Clodagh McKenna: my daily happy juice

The Irish chef and author with her recipe for the healthy juice smoothie that started it all.

Clodagh in a kitchen pouring a green smoothie into a glass
By Clodagh McKenna | Published - 16 Jan 2026
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The juice that started it all for me! These days, I make sure I always have the ingredients in the house to make it.

As the years have gone on, I’ve tweaked the recipe a little bit, adding ginger, root turmeric (my new obsession), upping the amount of celery and adding lemon juice.

Serves
2

Ingredients

  • 30g (1oz) baby leaf spinach
  • 100g (3½oz) fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
  • ¼ cucumber, sliced
  • 2 celery sticks, sliced
  • 5cm (2-inch) piece of root ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 5cm (2-inch) piece of root turmeric, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 100ml (3½fl oz) water
  • Twist of freshly ground black pepper
  • 3–4 ice cubes

Method

If using a juicer

Just pass all the ingredients through the juicer.

If using a blender

Add about 250ml (9fl oz) water, to help all the ingredients to blend together as smoothly as possible, then strain through a sieve.


  1. Store any leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (though the juices are best when fresh).
  2. I use a lot of fresh root turmeric, now available in many supermarkets. Both root turmeric and root ginger freeze very well.

Recipe from Clodagh’s Happy Cooking (Kyle Books), RRP: £25

Check price

(Hero image credit: David Loftus)

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