Healthy Inspirations & More

Lovely colour, quite a meal in itself - so rather filling and very...well, smooth :-). If you like it a bit more liquid, just add a tad of water

Here we go, ingredients for 2 portions:

• 1/2 banana
• 1 small apple
• 1/2 small fennel
• 1/2 small mango
• 2-3 dashes of cardamom
• 2-3 dashes of cinnamon
• a tad of lemon juice
• 300 ml water

Enjoy!

The day before yesterday I opened a package of pre-cooked beetroot and only used one.

Those who know me, know that I HATE wasting food...so that's the moment to come up with ways of how to use up what's in the fridge...and what better way (well, I am biased) could there be than using it in a smoothie!

Beetroot is just amazing for our heart and cardio system in general....and even lowers blood pressure!

Want to know how?

In a study done at the Queen Mary University of London, beetroot juice was found to lower blood pressure in a matter of four weeks. According to the experts, this is because of the presence of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide. And in the process, the blood vessels expand.

How cool is that?

Straight on the recipe now (for 1 portion)

• 1 beetroot (approx. 60 -70 g)
• 50 g frozen raspberries
• 1 fresh fig
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3-4 dashes of cinnamon
• a small handful of walnuts (approx. 20 g)
• 150 ml of water

Mix well and enjoy - not just good for the heart,...

I DO love mango, in particular when it meets coconut...they were just made for each other. At least in my mind.

Mango or pineapple in a smoothie always provides quite some sweetness  - good to offset it with veggies of some sort. I don't eat a lot of actual sugar...hence just eating mango seems almost too sweet for me meanwhile...funny how our taste can change !

What's your experience here?

Right - so here's the recipe (1 portion today....my man traveling, so no smoothie for him)

• 1/2 carrot
• 1/2 mango
• A small handful of frozen raspberries
• Juice of half a lemon
• 50 ml coconut milk
• 150 ml water

Mix well and enjoy :-)

PS: Got a question in the Facebook Group the other day how to measure ingredients for a smoothie when you just have some stuff available at home.

So the simple answer is: when you got one portion of smoothie, the liquid is in the range of 150 - 200 ml, for 2 portions 300 - 400 ml.

Liquid can be water, coconut milk (max half of total quantity, unless you want a super...

Today I've combined my current experiment (making Maca powder a daily part of my diet) and my daily habit - drinking a smoothie.

The result: DELICIOUS!!

Well, that is if you like mango. Creamy, superb taste, super simple and the extra portion of energy through maca powder. In case you have never heard of that, here's a short explanation:

Maca root (lepidium meyenii) is a member of the cruciferous family, like broccoli and cabbage, and due to it’s unique properties it considered one of the world’s natural “super foods.”

Maca is grown very high in the mountains of South America, mainly in high altitude regions of Peru and is supposed to have a number of health benefits - among them relief of menopausal symptoms for women (hence my self test to see what it does), energy boosting and increase in libido. Interestingly the latter is the one where studies clearly show an effect :-).

So that's what you need for 1 portion:

• 1/2 mango (small or a slice of a big one)
• ...

Well, being precise, this was my smoothie last night. Yes, for a change I did not drink it in the morning as I went out to see some friends for breakfast - so, we changed our routine, had a late lunch at 2 and the smoothie was my dinner.

Thick, smooth and VERY tasty....one of the REALLY nice green smoothies - and as the name indicates, shock full of vitamin C - just what we need at this time of the year.

Responsible for that are the kiwi and the parsley, which by the way adds a really lovely flavour!

Here's what's in it - this time for 1 portion

• 1 kiwi
• 1/2 small mango
• 4 stems of parsley
• 1/4 mango
• 150 - 200 ml of cold water (depends on how thick you like it)

Mix it all up and enjoy :-)

It's pumpkin time...and I loooove this vegetable. It is so versatile and can be used in all sorts of variations: As mash, fried, roasted, as soup, in a cake....or as here in a super delicious format, in a risotto dish!

My absolute favourite of the week and done in 40 minutes - here we go:

What you need:

• 1 onion
• 400 g Hokkaido pumpkin
• 150 g of risotto rice
• Butter or ghee
• 600 – 800 ml of veggie broth
• 100 ml of white wine
• 5 stems of parsley
• 4 spoons of olive (olive or walnut or mix them)
• Salt, pepper
• 50 g parmesan (grated)
• 2 spoons of walnuts

How to prepare it:

• Peel the onion and dice it
• Take the seeds out of the pumpkin and cut it into 1,5 cm big pieces (don’t forget to measure ;-) ). If you use Hokkaido pumpkin, this does not have be peeled!
• Measure the wine and prepare the broth (has to hot/warm for preparing the dish)
  Heat 1-2 spoons of butter or ghee in a wide pot, put the onions in and braise them until glassy
• Add the pumpkin and rice and braise for another 2...

Well, it seems I'm running out of names...so they become a bit pathetic ;-) - if you know a better name, let me know.

Sunshine in my glass in the morning - appreciated that as I woke up to a REALLY grey and rainy day here.

Very simple and very tasty, so here we go (2 portions)

• 1 (big) carrot
• 1/2 mango
• 1/2 apple
• Juice of half a lime
• 50 ml coconut milk
• 250 - 300 ml water

Lovely colour and taste - bit on the light side, so don't necessarily expect that one to keep you full until lunch (if you have it for breakfast).

Great vitamin rush, which was sorely needed, as I got up earlier than usual today.

Enjoy!

Today I've decided to go for a mixture, which is really gentle on the digestive system...no acids added (like lemon or lime juice), and easy digestible fruit and vegetable. Well, strictly speaking the avocado is a fruit as well, so I guess from a botanical aspect this is a "fruit-only" smoothie ;-).

So if your stomach is a bit sensitive or your digestive system has suffered through a bug, this can be a good version with easy to digest ingredients while at the same time giving your body lovely nutrients.

Besides that this smoothie is really thick and lush - and tastes lovely, just as I like it.

Here's what's in it (2 portions):

• ½ banana
• ½ avocado
• 1 apple
• 1 slice of mango (one side cut off)
• 300 - 400  ml of water (depending how thick you like it)

Enjoy!

Bloody hell (no pun intended ;-) ), what a colour!

My smoothie of the day:

• 1 small beetroot
• 1 small handful of frozen raspberries
• 5 (yes, counted again) frozen cherries
• juice of one lime
• some dashes of cinnamon
• 150 ml of water

Great taste...the beetroot blends in nicely and is actually REALLY good for you....not going into all the individual great nutrients, but only the benefits: so....it's good for your heart, boosts energy, improves sexual health....supposedly it's been used for that particular are since the Roman times...need any more convincing?

Yes, I admit: I am a salad fan. So I do my best to have salads as often as possible. Always eating the same stuff though is dreadfully boring...so I try out what fits together and what can be eaten raw. And found out that spinach is rather yummy as a salad - particularly with some parmesan shavings or nuts on top....perfect company for a pasta dish.

My verdict for this week's recipe of the week:

Wonderful colours and even better flavours. The slightly sour and lemony salad dressing sets of the taste of the slightly hot pasta off perfectly. The chorizo  - even if such a small quantity – emphasizes the wonderful mix of Mediterranean flavours. Plainly delicious.

Extra Tip: use a bit more pasta  - i.e. 300 g and keep a portion for the next day. This is a dish that can be warmed up perfectly well and lunch for one person is done!  My hubby loves this dish, so he loves to take another portion to the office the next day.

What you need:

• 60 g Chorizo
• 2 red peppers
• 1...