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!
I like to puree greens and black beans/pinto beans together as a spread for quick and easy lunch wraps!
Keeping an abundance of fresh yummy greens on hand helps a lot. I try and have a big salad once a day and I am going to start adding a daily smoothie with sweet fruit, coconut milk yogurt and spinach! Happy summer eating!
I am trying hard to eat healthier. I usually make a huge salad that I eat for lunch every day! Love that. Thanks for the chance to win that great giveaway.
I love adding greens to acai bowls or smoothies, but also sautéing kale, spinach or broccoli and tossing into whole wheat pastas or quinoa bowls. Making green pesto with kale and nutritional yeast is a great, healthy alternative to parmesan too.
I make sure every meal has a green veggie, without exception. I use what is in season, Now its chopped greens in my omelets, peas in my risotto or stir fry, or roasting asparagus with salmon.
When I’m trying to adopt a healthier habit (including fitting more greens into my day), I use the CAN approach. Convenient, Attractive, and Normal. To make greens more convenient, I blend them in a smoothie to take with me or buy pre-washed, ready-to-eat varieties. To make them more attractive, I “decorate” with shaved cheese, toasted nuts, and other pops of color/textures. To make them a more normal part of my day, I put them in everything I can think of (on pizza, mixed in pasta, in my sandwiches and soups, scrambled with my eggs in the morning, blended in smoothies, etc). I also try to make sure I put them in a place where I can see them in my fridge so I don’t forget about them!
When I’m not in the mood to disguise a vegetable I use a trick my mom used to do, “salad bar”! I’ve found if veggies are bite size and convenient they’re willingly devoured.
Also gotto love the smoothie & pureed vegetables too!
I’ll eat salad as my mid morning snack. Toss on some hemp seeds and toasted nuts to boost the protein. Using a blackberry vinaigrette makes it better suited as a morning food.
Happy Spring! My farm share was all greens this week. While I love adding greens to smoothies, most of my greens have been going into fresh salads this week- no hiding here! Arugula, Napa Cabbage, baby lettuces- perfect mix of textures for big salads. And the rainbow chard is going into lentil soup- perfectly hearty to compliment all of the salads!
Love a big salad for breakfast with lots of greens, cabbage, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, garbanzos, cheese, etc. Add your breakfast hard boiled egg, bacon and avocado. Daily healthy – done!
I agree with all the other comments here! I have to “hide” greens in many things I cook so I always have a handful of fresh spinach in the fridge I chop up and throw into baked egg dishes, pasta sauce, home made salsas, stuffed bell peppers etc
The kale in my garden is out of control! I have no choice but to figure out how to use it in every meal!
I make sure to sprinkle fresh herbs on everything – basil, thyme, rosemary, and cilantro and my favorites.
The best greens come wrapped in eggs, like omelets, frittatas, and breakfast burritos.
We add greens to our smoothies and on our pizza. And I have been trying to make a big salad at the beginning of the week with all my chopped veggies in containers, ready to go!
I just got a vitamix, and can’t wait to try these!
My trick for the kids is definitely greens in fruit smoothies. I just discovered lamb’s quarters as edible weeds in our CSA fields, and am obsessed!
I, on the other hand, love greens and *want* to eat more all the time. My favorite discovery was that veggie burgers make good cold sandwiches (sometimes better than hot), and you can add a good, heavily compacted inch of raw pr cooked greens to the sandwich without overpowering the other flavors. Great for arugula, spinach, chard….
Green smoothies and also having leafy greens with every meal!
Green smoothies with lemon and ginger for breakfast or eggs with sautéed greens – starting the day with greens makes sure to get some in every day!
I like to add greens to soups.
Lately I’ve been making several variations of quinoa salads with summer vegetables and I’ll add a few handfuls of shredded kale for extra nutrition. My husband and I like to have a mixed green salad with dinner every night, as well (greens, pepitas, and a homemade vinaigrette), to sneak in more greens!