Lean, Mean, Green Juice

I'm not a big proponent of diets.  Most of us can't stick with them and then end up feeling unsatisfied and frustrated come the end of the day.  I am a big proponent of eating a well balanced diet.  I'm always looking for a way to get more veggies into my diet and turning them into an unfiltered juice is the easiest way I've found of doing this. 
Most smoothies feature too much sugar and not enough nutritional benefits to justify the calorie intake.  My solution is to turn to juicing (pureeing really) raw fruits and veggies.  You could make a fresh juice with just about any fruit or veggie.  The most important thing is to use a good blender.  This doesn't mean a super expensive counter top hog, but that $10 blender you got in college probably isn't going to cut it.  I bought my Oster blender from Wal-mart.  It's a 600 watt blender with just a few buttons, and it breaks down easily for cleaning.

This recipe makes two 16oz juices.  I recommend consuming immediately.  If not, refrigerate and shake well before drinking.

Ingredients
1 ripe banana, sliced
4 strawberries, quartered
1/2 orange, sectioned (I use 1 clementine)
1 handful spinach
1 carrot, diced
1/2 c. orange or apple juice

Directions
Put the carrot, spinach and juice into the blender.  Pulse the blender until the carrot is broken down enough for the blender to run smoothly.  Run the blender on high for 30 seconds.  Add in the banana, strawberries and orange, pulse 10 times.  Ta-da!  You made a healthy, delicious juice drink!

Don't be scared of it, the spinach gives it a green color that some don't find appealing, but you really can't tell it's in there!  This is full of antioxidant and fiber.  I often drink this in place of lunch.  You could add a cup of yogurt to this to give it more body.  Give it a try, you just might enjoy it!