Healthy Inspirations & More

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 :-)

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?

Yeah, might be a strange name, still it immediately came to mind when I saw the result of this mix, which looks so harmless for all the flavour it contains.

Here's what's in it (2 glasses)

• ½ banana
• 1 yellow kiwi
• ½ fennel
• ¼ gaia melon
• 1 cm of ginger
• 250 ml water/icecubes

Lovely colour...and the surprise is the peppery note. Absolutely great taste.

For the curious among you: Double anti-inflammatory through kiwi and ginger. The latter is superb for the upcoming colder days when you feel a cold coming up: Take some fresh ginger, cut it into pieces and pour hot water over it, add a tad of honey and sip over the day. Perfect for the throat (also ant-bacterial), the voice and your whole system.

TIP: don't peel the ginger, most of the great stuff sits right underneath the skin. If you don't like the brown outer side, scrub it slightly off with a knife, that'll do the job and you keep the greatness of the root.

I love colourful food - after all we are visual beings, right? This smoothie does not only have an incredible colour, but tastes just DELICIOUS. One of my few recipes without any veggies.

For the advanced food lover: This smoothie is full of great properties: Blueberries are on the top of the list when it comes to do something good for your brain! According to studies they can even support our memory when eaten regularly and help prevent destruction in the brain.

Strawberries are one of the fruit with the most ant-oxidants. Translated that means, that stuff keeps us young (as these little wonder things protect our cells).

That's pretty cool. And a perfect reason to eat more of them.

Here's how Berrylicous works:

• ½ (actual) cup of raspberries frozen or fresh
• 7-8 big strawberries
• ½ mango
• 3 stems of mint
• Some lime juice (like half a lime...you can just peel it and throw it all in as well - is just a bit more intense

Very light, beautiful red colour, berries at their...

It's Sunday - the fridge is full again and I have all sorts of variations possible for a lovely vitamin kick in the morning....and decided to go for some celery as a veggie.

Don't like celery? That is what I thought. Until I tried it in a smoothie, particularly the green ones. Can't always have spinach, right? Or kale. Give it a try and make sure it is super fresh - when it loses water, the taste can become a tad over-powering.

So here's today's recipe for two portions:

• 1 kiwi (the yellow ones - they are a tad smoother and milder than the green ones)
• A small handful of white grapes
• 1 stick celery
• 1/2 banana
• 3 sticks of basil (complete or just the leaves)
• 300 ml cold water

Put all into a blender and mix creamy.

Useful knowledge for the advanced smoothie drinker: kiwi are amongst the top fruit in terms of ant-inflammatory properties. Like pineapple the fruit contains enzymes which support your body to fight inflammation (the root cause for a lot of diseases, even auto-immune ones).