Cucumber Kale Cleanser (aka "Green Juice")
Ali Segersten Jan 01, 2014 12 comments
There’s something deeply symbolic about sipping a vibrant green juice at the start of a new year. It’s not just a beverage—it’s a reminder that each nourishing choice we make has the power to shift our energy, brighten our cells, and support the path back to wholeness.
This is one of my favorite green juice recipes. It's mild, refreshing, and even kid-approved—my children absolutely love it. Try serving it in a beautiful glass with a stainless steel or glass straw to make the experience feel special. Whether you’re beginning a new healing protocol or simply adding more plant power to your day, this juice is a gentle and energizing way to begin.
This recipe is also part of the Elimination Diet, a powerful tool for restoring balance, identifying food triggers, and calming inflammation. While my original Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook is no longer in print, we’ve expanded and updated the program into its own dedicated book: The Elimination Diet, published by Grand Central Life & Style (March, 2015). It’s filled with over 125 recipes, structured meal plans, and the latest science behind food sensitivities, gut health, and immune regulation.
If you're setting intentions this season to nourish yourself more deeply (I much prefer intentions over resolutions), let this be one of your first steps. Fresh juices are a wonderful way to incorporate raw cruciferous vegetables into your daily routine—something research continues to support for its detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, and hormone-balancing benefits.
Cruciferous vegetables include kale, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, bok choy, daikon radish, and watercress. These vegetables contain sulfur-rich compounds called glucosinolates, which break down into powerful compounds like sulforaphane—shown to activate detoxification pathways and protect cells from oxidative stress.
There’s often concern about raw cruciferous vegetables affecting thyroid function, but the science tells a different story. According to Dr. Jed Fahey at Johns Hopkins and Dr. Johanna Lampe at the University of Washington, adverse effects only occur under extreme and rare conditions: consuming over two pounds of raw crucifers daily for months while being iodine deficient. For the rest of us, including children, regularly eating raw cruciferous vegetables is one of the most health-protective dietary habits we can adopt.
Let this simple juice recipe be a nourishing companion on your journey. One sip at a time, one choice at a time—you are coming back to yourself.
Cucumber Kale Cleanser
This refreshing green juice is one of my favorites—and a longtime staple in our home. It's mild, hydrating, and full of nutrient-rich vegetables that gently support detoxification. Even my children love it, especially when served in a tall glass with a fun stainless steel or glass straw. I typically make a double batch to share with the whole family. For best results, I use a Hurom Slow Juicer, which extracts every drop of juice while preserving the delicate nutrients and enzymes in the produce. This juice is especially supportive during phase three of the Elimination Diet or anytime your body needs a gentle reset.
- Place all ingredients into your juicer.
- Use the machine as directed, then stir, and drink immediately.
Use this recipe in our Meal Planner
About the Author
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN, is the founder of Nourishing Meals®, an online meal-planning membership with over 1,800 nourishing recipes and tools to support dietary change and better health. As a functional nutritionist, professional recipe developer, and author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Nourishing Meals, and co-author of The Elimination Diet, she helps people overcome health challenges through food. A mother of five, Alissa understands the importance of creating nutrient-dense meals for the whole family. Rooted in science and deep nourishment, her work makes healthy eating accessible, empowering thousands to transform their well-being through food.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Comments
How many servings is this? I am so glad to see you back!
So glad you're back! I've been following some Paleo blogs, but I still want some whole grains and legumes...not to mention baking Paleo is extremely expensive!
Is there a specific reason you're juicing this and not just making a smoothie? I don't have a juicer....
