When I think of spring, I think of spring cleaning which makes me think of detoxing.
This brings green juice to mind, and I have the perfect go-to green drink for you.
Cilantro Detox Juice Recipe
This Cilantro Detox Juice is packed with incredible phytonutrients that have healing properties.
What is Cilantro Good For?
Cilantro chelates heavy metals from the body, which is important since I have the MTHFR genetic mutation which can impair detoxification.
Is Cilantro Good for Cleansing?
Since cilantro is so great for cleansing, I drank a quart of this green juice every day when I was diagnosed with heavy metal toxicity in 2004.
Rather than doing medical chelation, which I thought would be too hard on my body, my doctor suggested that I eat A LOT of cilantro.
Can You Drink Cilantro Juice?
Since I wasn’t sure how to consume an entire bunch of cilantro each day, I juiced it. I love cilantro juice, and yes, you can drink it!
Cilantro Detox Juice
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 fingers ginger
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 3 large cucumbers
Instructions
- Push cilantro through juicer
- One at a time, push ginger, lemon, and lime through juicer
- Push cucumbers through juicer
- Serve
Equipment
What is Detox Juice Good For?
In addition to helping detox heavy metals, cilantro also helps build healthy skin and hair and reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Further, it contains antimicrobial properties, which is likely why it’s been widely used in cooking for cultures in warmer climates, prior to the development of refrigeration.
Cilantro Health Benefits
The health benefits of cilantro are numerous. This superfood contains compounds that reduce the risk of:
- Heart Disease
- Obesity
- Diabetes
Further, cilantro contains a substance called dodecenal. This antimicrobial compound is thought to protect the body against infections caused by food spoilage.
Healthy Green Detox Juice Recipe
For this healthy juice recipe, I use all of the cilantro, both leaves, and stems.
I also do this for cooking because it stretches my food dollars, and reduces prep work and food waste.
The stems of cilantro taste every bit as good as the leaves!
Is Cilantro Parsley?
I’m often asked if cilantro and parsley are the same thing. To this, I must reply with a resounding NO.
While both are very bright leafy greens that grow on long, thin stems, to me they taste nothing alike.
Many people confuse flat-leaf parsley with cilantro because they look so similar. Parsley is more of a Mediterranean herb while cilantro is often used in Mexican, Thai, and Indian food.
Both parsley and cilantro have numerous health benefits. Herbs in general are packed with micronutrients and healthy anti-inflammatory compounds.
Is Juicing Good for You?
When it comes to juicing some people worry about losing the fiber.
If that concerns you, blend your veggies in a high-speed blender such as a vitamix or blendtec.
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure if it will taste as good as my Cilantro Detox Juice.
I get plenty of fiber since I eat many servings of vegetables each day. For me, juicing is like taking a supplement.
Green Juice Detox Recipe
While juice is not a whole food, that doesn’t mean it isn’t extremely healthy.
Pushing superfoods through the juicer gives me extra micronutrients that my digestive system would not have space for.
Health Benefits of Juicing
Because our soil is depleted, even organic food has diminished nutritional value.
Juicing is my insurance, it may not be for everyone, but it’s perfect for me.
The Best Juicer
You’ll notice I reference my Breville Juicer not only in this recipe but quite often on the site. I find this is one of the best bang for your buck juicers.
Better yet? I’ve had mine for ten years now with no issues.
Easy Juicing Recipe
When I make my Cilantro Detox Juice I leave the skin on the produce.
When I spoke to the company (Breville) they advised me not to push unpeeled citrus through it as this may decrease the lifespan of the juicer.
Still, I leave the skins on, as I want all of the bioflavonoids found in the citrus skin.
Green Juice Recipes for Detoxing
As you can see, I love juicing and I adore my healing Cilantro Detox Juice! If you’re looking for more healthy green juice recipes try these too.
Mojito Green Juice
My Mojito Green Juice is a total winner. Mint, parsley, lime, ginger, cucumbers, and apple come together in this infusion for the ultimate refreshment.
