The healthiest drink in the world?
Lemonade stands will never be the same.
I don’t think I ever sold lemonade as a kid. I ran a cookie stand and a hot chocolate stand, and my friend and I once sold flowers we picked from her mom’s garden. (Not a good idea; nobody bought flowers, and her mom yelled at us for ruining the flower beds.)
Sorry to say, I missed out on selling lemonade. But I didn’t miss out on drinking it: my favorite was when lemonade tasted really sour, not the super-sweet pink stuff my sister loved because it was her favorite color. I always wished they’d made blue lemonade.
With its vibrant green hue, this crazy-healthy recipe comes close:
The best part about blender recipes is that, unlike with baked goods, you can keep adding ingredients if you’re not happy with the initial result. I kept playing with this recipe, tasting along the way, and suddenly the flavors just popped. It’s surprisingly delicious!
Green Lemonade
(no added sugar)
Recipe inspired by my drink at Peacefood Cafe
- 1 to 2 very large apples (200-400g)
- 1 to 2 cups kale (or another green, or omit) (40g)
- 1 to 2 stalks celery, broken into a few pieces, and bottoms cut off (80g)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup water
- optional: a small piece of fresh ginger (or more, for a spicier juice)
Core the apples (no need to take off the skin), and combine all ingredients in a super-high-powered blender like a Vita-Mix. Blend until completely pulverized. I like it thick, so I never bother with this next step: Unless you prefer a ton of pulp like I do, you should pour the blended mixture through the finest strainer you own. Discard pulp or use for a different recipe. (Google “juice pulp recipes” if you need ideas.) Use one apple for a more tart drink and two apples for a sweeter drink.
View Green Lemonade Nutrition Facts
Question of the Day:
Did you ever sell lemonade as a kid?
Sadly I don’t see very many kids selling lemonade anymore. Now they’re always out there selling Kool Aid… for $5 a glass!
Link of the Day:
It’s also green, thanks to a secret healthy ingredient. No, not spinach or avocado!
I never had a lemonade stand – I was WAY to shy to go face to face with the public like that. I have a young neighbor who sells lemonade once or twice every summer, for just 25 cents – I’m thinking she’s probably losing money at today’s prices!
I’m so upset, I have everything I need for this except the lemon juice, which I forgot to buy at the store today! Definitely going to get more tomorrow, because it looks like you’ve rescued lemonade from the clutches of high fructose corn syrup and artificial colorants!
I won’t strain it, I like the pulp 🙂 !
Hey! I’m a leader for WW and you can’t consider this drink a “Zero Points Plus” value food. Juicing concentrates the nutrients/carbs/etc. It would actually be 1PP per serving. Just wanted to give you a heads up!
In general, I love what you accomplish with white beans and garbanzos in cookies, bars and cakes – kudos on that! – but this post puzzles me. What makes this a detox drink? In general, what is meant by detox? Is there something physiologically measurable going on or is it a buzzword? Still and all, Happy New Year!
simply love that color!
hmmmmmmm I don’t have a high powered blender like a vita mix but I do have a juicer….I think I’ll try this in that! 🙂 Also, for the pulp…yesterday I made several juices in advance for my family this morning…….so the pulp we had leftover was lemon, strawberry, orange & apple..I stirred it into oatmeal for my daughter & for me I just added some fresh oj to it & ate it up. It was really good lol I imagine it would be tasty over some granola too kind of like a brazilian bowl…especially if you too, the pulp & pulvarized it in a food processor some. 🙂
How often do you drink it, I.e. 2/day, one meal for three days, etc.
However many times you want ;).
Delicious and refreshing. Used my Vitamix, did not strain and then blended with a glassful of ice. Excellent. Thanks.
How often can you drink this stuff and how much? I just made it today on a regular blender and turned out super yummy! I also added a spoon of fiber mix.
However much you wish! 🙂
I always add beets and carrots to my morning veggie shakes so they aren’t really green… but I am going to try this one today.
Oh Katie! Yes, I did sell lemonade once or twice, but I spent most of my time selling cookies in our neighborhood!
One day there was a garage sale up the road and I had no cash. So I picked four lilacs off my mom’s bush and went door-to-door selling them for a quarter. The last lady said, “Did your mom say you could?” and I said “Uh, no, but I can ask her.” and she replied, “Well if your mother says it’s okay I’ll buy one from you. And she did (they were already picked so my mom figured – why not?). Made my day! I got to go to the garage sale with a whole dollar in my pocket! 🙂