Thank you both so much for the post! Ali, beautifully written as usual. Tom, thank you for your input on the great Thyroid/Cruciferous debate. . A few years ago I was diagnosed with Hashitmotos, and then they found nodules on my thyroid. As a nurse and a woman surrounded by people in the wellness industry, I began a raw food diet including these vegetables for 6 months. I lost weight, gained energy and on the next thyroid scan I had NO nodules. With a gluten free diet, I even decreased my blood inflammatory markers to near zero, meaning I have greatly slowed the progression of my disease. It wasn't until about 6mo into my basically raw food diet that someone told me brassicas and the like were "dangerous" for me, and I should stop immediately. Stop immediately? I was in radiant health! But I did stop. And I've felt like I didn't understand how they could be harmful, this whole time. Thank you for questioning these assumptions and digging in to the root of old research. It is HARD to stay on top of true health, but it's always nice when a gut feeling is confirmed. Keep up the great work!
Hi all (Bastyr student)
I'm the proud owner of both cookbooks. I do the elimination diet twice a year. I was going to start again next week but I'm wondering if I should wait until the new version is available online? Do you know when you will launch it? It would be helpful to know so I can plan.
Thanks!
Looking for a good juicer. Any recommendations? The fusion looks good but seems unavailable from several sites.
Can you post the nutrition value in this drink. How many calories, protein, vitamin & mineral content?
Your juice recipe is very similar to what we do (almost on a daily basis). We call our green juice green lemonade, Green Lantern juice or Hulk juice (don't normally name food, but our son thought the naming was cool). My older two children do most of the juicing (thanks to my husband's lead). We usually include a green - kale or collards - and broccoli stalks. I was the juicer for years, then my husband took over (I was tired with the third baby and he was missing his juice!) and now he juices the lemon with the peel on and it gives it more zing (we like it better with the peel). Is there a reason you do not use the peel? (We use organic lemons.) I'm so excited for the new edition of your book! We use both of your books daily.
I love this post as this information needs to get read. Thank you for bringing this out.
Anne- Thank you for your comment. The question is not if there is any new research. The question is whether the “old” research actually demonstrates what everyone is saying. After reading numerous scientific articles and interviewing thyroid experts and cruciferous vegetable researchers, it is clear that the experts are not drawing the same conclusions that many bloggers and authors are. Some of the compounds in cruciferous veggies can bind to iodine. If you are iodine insufficient and consume raw cruciferous vegetables at the same time you consume your primary iodine sources this could be an issue over time. For example, let's say your primary iodine source was seafood, and every single time you consumed it you ate a raw cruciferous salad. Some of the iodine may bind to compounds in cruciferous veggies, leaving them less able to be absorbed by the body. If this occurred everyday over years, it is possible it could contribute to a goiter.
Does this mean that we cannot consume a serving of raw cruciferous vegetables every day? No. Does this mean that it is not safe to consume a mix of raw and lightly steamed cruciferous vegetables that could even reach up to two pounds a day? From what researchers are demonstrating….no.
What we are seeing is that people who consume cruciferous vegetables consistently have a reduction in certain cancers (breast, prostate, colorectal, bladder, stomach, and more). We also see that the sulforaphane can increase antioxidant and detoxification capacities that may reduce the risk for most common diseases known to man (including one of the most common thyroid disorders, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis). Our hope with this blog post is to have people question their first thought regarding cruciferous vegetables.
While I agree that eating raw goitrogens will not harm a healthy thyroid, I was not aware of any new research that disproved the concept that consuming raw foods in this category can affect iodine absorption in people who may have issues. As a celiac, eating many of the foods on your list raw will negatively impact my health.
I have an allergy to many raw fruits -- apples, pears, peaches, plums, etc.. Citrus and berries are fine. Can I use cooked fruit for the same effect? What substitution would you suggest for the raw apple?
Hooray--great to hear that the WLN book is undergoing something of a metamorphosis. I have to say that having done the elimination diet and variations for some time trying to figure out what my wee ones were reacting to (and what I was reacting to) was an overall valuable experience, but it didn't lead me to concretely finding the foods since bananas and rice were two (of the allowed foods) that came up for us on the US Biotek test. Removing those helped a lot. Actually, removing all grains/legumes seems to have helped the most and I am still not sure if it's a gluten cross-contamination issue or the grains themselves.
I am excited to try this new green juice! The girls really like the juicer :-)
Happy New Year--it's nice to see your posts popping up in the in-box again!