Naked Juice Green Machine Copycat

We climb into the car to start another day of driving. Samuel turns to me.

"Honey, you know what I was thinking we should do today?"

"Get some Naked Juice?"

*Blink blink* "How did you know?"

Well, that's easy. Because that's what we both think every single day that we have ever been road tripping.

Naked Juice is our guilty pleasure whenever we are on the road. Not guilty nutrition wise. In fact it's the only thing standing between us and three square meals of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. But we do feel a little guilty every time the price rings up at the register.

That's why I decided to make my own Naked Juice. It's cheap, easy, and just as delicious. Plus, my favorite flavor (Green Machine) has GLUTEN in it (horror of horrors). Why they went and put barley and wheat grass in a perfectly good smoothie beats me. It also explains why I always used to have the worst stomach aches on road trips...

The secret to a smooth smoothie is to cook the veggies first. There's nothing more disgusting that little chunks of raw veggies floating around in your smoothie. Make sure you boil your veggies until they are very soft and tender. That will lead you to having a perfectly smooth juice every single time. Enjoy!

• • Naked Juice Green Machine Copycat
  • Makes about 5 1/2 cups
  • 2 cups chopped fresh kale
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
  • 8 broccoli florets (about the size your would make for a veggie platter)
  • 1 small thumb ginger (optional)
  • 1 mango
  • 1 banana
  • 2 kiwis
  • 1 3/4 cup apple juice
  • 1 3/4 cup pineapple juice (I used frozen juice concentrates so that I could adjust the sweetness to taste, but feel free to use canned pineapple juice and regular apple juice!)
  • Put the kale, spinach, broccoli, and ginger (if using) in a pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and boil for ten minutes or until the broccoli is soft (not al dente, a fork should poke through very easily). Drain and set aside. You can also steam instead of boil them if you prefer.
  • Peel and chop the mango, banana, and kiwis. Put them in the blender and blend until smooth. Add the drained veggies and blend until it's as smooth as you can get it.
  • Unplug the blender and add the juice slowly, stirring with a spoon to combine (you can blend it if you want, but I prefer to stir to avoid bubbles and foam in the juice). You can add more or less juice depending on your desired thickness and sweetness.
  • Chill before serving. I cover the blender with the lid and keep it in there in the fridge.