LIVER LOVE JUICE

It's four days till Valentines day and I'm luuurvin my liver with beet juice! This one's deep, dark and intense and so crammed with phytonutrients you'll probably have a health attack.

Beetroot belongs to the same family as chard and spinach, and both the leaves and root can be eaten. It has long been a medicinal plant, primarily for the liver as they help to stimulate the liver's detoxification processes. Now I've always heard that red, orange and pink veggies should be eaten every day, because the colour indicates the presence of  phytochemicals such as lycopene (like tomatoes) and anthocyanins (berries, eggplant peel).

In beets, it's the plant pigment betacyanin that gives it the rich, purple-ruby colour. Research shows that betacyanin suppresses the development of some types of cancer. It also reduces blood pressure and increases the level of antioxidant enzymes in the body. Plus, it looks and tastes brilliant! You could drink beet juice all on it's own without any fruit because it's super sweet and delicious. BUT, for ze Love Juice we are also adding:

1 cup broccoli or kale
1 cup blueberries
1 green apple
2 big carrots
1 whole lemon
2 inches of fresh ginger
1 cup water

PLUS 2-3 medium beets and stems of course!

Directions: 

Wash everything, and chop it up.  Feed through your juicer, hard stuff first and juicy stuff second, water last - to help wash everything through your juicer. Add more water if you want to feel super hydrated!

I used the 'smoothie' accessory on my juicer, which has larger holes, so it's more pulpy and I get more fibre. Why not just make a smoothie you ask? Well, have a read about smoothies vs juices here.

Serve with ice, or not. Nutrients are most available within hours of juicing so drink right away!

Makes 4-5 cups