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!
Whenever I think leftovers or frozen meals are lacking a little, I add greens! Lately, I have been making a Trader Joe’s bag of frozen green garbanzo beans, red lentils and a tiny amount of tomatoes for lunch and buy a bag of greens at the same time to throw in there.
I have added a ton of greens to our daily meals since I started following your blog! Right now my biggest challenge is adding greens to meals for my 15 month old twins. I have been adding spinach to their applesauce banana muffins and they absolutely love them. I also put various greens in my smoothies in the morning and put arugula on just about everything I make from sandwiches to quinoa to pasta to pizza.
My best tip is to add greens where they won’t overpower a dish and are hardly noticeable – like adding spinach to pasta and lasagna.
Love the idea of cooking rice in green juice, what a clever idea!
I love the idea of using green juice to cook rice! Such a novel concept. Also, I think I’ll substitute my standard summer dessert (chocolate ice cream) with the ginger peach smoothie. Thanks for these awesome suggestions!
Happy Tuesday, Jeanine
http://www.lovecompassionatelee.com/
I love using greens as a variation on pesto and/or mixing in with basil, juicing them and making salad dressing, purée them and adding to meatloaf, chili, and chopping and adding to bread.
My daughter recently made a green smoothie with kale. Anything that gets my 16 year old interested in veggies is great in my book!
I like adding greens to pasta, or if I’m in a rush grabbing a salad from the salad restaurant across the street.
Cool greens down with pasta and rice
By making it fun! I like to experiment with new homemade salad dressings so there is always a reason to have a giant salad of greens available to eat every day to test them out.
I absolutely love adding spinach or kale to smoothies or adding them at the last second of cooking to quinoa or cauliflower rice! Gotta get the greens in!
Mint chocolate chip banana “ice cream” with bananas as the base, chocolate chips, mint extract and baby spinach for the boost of greens and the awesome green color! Adding more spinach makes it more like sorbet too!
I always add kale and spinach to my smoothies every morning! Also, when I have a craving for some chips (which is a lot…:)), I make kale chips to satisfy that crunchy craving and to get some more greens in my diet!
I also like to make a pesto any time I have greens (or even carrot tops) to use quickly, which adds extra greens to any dish. I also try to incorporate a green vegetable into all pasta dishes. The sauce and cheese are what I enjoy most, so I am just as happy eating them on greens!
I try to sneak greens in by making less healthy dishes more healthy. Add broccoli to rice a roni or macaroni, double the kale in a soup that has lots of cream. (same comment as before but w/ my correct email attached in case I’m a lucky winner!)
I try to sneak greens in by making less healthy dishes more healthy. Add broccoli to rice a roni or macaroni, double the kale in a soup that has lots of cream.
Definitely putting a cup of greens into a smoothie in the morning! Great way to start the day
Love these fresh and unique ideas to utilize green juice! I try to include more greens wherever I can, such as with scrambled eggs or with an open-faced veggie burger for lunch. They’re really so versatile. Thanks for your wonderful recipes and lovely blog!
I add bunches of greens to a simple leek and potato soup, and puree to create a new soup, cream of spinach, watercress, broccoli, asparagus, sorrel, or whatever I have on hand.
I think they best way to eat more greens is to join a CSA! XD I joined one and I am always looking for ways to get greens in my meals since they will go bad. I use to juice them, then put them in smoothies or anywhere a liquid is needed. I also like to use the stems in stock so get extra nutrients out of it.