Green Juice + Protein

I recently moved into my first home, and was given a juicer as a housewarming gift. Each morning since, I look forward to waking up and putting together a delicious green juice.

Today's green juice + protein recipe:

• 1 full pear
• 3 large handfuls spinach (make sure to wash it first to get the dirt particles off!)
• 1 small handful mint
• 1 organic cucumber
• 1 small handful parsley
• 2 rounded scoops Tera's Whey Hunger Control Organic Protein With Fiber & Oat Bran

Why these ingredients you ask?

• Pear: Pears contain Vitamin C and Vitamin K - both vitamins that I have been low in, for most of my life. Rather than take supplements, I choose to get my vitamins through real food. Vitamin K helps maintain your bone health as you get older. It has also shown to help decrease the risk of developing osteoporosis. I also use the pear rather than use any artificial sweetener, as pear juice sweetens vegetable juices.
• Spinach: I have long heard that spinach is great for cleansing your digestive tract and colon. Nutrient dense, it contains vitamins A, B complex, C, E, K, carotenes, folate, manganese, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, some trace elements and many valuable amino acids. One of the biggest benefits to me, is the amount of protein it contains - almost equally as much as a rich piece of meat!
• Mint: Mint has one of the highest antioxidant properties of any food. It helps aid digestion and keeps my stomach feeling great. It tastes great, even with a small amount added to juice, and the added benefit of keeping my breath fresh doesn't hurt!
• Cucumber: While cucumber is well known for it's ability to cool down the body, I don't need to worry about that much now, with winter in full blast here in Chicago! I like cucumber for the amount of water it contains, which helps keeps me hydrated, as well as the amount of Vitamin C cucumbers contain.
• Parsley: To me, parsley is a super-food. It contains vitamin A, B, C, and K, folate and iron. It also has high beneficial mineral contents like calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vanadium, and zinc. The best part? It is known to help with arthritis, which I sadly suffer from, and this recent weather has only exacerbated it.
• Tera's Whey: I'm obsessed with protein. It's the basis of my diet, so anytime I find one that helps keep me full and tastes great, I add it to everything.

I use the low setting on my juice extractor to preserve all the enzymes that I can.

Do you juice? What are your favorite ingredients?