I’ve been seeing references to jugo verde, or green juice, popping up everywhere. Jugo verde is a blend of celery, parsley, pineapple, orange or grapefruit juice and nopal (cactus). It’s delicious and super healthy. Alice refers to it as fibre fuerte.
You can find jugo verde at juice stands and markets all over Mexico City, including at the juice stand in our local market, the Mercado Hidalgo, where a glass like this one will set you back just 18 pesos (about $1.40). Not bad considering it’s the type of juice that can almost take the place of a meal. I’m thinking it might also be pretty great after a morning run.
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I tried this by an accident. I thought it was just jugos de chaya, but neat surprise!
I am going to make it into a sorbet at the weekend.
If fresh nopales are not found, are canned nopales ok to use?
I would imagine so, I’ve never tried the canned version so I’m not sure how much of a difference there is between the two. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out.
You can also use dehydrated nopal powder, which is available in many markets (e.g. Walmart), at least here in Mexico. The powder has a higher nutrient concentration than fresh nopal and generally has about 5mg fiber per tablespoon.
I have not seen that before, but I’m definitely going to look for it the next time I’m at the supermarket. Thanks for the tip!