PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARMANDO MOUTELA ✷ FOOD STYLING BY COREY BELLE ✷ PROP STYLING BY NIDIA CUEVA

No doubt about it, America is juice, smoothie, and tonic obsessed. And that’s a good thing. Trust us when we say that not only does freshly squeezed taste better than OJ from a carton, it’s much better for you, too. Still, whirring up a power health drink can cost money and time, so…

We asked the rock stars of healthy food and nutrition for their all-star blends. Then, Naturally editors diced, peeled, juiced, blended, and strained through hundreds of recipes to find concoctions that not only tasted ah-mazing, but had incredible benefits for our overall health, too.

Skin Tonic & the Wonder Shake

_{Why To de-puff eyes & curb sugar cravings}

ALL-STAR: Katrine Van Wyk; @KatrinevanWyk

CLAIM TO FAME: Author of Super Powders and Best Green Drinks Ever

As a former model, Katrine found herself “focused too much on calories and staying skinny on the job.” To top it off, like so many of us, she overcompensated for her lack of good food energy with too much caffeine and sugar. Over time, she “felt disconnected” from her body and quit modeling to find a healthier way to live. Now a holistic coach, she helps clients and businesses like Equinox’s The Juicery come up with delicious, healthy juices and smoothies.

SKIN TONIC JUICE

Katrine tells us her Skin Tonic juice contains “beautifying ingredients such as cucumber, which contains the skin-toning mineral silica, that will do more good if you ingest it rather than simply resting slices on your eyes.” Plus, her addition of leafy greens mega-load this drink with anti-inflammatory omega 3s.

THE WONDER SHAKE

The Wonder Shake is a signature blend for Katrine. “Persimmon is a bright orange fruit packed with antioxidants and pectin, which helps regulate blood sugar,” she says. She recommends this for anyone trying to curb sugar cravings. Who us???

Blue Sunset Shake & Spicy Skin Saver

_{Why It’s the best breakfast smoothie & a drinkable facial}

ALL-STAR: Sarma Melngailis; @sarmamelngailis

CLAIM TO FAME: A raw food vegan pioneer and author of Raw Food, Real World and Living Raw Food.

If there is one person who brought raw food from fringe to the mainstream spotlight, it’s Sarma Melngailis. As a trained chef, she marries her love of raw food with epicurean technique, resulting in exquisite dishes, desserts, and drinks that prove raw can be more than just salads and crudité. The Blue Sunset Shake was one of the first recipes she created. Its beautiful layers are packed with Vitamin C from mangoes and pineapple that, according to Sarma, are also “way less acidic than oranges.” The almond milk adds a boost of calcium (“More than cow’s milk!” says Sarma) and iron—two nutrients that are typically lacking in a vegan diet. Sarma loves it for breakfast but we also think it could be a great post-workout shake, too.

BLUE SUNSET SHAKE

SPICY SKIN SAVER

Sarma calls the Spicy Skin Saver “a facial from the inside out.” Radishes and watercress are rich in sulfur, which helps build collagen to maintain skin elasticity. Full of fiber, radishes help aid digestion, and are high in Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals. Sarma says, “Use grapes with seeds. Many of the nutrients boasted by grapes are found in the seeds, including essential fatty oils and antioxidants, both of these are essential for soft and protected skin.” Plus, the cucumbers hydrate—and ginger pops in to add spice and its well-known digestion and anti-inflammatory benefits. Naturally gives this power juice props for being refreshing, tasty, and specially crafted to keep your skin as healthy and youthful as possible—without needles!

Invigorating Morning Blend

_{Why It beats an energy drink}

ALL-STAR: Celine Beitchman, Director of Nutrition at the Institute of Culinary Education; @cbeitchman

CLAIM TO FAME: Chef Celine studied at Maryland University of Integrative Health, ultimately developing the long-form curriculum for Natural Gourmet Institute’s Culinary Nutrition and Food Therapy certificate programs. The professional development programs help doctors “put the prescription on the plate,” she says.

Try this if you want to kick your morning coffee habit. Celine tells us, “Drinking this juice every day provides a powerful boost of phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals to your whole body.” Think of it as an energy drink without all the nasty chemicals. She adds: “Using all the parts of your produce is more economical, and provides you more nutrients.”

If You Like Pina Coladas…

_{Why Sometimes you feel just…meh sugar cravings}

ALL-STAR: Alexandra Jamieson; @deliciousalex

CLAIM TO FAME: Author of The Great American Detox Diet and Co-Creator of Super Size Me.

Alex helped Morgan Spurlock drop 25 pounds healthfully after he famously ate nothing but McDonald’s meals three times a day for 30 days for his award-winning documentary Super Size Me. Today, she helps clients slim down using a pure plant-based diet.

It’s tempting to reach for frozen, fat-filled, alcohol-filled blended drinks in the summer, so try Alex’s version of a Pina Colada for the taste of summer, but without the gut-busting guilt. The addition of basil helps with fatigue and constipation, then the tasty pineapple follows up with an anti-inflammatory which aids digestion. Cheers to that!

