Beta-Caro-Greens - Juice Recipe

This juice features carrots, beets, celery and spinach. Previously, I've talked about the benefits of spinach (see smoothie recipe), so only I'll talk a bit now about the other ingredients in this juice. 


Celery is a natural diuretic and a great source of natural sodium. Some even claim that celery is an appetite suppressant, as this low calorie vegetable is often included as a "free for all" food in various diet programs.  

Carrots, as I'm sure you've heard, are known for their abundance of beta-carotene, a vitamin well-known for it's ability to protect our eyesight. Beta-carotene is also an anti-oxidant, thought to be helpful in ridding the body of cancer-causing free radicals.


Beets contain folic acid, essential during pregnancy to help prevent fetal birth defects. In addition, some preliminary studies have shown that the amino acid betaine, present in beet root, can help prevent certain types of cancer, e.g., colon cancer. There is also anecdotal evidence that beets, combined with carrots, are helpful in the treatment of gout, as well as liver and kidney disorders. Regular intake of beets is also said to aid in the lowering of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. One study even found that blood pressure was reduced only one hour after consuming beet juice, while another found that consuming beetroot juice increases stamina while exercising.


The carrots in this juice are quite sweet,  but most people find that they need something sweet to counteract the earthiness of raw beets.  So, if you've never had beet juice before, start off with just a bit (say 1/4 of a beet) and work your way up until you get used to the flavor (which I find quite pleasing). The vibrant, dark red color of this juice is both visually and gastronomically pleasing. It feels great to feed myself something so full of vitamins and minerals and even better, I always feel nice and energized after drinking some. Enjoy!


Beta-Caro-Greens Juice

6 large carrots
1/4 to 1/2 of medium beet
1/2 cup spinach
3 sticks of celery
1/2 cup water


Process all veg through a juicer (I used my Champion), mix in water and serve!

Guava and Greens - Juice Recipe

For newbies to green juices, I always suggest starting with spinach for the first week or so and then start adding some of the more "potent" greens to your veg juices. Spinach is great because it is mild-tasting and less bitter than some of the other good-for-you greens (like Kale, Collard, Chard, Dandelion). However, it's important to mix things up a bit. Not every fruit or veg comes equipped with the same type or amount of nutrients; and composition and color (including varying shades of green) are often indicators of the types of nutrients present in any given food. So, in the world of food and nutrition, variety is important to ensure your body gets a full spectrum of vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

For this juice, there's still a bit of spinach in it, but I've mixed it with other greens to start acclimating your palate so you slowly get used to taking in more bitter greens (a post to come about why bitter greens are so beneficial). I've also included baby guavas, which are not super sweet, but the fragrance is so intoxicating, you feel like you're drinking a piece of heaven as it emanates from your juice.



Guava and Greens Juice

6 leaves collard greens, stems removed (about 1 1/2 cups packed)
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup broccoli (combo of stems and/or florets is fine) - optional
2 celery stalks
1/2 cup fennel, chopped
3 baby guavas (or 1/2 large guava)
1 apple
1 green pear
2 cups water

Process all fruit and veg through your juicer. Mix in water and Enjoy! Alternately, you can mix all fruit/veg and water in a blender and then strain through cheese cloth to obtain your juice.


(Tip 1): Fennel has a mild licorice taste. Although I'm not a huge fan of licorice-flavored things, fennel in juice really tastes amazing. Most of the real licorice flavor is in the fronds (the leafy stuff at the top), so if you want to avoid this flavor, leave the fronds out and just use the white bulb at the bottom.

(Tip 2): Adding fruit is a great way to make greens taste better - especially if you're not used to drinking your greens. Though, I ALWAYS add some water to my juices whenever I add sweet fruits to them. I even do this with commercial juices. I think it is important to add water so your system is not getting such a concentrated jolt of sugar. Since I've added 2 sweet fruits, I've added a bit of extra water to this one. Don't worry, coming from someone who's a sweet-aholic, I think it still tastes pleasurably sweet.

Peace, Greens, and & Happy St. Patrick's Day, 
from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman

Sweet Pea and Greens Soup - A Green-colored Recipe - Just in time for St. Patrick's Day

I do not like a lot of Raw Food soups. For some reason, a lot of them just don't do it for me. However, this, by far, has become one of my favorite raw (or cooked) dishes, period. When I'm short on time and we're super hungry, this is one of my whip-it-up-real-quick meals. It's super easy and very filling.

The bright green color of this soup might appear somewhat shocking at first, but hey, people seem to delight in ingesting all manner of shocking green things on St. Patty's day. So now seems like a perfect time to introduce my Sweet Pea and Greens soup. I was inspired to create this recipe several years ago when I tried a similar soup from "Real Simple" magazine. Theirs was a chilled sweet pea and watercress soup that included sour cream. I liked the soup, but I absolutely detest sour cream (lest it be on a chip); besides, I really wanted to make a vegan version of this. So I started making mine with plain soy milk. But then, I really wanted to make a Raw Food version of this. After lots of tinkering. I found that the fat from the oil gives it PLENTY of creaminess and the apple cider vinegar gives it an amazing cooked flavor, reminiscent of the cooked version that we're all so used to.

While I like things green, I also felt it needed a bit more color contrast. So, I like to serve it with a corn relish that I came up with (recipe below).  This soup is also great with toasted pita crisps or Mexican spiced flax crackers (our favorite).



Sweet Pea and Greens Soup


3 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Kale or Watercress - with stems removed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbs shallot (can substitute with spring onion)
1/2 garlic clove
dash of cayenne
Lemon wedges for garnish

Blend until completely smooth. You can use either a food processor or blender. Add more water if you like a thinner soup - it will get thicker the longer it sits. Chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately (How I like it). To serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Place 2 Tbs of corn relish on top and serve with a side of lemon wedges - which are great squeezed on top. Enjoy!
- Serves 3

Tip: Make sure that you remove the stems from the greens, as including them will make your soup too bitter. Both Kale and Watercress can have pretty strong flavors (more so than, say, spinach) but the sweetness from the peas and the citric acid from the lemon balances out any bitterness from the greens. Watercress in the soup will give you a spicy, peppery flavored soup, while the kale will  give you a somewhat milder flavored soup.

Corn Relish

1/2 cup fresh corn, cut from cob (or frozen, thawed)
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper (or can substitute with seeded tomatoes)
dash salt
dash pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve on top of Sweet Pea and Greens Soup. 

I appreciate and look forward to your feedback. I hope you will try the soup and let me know what you think!


Peace and Greens, from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman

Banana, Apple, & Greens - Smoothie Recipe

I had some teeth pulled last week, so I've been taking it easy and loving up lots of soups and smoothies lately. This one, my husband came up with. It's super simple and pleasingly sweet. He made two versions - Yesterday's was made with soy milk; today's was made with water in place of the soy. As you can imagine, one was much creamier than the other, but they were both equally delicious in their own little ways.

 Banana, Apple, & Greens - Smoothie

1 banana
1 apple
1 cup baby spinach, packed
2 cups plain soy milk (or nut milk if you wanna make this a "Raw Food" smoothie)
4 pieces of ice
an open mind & love (yes, my hubster did write these 2 ingredients down : )


Blend and Enjoy!
- Serves 2



Coming this week on the Diary of a Smart Black Woman:

• Juices vs. Smoothies - and what's the nutritional difference?
• Brussel Sprouts - a recipe you'll actually like!
• Guavas and Greens - a juice recipe
• Sweet Pea Soup - a surprisingly delicious Raw Food recipe