Apple, Carrot, Parsley and Beet Detox Smoothie Recipe
Your liver is the major detoxification organ of your body and has a hard job these days with all the various toxic compounds in processed foods and the polluted environment we live in.
This detox smoothie recipe with beet, parsley, carrot and other liver-healing ingredients can give it a well-deserved break and help alleviate that sluggish, run-down feeling that so many people experience due to an overburdened liver.
Your toxin-filtering kidneys can also benefit from this apple, carrot and beet smoothie and having it regularly, along with plenty of water throughout your day, may even help prevent painful kidney stones.
How This Smoothie Detoxifies Your Liver and Kidneys
Beet
Beets, also known as beetroot, are potent source of phytonutrients like betanin, which stimulates various detoxification pathways in your liver.
The similar sounding betaine compound in beets promotes the flow of bile for better digestion and reduced workload on the liver.
In fact, beetroot juice, or blended beet in a smoothie, is so powerful it can help regenerate liver cells and clear fatty deposits from years of alcohol consumption.
Carrot
Antioxidant-rich carrots are full of alpha and beta-carotene for protecting your kidneys and liver from free radical damage and also contain many important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
A great general cleanser and alkalizer of your body, a smoothie with carrot is also surprisingly sweet and tasty, though you will need a powerful blender to really puree it up properly for maximum absorption.
Apple
Apples taste amazing in smoothie recipes like this and they are an excellent general detoxifier. Their skin is full of protective phytonutrients so organic or well scrubbed apples are best with the skin left on.
Apples also contain a special type of fiber called pectin that naturally binds to toxins in your intestinal tract, allowing them to be safely excreted before your liver has to deal with them.
Parsley
Parsley is a potent green herb with a rich array of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, chlorophyll and beneficial volatile oils and goes great in smoothies for detox.
This page on parsley juice benefits has much more detail on why parsley is so good for liver detoxification. It’s also helpful for kidney cleansing as well.
Pregnant women though should replace the parsley in this recipe with another green like bok choy, kale or spinach as large amounts are not recommended when you are carrying a baby.
Macadamia Nut Milk
Macadamia nut milk is much better than cow’s milk with its hormones and poorly digested lactose. Hemp milk or coconut water can also be used.
Given that this is a detox smoothie, cow’s milk isn’t recommended unless it’s grass fed and organic and estrogenic soy milk is always best avoided.
Ingredients List
- Half an organic beet.
- 1 organic carrot.
- 1 small handful of organic parsley with the fibrous stems removed.
- 1 organic apple.
- Enough ‘milk’ to reach two thirds as high as all the chopped ingredients in your blender jug.
- Optional: A scoop of superfood powder, such as highly recommended Organifi Green Juice, will greatly increase the nutritional properties of this smoothie.
How to Make a Detox Smoothie
All four of these ingredients in this detoxifying smoothie are much better organic where possible.
With carrots, and to a lesser extent beets, this is particularly important as toxins in the ground they are grown in are absorbed into the vegetable itself so just washing them won’t help. Organic carrots are usually only a little more and well worth it if you value your health.
Non-organic apples can be soaked in hot water and a splash of vinegar and scrubbed well with a scrubbing brush to get rid of most of the sprays and waxes. Parsley should be washed in the same hot water/vinegar mix.
Once washed here’s how to prepare this apple, beet and carrot smoothie:
- Chop up your carrot and beet for the smoothie with the strength of your blender in mind. Also remove the stalks of your parsley and just keep the leaves, unless you have a really good blender that pulverizes everything.
- Add the chopped carrot, parsley and beet into your blender.
- Last of all cut your apple into quarters around the core and throw it in. Apples oxidize quickly so always make them the last ingredient to prepare if you use them in a smoothie recipe.
- Add your macadamia milk or coconut water and blend it all up for a bit longer than a regular smoothie until the consistency looks good to you.
- Drink straight away and enjoy, ideally first thing in the morning as a breakfast replacement for maximum liver detox and intestinal cleansing.
Timing Recommendations for Detoxification
I hope you like this carrot, apple, parsley and beet smoothie recipe. Despite its relatively sweet taste it can do your internal system a world of good if you make it up regularly.
Once a week would be good, every third day even better, though reduce the amount of parsley by half if you make it any more often than that due to the potency of this particular herb.
Most people tend to think of smoothies as just something sweet to drink. I hope this liver detox smoothie shows they can also be healing with the right ingredients.