When we hear ‘keto diet’ we think of heavy protein and dairy foods. But did you know that many greens are keto-approved too?
Although fruit in high quantities is not advised when following the keto diet because of the sugar content, keto does see value in low-carbohydrate vegetables. Greens like cucumber, celery, spinach, and kale, are all keto-friendly vegetables that allow those following keto to incorporate more plant-based habits into their diet.
Cucumber and celery are two particularly fantastic keto-friendly green vegetables. They’re low-calorie, high-volume, and best consumed (and tastier!) raw – so they make perfect sense as the star ingredients for a fresh juice.
Other green veggies like zucchini, kale, and spinach as well as herbs like basil, mint, and parsley are also healthy additions to any lifestyle because they’re an excellent way to get nutrients into your meals without adding too many carbs to what you eat. The ingredients we used in this juice are all widely accepted as keto-friendly.
The benefits of drinking fresh vegetable juice are not limited to just vitamins and minerals. Juices provide you with antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory, and give you an energy boost that will help keep your body healthy from the inside out. Importantly, raw vegetables consumed as juice are rich in enzymes, the key to assisting your body in doing what it needs to do to keep everything in balance.
The vegetables in this recipe offer a slew of nutrients including vitamin A and K and potassium which make them an excellent choice for those seeking extra nutrition.
Not only do they give us essential vitamins but also have powerful health effects like regulating our immune system’s response and fighting inflammation while giving us more energy.
With our taste buds in mind, we set out to find a balanced and flavorful juice recipe that was delicious for us and also keto-friendly. We are happy to say we found one we love! Thank you to the Real Ketones Blog for inspiring us with this keto recipe. Easy ingredients like spinach, cucumber, mint, lemon, basil, and celery combine into an effortlessly refreshing low-carb green drink. This juice is a simple and hydrating option for easy summer sipping even for those who aren’t keto. We added a few extra ingredients (basil, mint, zucchini, and lemon) because we had them on hand and they are fresh from the garden.
Keto Green Juice (2 servings)
- 3 cups of kale & spinach
- 1 cup of parsley
- 2 zucchinis
- 2 cucumbers
- 5 celery stalks
- Mint
- Basil
- 1 to 2 small lemons
When we tested this combo we used 47 oz of produce and yielded 35 oz of juice which means we got a 74% yield! We typically see a 50% yield for leafy greens and 70-82% for others so this green juice yield is incredible.
Use the #10 grid on your PURE Juicer to grind the kale, spinach, parsley, zucchini, mint, basil, cucumber, and celery. The #10 grid is the perfect all-purpose grid for greens. (If you are going heavier on celery, go with the #12 grid.)
We like using a strainer over the bowl for cucumber and celery because of the high water content of each vegetable.
We press the pulp and simply add the ‘free juice’ from the bowl under the strainer into the final mixture. After grinding produce, scrape out any mash that’s leftover on the pusher or in the feed tube onto your press cloth for easy cleanup later and maximum yield. Wrap 1.5 C of mash in cloth using a tic-tac-toe style and move to the press chamber. Press the mash once, fold in half, and press again. For lemons, don’t grind them. Simply prep them by cutting them like a fan. Wrap up to four lemons in a liner and then put in a bag or wrap in a cloth. Lemons give both tangy flavor and brightness to this juice as a bonus.
What are the health benefits of this keto-friendly juice?
Kale is a superfood, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids that helps reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure levels. Kale also contains calcium for strong bones as well as vitamin A to maintain good vision. What’s more, kale can protect your skin from the sun!
Spinach is an excellent ingredient in any green juice because it’s rich in antioxidants and minerals. Spinach is also a good source of chlorophyll which gives it that green hue and is one of the most powerful detoxifiers in nature.
Mint is a keto-friendly herb that can be used to make fresh juice taste delicious! Mint contains powerful antioxidants which help protect our cells from free radical damage. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and may even have the ability to improve cognitive function as well as help with indigestion.
Mint also has a mild diuretic effect which may be an excellent way to combat keto-flu symptoms like headaches, nausea, and fatigue.
Lemon juice contains potassium which is essential for the maintenance of nerve impulses and muscle function. Potassium regulates fluid balance by maintaining healthy blood pressure levels already within normal limits. It’s important for regulating heart contractions because it works together with sodium to regulate water retention and overall hydration levels.
Cucumber is rich in vitamin K (a fat-soluble vitamin) and assists in calcium absorption so adding cucumbers will give you more nutritional value in your keto-friendly juice.
Basil is a superstar herb rich in antioxidants like lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene. It also contains a compound called eugenol that works alongside beta-carotene to help fight cell-damaging free radicals in the body. Cell damage increases the risk of health conditions like cancer and heart disease.
Celery has approximately 25 anti-inflammatory compounds to reduce arthritis and osteoporosis causing inflammation in the body. It’s also full of vitamins A, K, and C and minerals like potassium and folate. It’s also low sodium.
Zucchini is rich in vitamin A. 1 cup of zucchini is 40% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. Vitamin A supports vision and immune health.
Parsley is known in the health world for being a particularly rich source of vitamin K. Just one tablespoon of chopped parsley accounts for 70% of your daily vitamin K intake.
Despite being a diet that generally focuses more on animal products, juicing is still accessible to the keto community through recipes with a lower glycemic index like the green juice above.
Please note: We do not endorse the keto diet. We simply are juicing green juice that is keto and everyone-friendly.
Do you have a recipe we should try? Share your thoughts and comments in the box below. We would love to hear from you.
Stay tuned for more recipes, including a deeper dive into recipes from our Periodic Table of Juicing. Click here for a free copy of the table or visit the first in our series, Cancer Prevention.
Resources used linked below
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-parsley#1
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/health-benefits-of-celery
Esperanza Meadows says:
Thank you Pure Juicer for all of these ideas. I noticed that your page has highly improve with all of these recipes and very valuable information about the healthy benefits of each vegetable.
I am Puré Juicer owner for many years and I love it more and more each . I thank God for the benefits that this brings into my life and the people around me .
Esperanza