My inspiration for this Mojito Green Juice was from a favorite website of mine, Dr. Frank Lipman. I hope you’re inspired to try this detoxifying delight.
Simple Green Juice
As the name suggests, my Simple Green Juice is just that, simple.
With only three healthy ingredients –parsley, cucumbers, and lemon you’ll be surprised by how flavorful it is!
Green Lemonade
My Green Lemonade contains similar ingredients to the above recipes, however, this one is supercharged with kale. Anytime I can sneak kale into my diet I’m in!
Pro tips for newbies to juicing?
- Serve your green juice in a wine glass to feel festive and fancy
- Sip slowly to enjoy and absorb all the benefits of your juice
Detox-Retox Recipes
If green juice recipes aren’t your jam I have something else for you –healthy electrolyte drinks.
Cocktails with Electrolytes
To say we LOVE LMNT is an understatement. The boys and I can’t get enough of it.
My favorite flavor is orange, the boys like lime, and Mr. Pantry is a fan of watermelon.
When the boys are home they make amazing detox-retox cocktail recipes.
Here are two detox-retox cocktails we created using LMNT:
Healing Green Juice Recipes
So there you have it! My favorite green juice recipes for detox, plus some fun healthy cocktails –if such a thing exists!
What’s your favorite juice? Any new combinations you can recommend? Leave a comment and let me know!
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives, I first published this Cilantro Detox Juice in January 2015.
Colleen U says
Thanks for the recipe Elana — looks good. Started juicing a year ago with blender. Love green juices. I am 62 and started chemo today for lymphoma — I thought I would try this as part of my detox program along with lots of water and herbal tea to get the hardcore stuff out of my body.. You look SO HEALTHY! Hopefully I’ll get mine back too. I like the ingredients as there aren’t alot – and easy to make. IF you have any other detox suggestions I would like them. thanks.
Elana says
Colleen, my favorite detox trick is sleeping! Here’s more info on that:
https://elanaspantry.com/five-ways-better-nights-sleep/
I hope all of your treatments go amazingly well!!!
Elana
Anthony P Fussell MBA says
Dear Elana,
Thank you for your service and recipes. I started to use Coriander ( English for Cellantro) a few years ago and take it as a juice regularly. I also use it in salads and cooking. After seeing some recipes on YouTube a few days ago I prepared quite a strong juicing with Cellantro, ginger, mint and orange juice. I repeated it several hours later.
I found that the result I had was fever symptoms and right arm and back pain again that continued for several hours. I continued to drink fairly large quantities of water and two Panadol pain reduction tablets to get rid of the pain. After I had taken a few teaspoons of honey and the water for about three hours the pain did subside. I tried one more time and the fever and pain became more intense and I did not continue with the juicing.
Does this mean please that toxic metals are very high in my system? I eat tuna, fish salmon and seafood here in Hong Kong as a regular part of my diet. I feel that I should continue with my Cellantro which has served me well over the years but I do not wants to dod so if I have such symptoms. Anthony
Elana says
Hi Anthony, thanks for your comment! I just finished drinking a big cup of this juice and I love it. I would recommend speaking to your doctor about these symptoms, and I encourage you to get a blood test for heavy metals. That will give you a lot of information about how to proceed. I hope you’ll write back and keep me up-to-date. xoxox
Kate says
I was told blood tests are not a good measure for heavy metal toxicity. I was told I needed to get a hair analysis done if I wanted the most accurate reading of my health. This practitioner used copper as an example, saying blood copper levels can look fine but a hair analysis would show the levels to be sky high. Any thoughts?
Elana says
Kate, yes, when I was suffering from heavy metal toxicity we needed precise numbers and we used a variety of tests to check levels. The blood tests are only a gross gauge of where things stand.
Josh says
Hi
Thank you for a lovely article.
I’m confused though. If the Cilantro is a powerful chelating agent why hasn’t it cured your heavy metal toxicity? Why do you still need to drink it?
I only ask as I want to get to the root of my health problems rather than manage symptoms.
I hope you can share some insight.
