HERB + LIFE: A LITTLE THIS-N-THAT ABOUT JUICING

Drinking juices and smoothies is a great way to bring the pure nutrition of fruits and vegetables into your body, and that’s true for fresh Herb leaves as well. Since the THC in fresh herb leaves isn’t activated you won’t get any of the “high” from the Herb. Many believe, however, that raw cannabis juice is loaded with nutrition and antioxidants that interact with the immune system and act as a modulator with the immune and nervous systems to better our health. The drawback is that you need a lot of leaves to get a good wheatgrass-size shot of Herb. If you grow your own, though, or have access to organically grown and healthy plants, you should give it a try. Raw Herb juice can be bitter, so it’s best added to a smoothie or juice that has other sweet components like carrot, pineapple, or even a bit of honey to mellow out the intense flavor. About ⅓ to ½ cup of raw Herb leaves will yield approximately 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of juice.

We don’t have a fancy juicer at my house, so for us, it makes more sense to blend raw leaves with other ingredients smoothie-style the old-fashioned way—using a blender. I like thick smoothie-like juices because they deliver all of the fiber and nutrients locked in the peel and flesh of the fruit (and Herb leaves offer a lot of healthy fiber); but if you prefer pulp-free juices, simply strain the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. You’ll end up with about 50 percent less juice (and less fiber, too).

When juicing, add the softer fruits or vegetables, like your cucumbers, berries, or pineapple to the blender first. Then add the tougher items like carrots, leafy greens, and herbs. Lastly, add the ice cubes, any citrus juice or water. This way, the blender purees the juicy items first, creating enough of a slush to pull down the harder-to-blend ingredients. And just when your blender is ready to call out what de rass! it brings down the ice cubes to chill the juice and deliver more momentum to the blending.