No Denying — It's Really Green

This is my version of that red vegetable juice. Mine doesn't boast eight ingredients and it's green, but it tastes like the red stuff.

This smoothie was a bit thick. Many would probably like it with more water, but I found it very satisfying. Thick and creamy with a few itsy bitsy chunks. I could have used the 'liquefy' setting at the end, but I chose to leave it with little bits of dates to chew on. Yes, dates. Taking a page out of the Food Giants' recipe books, I decided that a touch of sweetener would give this juice a nice 'commercial' touch. I also added a dash of hot sauce. That put it right over the top.

Ah, the purist among the raw food community will be aghast, but when I consider all those fresh, raw veggies that I'm consuming and enjoying — a dash of hot sauce, a little date here or there is fine with me. It still beats the stuff from the grocery store. You know, the high sodium stuff I mean.

It's easy to add lots of raw fruit to our diet. There's nothing strange about eating an apple or a banana in its raw form, but we're accustomed to cooking our vegetables. Some folks cook them from frozen packages, some from cans, some overcook them or drown them in rich, fatty sauces. Other than lettuce, learning to eat our vegetables raw is a big departure from the norm, IF, we eat vegetables at all. For some folks, catsup is the vegetable du jour.

I've been experimenting— making my morning smoothie with more vegetables and less fruit. Though I've not given up on fruit and dark green leafy smoothies. Cantaloupe and kale with a frozen banana is still one of my favorite morning drinks. But this green, speckled beauty was absolutely delicious. I'll be having this often. It would make a great lunch, too.

Green Vegetable Juice

2 Kirby cucumbers, cut into hunks

1 large, ripe tomato, cut into hunks

2 hands full of spinach

1 cup of water

1 tsp of fresh bee pollen

3 dates

splash of hot sauce

Makes a full 12 ounce glass

Blend away! I don't have a Vita-Mix or its equivalent. But my Kitchen Aid blender handles these pieces nicely. If desired, add a little more water for a thinner consistency. Liquefy, to remove all chunks. It tastes great!