lots of green (juice)

If you ever go to Dharma Mittra's in Manhattan it wouldn't be surprising to hear him closing his yoga class with "Go have a green juice." While usually I am not a particular fan of a bunch of greens funneled into a small glass of green lip-smacking power, yesterday I had just finished a yoga class and hadn't had a good salad or bunch of leafy vegetables for a few days.

I think one of the keys to great juice is having the right blender or juicer. While a blender is good for fruit smoothies or mixes, to extract the full flavor a good juicer does it best. We have a Breville at home, and it works wonders with everything from apples to carrots, even beets and (yes we've tried it) radishes. So here's a simple green juice that is great when your body craves the nutrients that only lots of leaves and verdancy can give (serves 2 thirsty people):

Handful of Kale (you can sub spinach)

Handful of chard

3-4 stalks Celery (you can also do cucumber)

Small bunch parsley

2 apples

1 lemon

This is potent stuff - I personally can only take a few sips and then my better half downs the rest. But if you like the taste, green juices are the Red Bull of yogis, only without the crash afterwards. :-)

am juicing

I just had to share a wonderful little juice I put together this morning after my yoga practice. I'm nearly always running late, so it can be hard to find something quick that is also nutritious and feed the body in a post-workout fashion.

I usually like bananas in my smoothies, but today there were none. After a brief scan of what was on hand, I put together the following in a small food processor (you could use a blender as well) and got something that was sweet and tasty, a red juice that reminded me of melted sorbet or a red slushee... yum.

serves 1

4-8 fresh strawberries

1/4 cup pomegranate juice

1/4-1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons agave nectar (you could also substitute 2-3 dates, fresh or soaked)

By the way, the strawberries contain Vitamin C and fiber, and pomegranate is full of antioxidants. So you can enjoy increased immunity, healthy digestion, and disease prevention in a simple glass. :-)