In 2017, I wrote about the green juice that I had started drinking for breakfast, which Spousal Unit & I jokingly call “green slime.” Surprisingly, I am still drinking green slime for breakfast in 2021, and I thought I’d give you all an update, since it keeps evolving.
As before, the basic recipe comes from one of the low histamine chef Yasmina Ykelenstam‘s cookbooks – she calls it “green lemonade,” although the recipe includes no lemons. But I have continued to adapt the basic recipe. Now, instead of apples, I use pineapple to sweeten it. This is partly because I may have a bit of Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) [cross-reactivity to apples due to my birch allergy], and partly because it is easier to source good pineapples than good apples where I now live.
My green slime is still full of green vegetables, and I still add chia seeds (the fiber really helps keep me regular). Over the years, I have found that I get hungry within an hour of drinking my juice, and I think it’s because there’s not much protein in the juice (just the protein from the chia seeds), so I now add almond powder to my green slime. It dissolves well with concentrated stirring, and adds a hint of an almond flavor. And I don’t get hungry afterward any more.
Recently, I have added a quercetin supplement to my routine, because research indicates that it has utility as a mast cell stabilizer and antihistamine. I have been buying a powdered form of quercetin, and after trying it separately for about a month, I have recently started mixing it in with my green slime. It does not mix in as easily as the almond powder, but it will eventually dissolve, and it makes my daily regimen easier by streamlining two steps into one, rather than drinking green slime and then later remembering to drink the quercetin dissolved in water or juice.
In three-and-a-half years of green juice every day, we have gone through our first juicer and are on our second. And the process has changed a bit: rather than making fresh green slime every morning, Spousal Unit makes a batch of green slime and freezes it in mason jars. Then I stagger out to the kitchen daily, after I’ve woken up and taken my morning meds, and thaw out one jar in the microwave. [Remember to remove the metal lid first.] After it has thawed, I mix in the chia seeds, almond powder, and quercetin. I let it sit for at least 30 seconds to reconstitute the chia seeds (making sure to stir frequently, or the seeds form a gelatinous clump that has a rather off-putting texture), and then it’s good to go.
For me, green slime is an easy first meal of the day – don’t have to make any decisions, don’t have to use much energy, and I get fruit, veg, calcium, potassium, iron, protein, fiber, and a little healthy fat.
Plus, if you happen to overheat it, it’s no big deal – green slime tastes good warm or cold.
Hack 1: If I didn’t have Spousal Unit to prep the fruit and veg, I would use canned pineapple chunks and buy pre-chopped veggies.
Hack 2: Sometimes we save the solid output from the juicer (the fruit and veg pulp) and freeze it in small jars to mix into omelets or egg muffins. Another way to sneak fruit & veg into your diet.
So there you have it – I’m still drinking green slime for breakfast three-and-a-half years later. We’ve tweaked it a bit to better suit my needs and to make life easier for Spousal Unit. It tastes good, and is a way to “sneak” fruits and vegetables into my diet. [Spousal Unit prefers to have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.]
What meal hacks do you use? Please share in the comments.