Cucumber Parsley Green Juice

I woke up this morning not feeling too well, my allergies were messing with me from being out in my garden all day yesterday. With the help of my boys, I was finally able to plant the watermelon seeds and Dustin tilled some of the land so we could transfer a few of the cucumber plants over from the recycled strawberry containers. We are very excited to have our first organic garden this year! A lot of the mustard greens have already come up. The leaves have a beautiful deep green color and are very smooth to the touch. Well, I'll talk more about our garden in another post. Back to my super alkalizing juice! Searching through my refrigerator I found a cucumber, a whole bunch of parsley and watercress that was nearing towards expiration, some baby spinach leaves and a nice plump lemon. Sounds delicious doesn't it? 

Parsley is considered the worlds most popular garnish, but aside from that it is also known for being an extremely blood purifying herb. Just two tablespoons of parsley contain 16% of the RDA of vitamin C, over 12% of the RDA of vitamin A and 153% of the RDA of vitamin K. Together, vitamins C and A work to strengthen the immune system. As for cucumbers, they promote healthy skin and eyes and are anti-inflammatory and anti-canceruous. 

Cucumbers contain a valuable source of antioxidants, which include vitamin C, beta-carotene and manganese.  

Watercress is a great source of copper and fiber and it also has anti-cancer properties. This little green vegetable contains vitamins B1, B2, B6, C and E. People have used this vegetable to lose weight faster, clear up their complexion, fight bad breath and stop gums from bleeding. 

Lemon is not only used to make your glass of water look better but has many great health benefits. Some may think because of the sour taste of a lemon, that the lemon must be acidic - wrong! Lemons actually sit at the higher end of the alkaline chart. 

Spinach is very nutritious and isn't really bitter, so it's easier to eat raw. This leaf increases brain functionality and retards the aging process. 

Always remember that the darker the green the better! This juice isn't sweet, but I shared some with my one year old son and he loved it. His first expression was like "I don't know if I like this" and started smacking his lips together. After that, he just kept wanting more. What you will need to make this drink is: 1 cucumber, 1/2 cup parsley, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 lemon (peeled and seeded) and 1/2 cup watercress. All ORGANIC!

Sources: www.watercressbenefits.com/, www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42, www.healthdiaries.com › Eat This!