TROPICAL REVIVAL

Glow Smoothie

_{Why For dewy, soft skin}

ALL-STAR: Ann Gentry; @AnnGentry

CLAIM TO FAME: Chef and Founder of the Real Food Daily restaurant chain; author of The Real Food Daily Cookbook and Vegan Family Meals

Vegan pioneer and chef Ann Gentry has been cooking tasty plant-based grub in her Real Food Daily chain for over 20 years. This Glow Smoothie is her all-star fave, she says, because “the fruits are rich sources of antioxidants: the pineapple and papaya contain strong digestive enzymes as well as enzymes that hydrate the skin and remove damaged and dead cells.” That pop of soaked flaxseeds, Ann says, “help remove the dryness of the skin and turn your glow back on.” Glow is good. Especially when it comes from natural food sources rather than a tanning bed.

Greenberry and Green Banana

_{Why Post-workout recovery & immunity boost}

ALL-STAR: Mitzi Dulan; @NutritionExpert

CLAIM TO FAME: Team nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals and author of The All-Pro Diet.

GREEN BANANA

Post-workout, Mitzi recommends helping your body recover with her Green Banana Recovery Drink. “The best time to drink this is within 30 minutes following a workout,” she says. “The carbohydrates and protein in this drink are crucial for proper muscle recovery after exercise.” It’s also loaded with powerful antioxidants including vitamin C and a big dose of vitamin A from the spinach. This drink will help boost the immune system while helping to reload the muscles with energy after a workout.

GREENBERRY

The Greenberry Drink is your breakfast booster shot. “There is a great balance of carbohydrates and protein,” says Mitzi, “plus the protein and fiber in the drink will help you to stay satisfied and boost immune function.” The eight strawberries contain more Vitamin C than an orange and are lower in sugar, too. And we haven’t even gotten to the kale. “It’s a great start to any day,” she says, “since you get a big dose of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.” Mitzi says the phytonutrient-rich drink helps her pro athletes maintain a strong immune system so they feel at their peak shape during the long and grueling baseball season. We can definitely get into the swing of that.

Red Superheroes

_{Why They are a breeze to make-puff eyes & curb sugar cravings}

ALL-STARS: Carly Brien, Hedi Gores, and Hayden Slater; @PressedJuicery

CLAIM TO FAME: Founders of Pressed Juicery, a Los Angeles-based chain of juice shops and authors of the book Juice.

SPICY TOMATO GREENS & FENNEL

The founders of Pressed Juicery are known for introducing fresh juices and all of their health benefits to the masses. In their first book Juice, these power juicers report that their Spicy Tomato Greens & Fennel juice “might sound a little bit like V8, but our version is better for you, better tasting, and more natural.” The bounty of tomatoes creates a concoction that, as these experts say, is “incredibly antioxidant rich, which protects the cardiovascular system, regulates fat in the blood, helps reduce the risk of heart disease.”

ROOT OF EARTH DRINK

The key hero ingredient in the Root of Earth juice is parsnip. “Not only are parsnips delicious,” reports this juicing power trio, “but we also love these powerful root veggies for their high nutritional content; they are packed with vitamins K, C, and folate.” Consider this for your fall harvest juice when root vegetables and apples are abundant at the farmer’s market.

APPLE, STRAWBERRY & LIME

Naturally would never forget the biggest juice imbibers of all: the kids. For a delicious alternative to sugary juices, try their Apple, Strawberry and Lime juice, which “is very hydrating and loaded with tons of Vitamin C, plus a great source of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron and zinc.” Plus, it freezes into naturally delicious popsicles, too. We’re popping some in the freezer right now!

Simply Soak Flaxseeds

Soaking flaxseeds is necessary so they can blend right into creamy smoothies. Ann Gentry places them in a fine-meshed strainer and rinses them under water. To soak, place 1 cup of flaxseeds (we like Bob’s Red Mill) in a 4-cup glass mason jar and add enough fresh cold water to cover the flaxseeds by 2 inches. Cover with the lid and set the jar on the kitchen counter away from direct sun for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. For storage, using a spoon, stir them and add more water to cover them as needed. Refrigerate the soaked flaxseed mixture. Every few days, drain any soaking liquid, rinse the flaxseeds, and cover them with fresh cold water. The flaxseeds will keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator with this method.

Don’t Throw Away the Rind

The Pressed Juicery all-stars tell us hang onto those watermelon rinds. Watermelon rind contains a compound that produces antioxidant and anti-fungal properties. According to their book Juice, it’s the health and wellness world’s natural answer to Viagra. Enough said! To juice watermelon rind, simply chop it into pieces small enough to fit through your juicer. The bitterness of the rind actually becomes quite mild after it has been juiced. If you like, add half a lime to make it taste more interesting.

No Juicer? No Problem

Ann Gentry shares this DIY tip: Use a kitchen grater and grate your favorite vegetable into several layers of cheesecloth or paper towels. Wrap and squeeze the juice right into a glass. It really works!