Juicing While on a Low Carb Diet

Can I drink juice while on a low-carb diet? What are some juice recipes that are low in carbohydrates? Is there such a thing as a sugar-free juice?

You’re likely not just asking about juicing while on a low-carb diet, or else the answer would be simple: Juice kale or spinach and chug it down. You probably want juices that are actually tasty and low-carb.

If you want an ultra low-carb juice, chase a shot of collard green or kale juice down with a lemon wedge.

In order to start thinking of juice recipes while on a low carb diet, begin at the beginning. A juice is simply the end product of the fruits and vegetables you put into your juicer.

What are some low carb fruits and vegetables to juice with?

As a general rule, water-rich vegetables (cucumbers, celery) and leafy greens (kale, spinach, lettuce) will contain fewer grams of carbohydrates per ounce. Aromatic herbs like parsley and cilantro are low in carbs and also flavorful.

Fruit (apples and pears) and root vegetables (carrots and beets) will contain more carbohydrates per gram and should be used sparingly, if at all, while on a low-carbohydrate diet.

Lemons, limes, and berries are lower in carbohydrates and can be added to sweeten your juices. However, juicing with berries is often tricky and berries are better used in superfood berry smoothies.

A green juice with a touch of lemon or a sweet bell pepper often hits the spot. You get all of the benefits of green juicing while still keep your carbs low.

List of low-carbohydrate vegetables and fruit:

• Kale
• Spinach
• Bok choy
• Collard greens
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cucumbers
• Red, green, and yellow bell peppers
• Pumpkin
• Tomato
• Lemons
• Limes

As you can see, there is a lot of variety! Most of the juice recipes you see on Fit Juice already rely on those vegetables, so all we’ll really need to do is modify some of our existing juice recipes.

How many grams of carbohydrates are there in a glass of juice?

It’s almost impossible to tell you how many calories are in a glass of green juice, as your recipe may vary. Also, your juicer may extract more juice from the fruit, vegetables, and leafy greens than mine.

• 8 ounces of kale juice has 70 calories and around 10 grams of carbohydrates and almost zero grams of sugar.
• 8 ounces of pure cucumber juice has 70 calories, 10-15 grams of carbohydrates, and almost zero grams of sugar.
• 8 ounces of V8 juice has 50 calories and around 10 grams of carbohydrates and around 5-8 grams of sugar.
• 8 ounces of lemon juice contains around 60 calories, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and 6 grams of sugar.

I’m not suggesting you chug down 8 ounces of pure lemon or kale juice! I am simply illustrating how many calories there are in the “raw ingredients” for your own juice recipes.

Combine low-carbohydrate fruits and vegetables to make low-carb juices.

As you can see from the list above, you can keep your carbs low while enjoying fresh green juice. Simply use your imagination and modify some of the existing juice recipes available at Fit Juice.

(For example, the Real V8 Juice is made mostly with low-carb vegetables.)

 

Make a Real V8 Juice without the carrots and beets to make a low-carb Real V8 Juice.

Low-Carb V8 Juice Recipe

• 6 stalks celery
• 1-2 large hand fulls of spinach
• 1-2 cucumbers
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2″ nub of fresh ginger
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 tomato

A low-carb real V8 juice will contain around 100 calories per 8 ounce glass and approximately 15 grams of carbohydrates. (Again, the exact amount of calories and carbohydrates will depend on what juicer you use, and how ripe the produce is.)

Cucumber Pepper Juice

• 2 whole cucumbers
• 5-6 red, yellow, and/or green peppers

Cucumber Pepper Juice is refreshing and hydrating with minor sweetness and spiciness added from the peppers. It’s also low in carbohydrates and sugar.

 

Celery Pepper Juice

1. 4-6 stalks of celery
2. 5-6 red, green, or yellow peppers
3. 1/2 lemon (optional)

I enjoy the peppery flavor of celery juice. Not everyone does, however, so you may need to add 1/2 of a peeled lemon for a small amount of sweetness. (Lemons do not contain very many grams of carbs.)

Yes, you can juice while on a low-carb diet!

Yes, you can juice while on a low carbohydrate diet. It is, however, impossible to tell you exactly how many grams of carbohydrates there will be in any given juice recipe.

Use your brain. Error on the side of including more leafy greens like kale and spinach and water-rich vegetables like celery and cucumber while omitting fruit and judiciously adding lemon, lime, and maybe even 1/2 of a beet.

For more tips on juicing for health as well as the best juice recipes you’ll find, check out Juice Power.