Janet,

    The shocking green is still a little odd to me. But I assume I will get used to it. The brown smoothies I just can't get used to. I guess I am like your kids. They need some blueberries to turn them purple. ;-)

    This tastes much better than I expected it. I ends up being like green lemonade. The juice is so nutrient dense it can easily be diluted with sparkling water and would still be a winnner.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  4. WOOOHOO! I love kale in juice and I especially love the counts! The micronutrients are excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brandi,

    I was blown away by the micronutrients too. This will be on my list to make once or twice a week now. I hope to pick up some kale this weekend so Dan can try it too.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  6. I drink something similar every morning - kale, celery, whole lemon, a chunk of ginger root, an apple, aloe vera juice and spring water with stevia to taste.
    With the Vita Mix, I scrub everything and just cut the ends off the lemon. No need to remove the peel.
    I love it!
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  7. Teresa,

    Thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely give that combination a try. It sounds very refreshing. :-)

    thanks for sharing your recipe,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  8. Alicia,
    I have been drinking this concoction (I rotate with another one - Kay James's Detox Elixir" - for about 3 - 4 weeks now.
    There are some immediate benefits.
    Today, I noticed a tremendous change in my skin tone and clarity.
    That is always a good sign!
    Love your blog!
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  9. Teresa,

    Skin tone and clarity are very important at my age. LOL. Thanks for the heads up on that. There will be more kale in my future. ;-) I will be looking up the juice you mentioned.

    thanks for the nice compliment,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete

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