Healthy Drinks

Homemade Almond Milk

September 17, 2012 by Betty

Although we are not completely diary free, the one milk that we drink at our house is almond milk. Almond has a lot of health benefits. To find out more, read this article. I learned to make almond milk a couple of years ago and I no longer buy from the store.

How to make almond milk:

Soak one cup of raw almonds over night or 6-8 hours (soaking the almonds will make them more digestible). Drain the almonds in a colander and rinse with water.
Remove the brown outer skin by pressing on it with thumb and forefinger. Discard brown skin.
Put almonds in blender or VitaMix. Add Medjool dates as a sweetener. I usually put about 3 of them. But I’ve read bloggers who add up to 8 dates. Try and see what taste good to you. (Medjool dates from health food stores usually come with a pit so you’d have to remove the pit by splitting it open with your fingers). Then add 3 cups of water to VitaMix and blend until nuts are pulverized (about 10 sec in VitaMix)
Strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheese cloth or nut bag. I’ve tried using a nut bag, but it gets messy as you have to squeeze the milk out. I prefer to use the metal mesh sieve. My kids like to help by using a spoon to scrape the almond pulp around to drain the liquid into a glass container.
Use almond milk as a drink or with your favorite cereal or transfer to a glass bottle, covered and store in refrigerator for up to 4 days. Shake before drinking.

I”ve included some helpful pictures below if you’re interested:

My three kiddos are removing the brown skin from the soaked almonds.

Almond without the brown skin.

Medjool dates as a sweetener for almond milk.

Making almond milk in VitaMix.

Blended almond milk in metal mesh sieve to drain liquid.

Natural almond milk without any preservatives for drinking or used with your favorite cereal.

References:

Mercola.com: Take Control of Your Health.

Pamela Salzman: Do-it-yourself Almond Milk

Filed Under: Healthy Drinks Tagged With: How to make almond milk

Nature’s Bounty Green Juice

September 11, 2012 by Betty

Today we picked some tomatoes and kale from our backyard and decided to make our Nature’s Bounty Green Juice. If you’re in the Northwest, it’s apple and pear season so now’s a great time to add your apples and pears in your green juice. If you don’t have any pears, just use two apples instead. Here’s what we did. See recipe below. Recipe makes about 30 fl. oz or 1000 mL. depending on the size of your juicing carrots and other vevggies. New to juicing? Click here to see the benefits of vegetable juicing. Do you have a favorite green juice recipe? Please share!

Ingredients:

2 celery stalks

2 kale leaves (ribs included)

1 small Gala apples

1 Bartlett pear

1 small tomato

Small piece of ginger (optional)

10 juicing carrots

Lovely Green Goodness, A Green Smoothie

August 31, 2012 by Betty

Hmmm… Doesn’t that look good? Our green smoothie today, Lovely Green Goodness was delicious. It’s found in Victoria Boutenko’s book, Green Smoothie Revolution. Her book is available at amazon.com or the Raw Family websit.The original recipe asked for Gala apple and Bosc pear, but all I had were a green apple and Bartlett pear and it tasted yummy!

Recipe:

2 bananas

1 Royal Gala apple

1 Bosc pear

1 cup kale ( I used Lacinato variety)

¼ cup water ( I used 1 cup)

If you are new to green smoothies, read how I started with green smoothies.

Filed Under: Healthy Drinks

Coconut Water, the Refreshing Beverage

August 21, 2012 by Betty

“Wow! That tastes great and so refreshing!” I told my mother-in-law, Lynn. She had ordered me a young Thai coconut for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. The Thai coconut tasted nothing like your store-bought canned coconut drinks. This was a fresh coconut that the server had cracked for me. It’s like I was in Hawaii and a guy would climb up the coconut tree, chopped one down, peeled and cracked it for me. I loved it! She also said that it’s very nutritious for me and my baby. I was pregnant with our first baby, Buddy, at the time.

So, what’s coconut water, you might ask? Coconut water is the liquid inside the coconut fruit. It’s refreshing and naturally sweet, but not too sweet like fruit juices. The “meat” is what lines the inside of the fruit. It can be taken out and eaten as a healthy snack. Although we have not attempted to do this yet, you can make coconut milk from grinding up the coconut meat and mixing it with water. The young coconut meat is jellylike, but as the coconut matures, the meat hardens. Our kids prefer the harder and nuttier taste of coconut meat rather than the younger, jellylike version. On a side note, recently our friend, Jadda, gave Bubba a challenge to come up with fresh, unprocessed coconut milk for her Thai curry. That means more fun experiments for us to do!

Although I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, the research that I had done all points to the fact that coconut water is a nutritional powerhouse. It has so much good stuff in it that it’s hard for me to summarize in one short post. I’ll name a few, and then refer you to some helpful articles that I’ve found.

It rehydrates your body. My pediatrician once told me that back in the islands (he’s from Jamaica) because of its rehydrating properties, coconut water was used to treat diarrhea.
Naturally rich in vitamins and minerals.
Contains anti-aging properties.
Protects against cancer.
Provides immune-supporting properties.
Enhances eye and skin health.

All in all, you have to try one if you have not done so. You can purchase them from Whole Foods, New Seasons Market, or your local Asian markets. If you need help in cracking one, my hubby, Bubba, has created a YouTube video on how to crack one in four easy steps. The video is also located on the right sidebar. I do have to say that this drink has become one of our favorites with the kids and the best part is that it satisfies their sweet cravings.

To learn more about coconuts and its health benefits click the links below.

mercola.com

Coconut Research Center

Medical Disclaimer: The information on this blog is a combination of my experiences and research I have done. It’s not meant to substitute your doctor’s advice. If you have a medical condition, please consult your doctor.

Filed Under: Healthy Drinks Tagged With: Coconut meat, Coconut Water

The Healthy Italian Punch

August 17, 2012 by Betty

This is one of my first juice creations. I call it the Italian Punch because it has the Italian parsley. Parsley has a mildly bitter taste to it, but it seems to balance out the salt in celery and the earthy taste of carrot. Hmm…yum! It’s quick and easy and only three ingredients. Even my three kiddos liked it! You can also add an apple to sweeten it.

Ingredients:

10 small carrot

2 long stalks of celery

2 stems of Italian parsley

Juice veggies in order listed above. Depends on the type of juicer you have, my Breville Juice Fountain Plus doesn’t process leafy veggies as well if it’s the last item. The carrot juice acts to wash down the parsley. New to juicing? Start here.