Wait, That’s a Holiday? Jan. 26: “National Green Juice Day”

I never pictured myself as one of those Pinterest health girls obsessed with trying a different green juice each week as a part of their monthly body detox juice cleanse. The idea of drinking a blend of straight vegetables, fruits and herbs wasn’t quite appealing to me — that was until I took my first sip of the Nekter Classic Greens Detoxifying Blends green juice and forgot there were even vegetables in the healthy concoction.

Green juices have been popular since the mid 2000’s, when the internet obsessed over the health benefits of green juices, like improved digestion, reduced inflammation and a boosted immune system. These benefits provoked the green juice cleanse diet, which meant drinking only green juices for up to a span of a week — which I wasn’t about to join in on — hoping to see the benefits claimed in tabloid magazines. Now, any grocery store is sure to have a variety of green juices, all promising their version of a detoxifying juice.

I didn’t want to join the green juice cleanse trend on a Monday night after a draining four hours of dancing, but the Nekter green juice made me reconsider my plans. In honor of National Green Juice day, I picked out three different brands in order to find my favorite.

Some of the green juices I tried:

Nekter Classic Greens Detoxifying Blends Green Juice 

Around $8.00

The perfect middle ground of a sweet and tart green juice. The Nekter juice includes six ingredients: kale, cucumber, pineapple, orange, spinach and cilantro. As soon as I shook the 17 oz. bottle — advised to do so before drinking every green juice — and twisted open the lid, the orange and cucumber aroma was practically flowing from the bottle. As soon as I got the guts to try the juice, my face went from scrunched in fear to pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the orange and pineapple juice along with the subtle hint of the cilantro. This juice I rated a 9/10 for my first green juice ever. I recommend this juice for anyone who enjoys sweetness and a subtle tartness to their green juices.

Suja Cold Pressed Green Delight Green Juice

Around $3.99

This is the best green juice for the most reasonable price. The Suja green juice includes apple, mango, banana, cucumber and lemon. For someone who despises the taste of mango, this juice balanced out the flavors throughout the entirety of the juice, leaving zero traces of mango solely by itself. With the Suja juice being sweeter than most green juices due to the strong banana flavor, this green juice is the ideal cross between a sweet and healthy green juice. This juice I rated a 8/10 for its overall sweet flavor.

Trader Joe’s Cold Pressed Green Juice

Around $4.29

If you’re craving a more authentic, extreme vegetable flavored green juice, then the Trader Joe’s juice is for you. This cold pressed juice includes kale leaves, spinach, apple, cucumber, celery, lemon and ginger. This initial whiff of the intense ginger and celery scent was the first sign this wouldn’t be the juice for me. With each sip tasting like celery, ginger and tart lemon, it was harder for me to enjoy when it reminded me of a blended vegetable salad. With that I am ranking the 15 oz. drink as my least favorite of the green juices I tried. This juice I ended up with a 3/10 rating.