3 healthy ways to get more greens into your day - Sweet Green Lemon Pesto, Green Rice with Lime, and a Green Ginger Peach smoothie.
Summer has officially begun, and I don’t know about you – but I’m already eating more ice cream, popsicles and other “fun” summery foods. Not that I see anything wrong with an occasional indulgence – but I like to balance things out by adding a little more green wherever I can.
Today I’ve partnered with Evolution Fresh to come up with 3 healthy recipes to help you get more greens into your day. Their cold-pressed green juices are packed with kale, spinach, cucumber, lettuces and herbs, among other flavorful ingredients. Obviously the easiest way to get more green is to just drink the juice (and it’s delicious)… but I had fun thinking outside of the box (er, bottle) to create these simple summery recipes:
1. Make a sweet green lemony pesto:
Pesto is already pretty green, but this one uses green juice in place of most of the olive oil to make an overall lighter version. Sweet Greens and Lemon juice make it every bit as zesty delicious.
2. Cook rice with green juice instead of water or broth:
I have to say that I’m so in love with this trick. I used green juice in place of water or broth to cook my rice. It adds extra nutrition (over 1 pound of green vegetables’ worth!) but the flavor is very mild so you’re actually eating more greens than it feels like. Essential Greens with Lime is perfect for green cilantro rice – I like to serve this with tacos or grilled veggie kabobs. After the rice is done cooking, I season it with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, a few squeezes of lime and chopped cilantro. Top your plate with a scoop of salsa.
3. Make a sweet green summer smoothie:
We have the most amazing peaches right now, so I blended those with blueberries, spinach and Sweet Greens and Ginger. For a spicier kick, add a bit of freshly grated ginger.
(Giveaway is now closed).
3 Healthy Green Juice Recipes
- 6 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 1 garlic clove
- two large handfuls basil or a combo of basil and mint
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest + a bit of zest
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup Evolution Fresh Sweet Greens and Lemon
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
- 1 ¼ cups Evolution Fresh Essential Green with Lime
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- squeezes of lime juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup Evolution Fresh Sweet Greens and Ginger, plus more as needed
- 2 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- a big handful of spinach
- small handful of ice
- In a food processor, pulse together the pine nuts and garlic. Add the basil, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, a few generous pinches of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Pulse until combined. With the food processor running, pour in the juice and olive oil and blend until smooth but still herb-flecked. Taste and add more olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon zest to your liking.
- Rinse your rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. In a rice cooker, combine the rice, juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook your rice according to your rice cooker’s instructions for white rice (about 25 minutes). When the rice is done, transfer to a bowl, fluff it with a fork and add a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of olive oil, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend all ingredients until smooth. Add more juice as needed to get your blade moving.
This post was created in partnership with Evolution Fresh. All words and images are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!
Greens and vegetables as a bed under everything….
I love the new ideas with the green juice — I can’t wait to try some! With each meal, I try to think of how I can add more vegetables/greens to it. We usually throw spinach or kale into our meals to give them a boost. If you throw them in a dish while it’s still hot, they will wilt and are more enjoyable to us than eating a side salad. Being from Louisiana, we still like the classics like red beans & rice and jambalaya (which have hardly any veggies in the originals), so I really like finding fun ways to throw in some chard/kale/spinach/zuchini to give them more balance.
I like adding greens (preferably spinach or baby kale) to dense, sweet baked goods like loaf breads, muffins, and pancakes. Pureed greens + banana + cocoa powder amid all the standard ingredients make absolutely rad desserts/breakfast breads taste-wise. Plus the cocoa powder gets rid of any green hues that may appear if you’re planning to feed picky eaters. But in my opinion, the bright green color is sometimes the best part! Thanks for featuring such a great giveaway- I can’t WAIT to cook my next batch of rice in green juice
didn’t even see the comment above– great minds think alike, Jessica!
I like the trick of putting greens into your baked goods.
You must try this for your next Sunday brunch. I make ice cubes from my personal favorite Evolution juice, the Evolution Fresh Sweet Greens and Ginger. Add them to your favorite bloody mary drink! Boom. Done.
Cheers,
Maureen
I always love to sneak veggies in smoothies or with scrambled eggs! Easy and delicious!
loove this!!! so many delicious combinations 🙂
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I finely chop or puree veggies and add them to everything: spaghetti sauce, black beans, soups, etc. You can’t see them and don’t notice much of a change in taste, so my kids have no idea!
i love this time of year because beans and peas from my garden are ready to pick. Having fresh veggies on hand and in abundance really forces me to make sure I am eating more of them daily!
To add more green I usually default to a delicious, crunchy salad. Even though salads a great thing to free style, my recipe usually resembles this hodgepodge of ingredients…
kale/spinach/mixed greens
cucumber
broccoli
avocado
chick peas
artichoke hearts
fresh corn
crisp green apple
white cheddar shavings
dehydrated dried black cherries
toasted almond slivers
dressing – olive oil, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, fresh squeezed lemon
I would love to dabble in green popsicles soon too 🙂
I love adding greens to smoothies.
I like to put a bunch of frozen spinach in my smoothies, and whenever I have pasta I always add a lot of broccoli!
thanks for the giveaway! I love adding kale to my smoothies.
I’m a Big Salad kinda girl. A giant bed of kale, spinach or whatever I’ve got, loaded up with veggies sprouted pumpkin seeds and beans and topped with a yogurt green goddess dressing. It’s almost (almost) too many greens to handle!
I like to dehydrate greens and then grind them into a powder that I add to just about everything!
My husband and I were just having this discussion! Our summer has been busier than we expected, but we’re starting our mornings this week with smoothies! As well, we’re growing fennel, cucumbers, melons and all kinds of peppers in our backyard. Picking those beautiful vegetables daily is sure to help 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway! I love starting the day with a kale/spinach/chard mix chopped up a sautéed with broccoli, onion and garlic, and topped off with an egg or two…yum!!! 🙂 crossing my fingers for popsicle molds!
I like to add greens to my smoothies and any sort of baked entree I can–those that are similar to casseroles. Like adding some sauteed spinach to some enchiladas!
I add a handful of spinach to smoothies, pasta sauces, and stews!
I love the technique of pureeing vegetables and greens and then freezing them into ice cube trays. Take a couple cubes out, add coconut water, blend- delicious healthy smoothies!