I am always on the lookout for high nutrient-containing foods and was pleased to see that celery is not as lackluster as its former reputation may imply. Actually, celery is one of my favorite green juice ingredients, due to its high water content and slightly salty flavor.
I was surprised to see the calcium content of celery:
| Celery – 3 cups | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 48.5 | |
| Calcium | 121.2 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 0.61 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.39 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 33.3 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 787.8 | 4700 mg |
Three cups of celery has a noteworthy amount of calcium and potassium, with contributory amounts of iron, zinc, and magnesium. Three cups of celery also contains 242 mg of sodium, which is significant for a whole natural plant food.
It is not unusual for me to eat 2-3 cups of chopped celery in my evening salad or even more in my green juice. Here is a jumbo light green juice recipe that makes almost 5 cups of juice:
8 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
3 medium cucumber, 8” long
I have found that this recipe is a great way to introduce people to green juice, due to its light, lemony flavor. Here is the nutrient content of the ingredients used to make this juice:
| Jumbo Light Green Juice | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 241 | |
| Calcium | 371 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 4.1 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 2.5 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 180.4 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2774.5 | 4700 mg |
| Protein | 10.3 grams |
The nutrient content of the ingredients used to make this amount of juice is considerable, especially calcium, magnesium, potassium, and protein. Of course, adding some dark leafy greens would increase the nutrient content even more significantly. There are several other green juice recipes available on this blog that contain dark leafy greens, such as the Green Giant and Dark Green Juice.
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Light Green Juice
A family member recently asked me about green juice, and expressed an interest in recipes and tips for making it tasty. I LOVE green juice and have many recipes that I enjoy, which I am happy to share. There is one challenge, this family member does not like the taste of dark leafy greens: raw, steamed, juiced, in a green smoothie, etc. This is by no means unusual, since I have met many people over the years that are turned off by the taste of greens, especially when they are new to healthy eating.
I can understand that the strong taste of such greens is often an acquired taste, and may take some “getting used to”. Since this loved one is just getting started with juicing, I shared a recipe for “light” green juice with milder-tasting ingredients, such as celery, lemon, and cucumber. This is actually the base juice that I use for my green juices with more ingredients. Here is the recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Light Green Juice ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 120.7 | |
| Calcium | 198.0 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.99 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.07 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 81.05 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1390.39 | 4700 mg |
I love the lemony taste, but there is much one can do with green juice – the sky is most certainly the limit. I have sampled many creative and delicious green juices over the years. This one is quick and easy to make, I spend about 20 minutes from start to finish, including set up and clean up time!
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