Heavy Metal Detox Juice

The recipe: cilantro & chlorella green juice

Method: blender and nut milk bag strain Yield: about 12 oz (355 ml), 1 serving

Ingredients

• Fresh cilantro, 1 cup lightly packed (about 16 g), leaves and tender stems
• Cucumber, 1 medium (about 300 g), roughly chopped
• Green apple, 1/2 (about 100 g), cored and chopped
• Fresh ginger, 1 in piece (7 g), peeled
• Lemon, 1/2, juiced (about 2 tablespoons / 30 ml)
• Filtered water, 1/2 cup (120 ml)
• Chlorella powder, 1/2 teaspoon (about 1.5 g), added after straining

Note: start with 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 g) chlorella and work up to 1 teaspoon (3 g) as your palate adjusts, since the flavor is strong. Green apple is easy to leave out if you want it less sweet.

Steps

1. Wash the cilantro, cucumber, and apple. Chop the cucumber and apple into chunks small enough for your blender. Peel the 7 g piece of ginger.
2. Add the cucumber (300 g), apple (100 g), cilantro (16 g), ginger (7 g), lemon juice (30 ml), and 1/2 cup (120 ml) filtered water to the blender.
3. Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until fully broken down and smooth.
4. Set a nut milk bag over a bowl or wide jug. Pour in the blend, then gather the top and squeeze firmly until the pulp is nearly dry.
5. Whisk the 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 g) chlorella powder into the strained juice until fully dissolved. Adding it now, rather than before straining, keeps the full dose in your glass and the color vivid.
6. Pour over ice and drink fresh. It is best right away. Sealed in a glass jar in the fridge it keeps up to 24 hours. It will separate as it sits, so shake before drinking.

Zero waste next step

Do not toss the pulp. That cilantro, cucumber, and apple pulp is fiber-rich and mild, so stir it into a savory soup or dal, fold it into veggie fritters or crackers, or freeze it in a cube tray to drop into your next broth. The spent lemon half can scrub and deodorize a cutting board or sink before it goes to the compost. Anything left over composts cleanly.