Photos by Chris Casella

Maybe I’ve been to too many liquor stores and bars, but when someone mentions “green” drinks, I tend to think of Midori – melon margaritas, Green Lanterns and Mile Highballs.

I certainly don’t think of dandelion greens.

Yet that’s exactly the association that raw foods expert Jennifer Mrkobrad is hoping to conjure with her time-tested VitaMix. The common warm weather weed occupies a place of honor on her immaculate kitchen island. As she packs the blender with the spiky leaves, she extols the detoxifying power of greens.

“Most Americans are deficient in raw foods, especially green leafy vegetables – one of the highest protein foods and great for lowering acidity,” she said. Adding a variety of grassy hues to the mix (spinach, green apple juice, celery juice), Mrkobrad talks about the mixture’s benefits of purifying the blood and clearing up the skin, balancing pH and replacing lost minerals. Not the most appetizing of conversations, but apropos given that winter is the season clean up the mess of the past year and to start on a path to better health.

Throwing in some pineapple (good for loosening mucous), Mrkobrad whips the concoction into a frothy smoothie and pours it into a wine glass. It looks verdant and tastes delicious – sweet from the pineapple, with the celery singing a salty end note. Detoxing goes down surprisingly easy. The green smoothie can boost energy levels not only after a late night out, but any time of day. For Mrkobrad, the green smoothie is a perfect gateway flavor for people to incorporate more raw foods into their diets.

“You don’t have to be 100 percent raw to get the benefits,” she explained. “I let people know it’s okay to have a bagel or sushi if that’s your thing. Don’t stress: that will wreak even more havoc on your body.”

Mrkobrad spreads her raw foodie message to private clients in Columbus as well as through classes at Whole Foods under the Purely Simple Raw banner. Her message is certainly one of nutrition, but with a headline of flavor first. After growing up vegetarian in a health-forward family, the Toledo native had an edible epiphany while attending Denison University.

“Like a typical college student, I was relying a lot on processed, convenience food,” she recalled, and thereafter made the decision to take her health into her own hands. When close family members were diagnosed with varying forms of cancer, Mrkobrad started really looking at the American diet. “We call it the SAD diet – the Standard American Diet,” she laughed. “It cracks me up when people ask if I get enough nutrients; when you compare one day of my diet to one week of the SAD diet, raw food blows it away.”

Mrkobrad credits her flawless skin, boundless energy and better sleep to her raw food routine. She has been free of the headaches and little ailments that most take to be a standard part of life since her diet change.

Insisting that raw foodists don’t miss out on enjoying the warmth of “cooked” foods, Mrkobrad points to the big black box in the corner of her kitchen – a dehydrator. Vegetables can be heated to 105 degrees and still keep their integrity. When cooked above 105, veggies lose 80 percent of vitamins and minerals. Parading around with all those nutrients are also all sorts of divine digestive enzymes that helps a body replace the enzymes usually lost in the digestive process.

If you decide to go raw, for just one day a week or for good, Mrkobrad has provided the green smoothie recipe as a jumpstart, not only to iron out the toxic wrinkles of 2011, but as a spring board for a healthier new year.

Information about Jennifer Mrkobrad and Purely Simple Raw classes and chef services can be found at www.purelysimpleraw.com.

Detox Smoothie

Serves 2

1 cup spinach
1/2 cup dandelion greens
Juice of three green apples
Juice of one head of celery
1 cup ice
1 1/2 cup bananas
1 cup pineapple

In your blender, put the greens and juice in first and blend. While blending, add the rest of the ingredients one at a time and continue to blend until smooth.