Kind regards,
Josh
Elana says
Hi Josh, you’re welcome! I no longer suffer from heavy metal toxicity and my doctor and I think it is because I drink this green juice. Unfortunately, my body has impaired detoxification pathways so it is important for me to stay on top of that with an extra boost like this juice. Sadly, heavy metals are in many of our food sources such as fish, so we are continually ingesting them. I hope this helps in your quest to get to the root of your health issues!
Aditi Sawant says
Hi…when is the best time to have this juice? Is it better to have empty stomach or after meal in night? Kindly help to know?
Elana says
Hi Aditi, I drink this on an empty stomach :-)
Ryan Williams says
I was on a hunt for a detox cleanse that was inexpensive (as parsley isn’t cheap!) and discovered your blog. I reduced the ingredients to what I actually had on hand it it turned out really good!
*Half of an English Cucumber (sliced)
*1/25 of a bunch of Cilantro (rough chopped)
* 1 lime
*water
The color turned out amazing from the cilantro, but also by leaving the nutrient beneficial skin of the cucumber on. The addition of the lime gave it a nice light and refreshing finish. This is easy to drink, it smells amazing and I cannot wait to see how it makes me feel everyday moving forward.
*I think using cold brewed green tea would be an added benefit to substitute for water as well.
I read the comments regarding a diet for individuals with MS. My mom, who was diagnosed late in life with MS found that eating raw, hulled sesame seeds as part of her daily protein in drinks and on salads drastically improved her digestion, but how she felt. I have started incorporating them in my regular diet as well as chia seeds (I soak the chia seeds prior to using them) to helm my body cleanse waste. I have always had a difficult time with my digestion processing foods…and now I am seeing this amazing and positive change to my body and my energy level because I am able to clean out the “slug” that I couldn’t before. It has dramatically changed my ability to focus during the day and that’s a powerful thing.
Klaudia says
Could this also work for weight loss ?
Elana says
Hi Klaudia, I have used this recipe for juice fasts and it helped me to both detox and lose a couple of pounds, but that may have been the fasting and calorie restriction, more than the juice. If you try it please let us know how it goes.
Patti says
Do you peel the lemon, lime and ginger?
Elana says
Hi Patti, I don’t peel them, but feel free to do so if you wish :-)
Lindsay says
Hi elana!
I am wondering if this juice is ok if you are dealing with gut yeast overgrowth? I know that say to avoid juicing when you are trying to get rid of yeast but this seems like it should be ok…no fruit involved…? Any thoughts?
Thank you!
Elana says
Hi Lindsay, I drank this juice when on a candida diet, however, everybody is different so it may or may not work for others :-)
Brad says
I substituted all of the ingredients with Oreos and this came out really well. Definitely making this one again
Elana says
Brad, that may be the greatest comment ever :-)
Shirley says
Funny!
DonnaL says
Made me chuckle…. Thanks
Gayle says
Don’t we all wish that would work!!!!
Debra says
Hee!
Ann says
Where do I get cilantro?
Kristina Reynolds-Haney says
Did you ever get an answer to your question? If not, I’ll try to help. Do you live in the U.S.A.? If so, you can find the “Oh SOOO FABULOUS Cilanto in the Produce Department of you local grocery store. Cilantro has another name: Coriander! Silly, I know! The section of Cilantro is usually placed next to the Parsley. Don’t get confused! There are usually 2 types of Parsley: Italian Flat Leaf Parsley and Curly Leaf Parsley (the kind you usually find as a garnish lying on the side of your plate). The Curly Leaf variety is still edible. Then, next to these beauties, your requested Cilantro (Coriander) will be located! All of these green leafy herbs look VERY similar! If perhaps, these are not labeled (or you’re just not sure) the “True Blue” way to distinguish Cilantro from the others is . . . to SMELL them! Cilantro has a VERY intense, aromatic, fragrance to it, MUCH diferent than the VERY mild Parsley! I hope this helps! Good luck! You may even want to try your hand at growing Cilantro (Coriander)in pots inside your home! I do! I LOVE it!
Have a GREAT day!
Kristina
erin says
You know my brother has been using this detox method. He keeps telling me to try it! I think I just might.