Carrot & Beetroot Juice

Freshly juiced raw veggies and fruits are a great way to assist your body in detoxing, and besides that, it's so healthy too, since juicing the food makes it more easily assimilated by your body.  Plus it's refreshing and tasty. :)

This morning I added beetroot to the mix and it turned out really well - it's sweet and tasty and the beetroot gives it a slightly earthy flavour too.   And the colour is gorgeous! :D

For this one I used 5 medium carrots and 3 medium beetroot - all peeled and then juiced (in a juicer, not blender) - here's what it looked like:

Then I mixed it before pouring into glasses - makes 2 medium servings:

How pretty is that? Yummmmmm.....

Carrot Juice

This is so simple, so yummy and so healthy too.  And the only ingredient is carrots!  You can of course add other veggies or fruits too - I want to try it with beetroot, and another with celery...to begin with, to see what they taste like.

Carrot juice is nice and sweet too, I make it for or with breakfast in the morning - it's really delicious. :)

You do need a juicer for this though.  It's one of my favourite kitchen goodies since it's such a huge health benefit. :)

All you do is juice as many carrots as you want until you have as much juice as you'd like.  Just peel them first, and you may have to chop them or slice them if the whole carrot is too big to fit into the juicer's "feeder".

Carrot juice is also good for using during detoxification. Also, juicing fruits or veggies helps to make the nutrients more easy to absorb.

Colourful Coleslaw

This is my new favourite version of coleslaw salad. :)  Not only because it tastes yummy, but also because it's so colourful and pretty. :D

I didn't measure the ingredients this time, but it went something like this: (it doesn't really matter how much of what you put in...)

2 1/2 cups chopped purple cabbage
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 large green pepper, chopped (add more if you like, this is just all I had in the fridge)
+- 1 cup tangy mayonnaise mixed with 20 drops liquid stevia (add more if you'd like it sweeter)
handful raisins
handful chopped walnuts

1.   Mix all ingredients (except mayo mixture) together in a large bowl.  Pour over mayo and mix until everything is coated.
2.   Refrigerate until ready to use. 

I forgot about sunflower seeds, so you can add a small handful of those as well if you wish - it's always nice to cram as many beneficial nutrients as you can into a dish. :)

This salad is also very alkalizing (besides the mayo and the walnuts).

How to sprout your own seeds

Sprouting your own seeds and beans etc is really easy, not at all time consuming and takes up virtually no space in your home, and unless you grow some of your own fruits and veggies, sprouts will be the freshest nutrients you can get.  All you need is a sprouter, which usually look something like this:

It's just a stackable plastic goodie:

Sprouts: Day 1

You place a thin layer of your choice of beans and seeds (here I have alfalfa seeds and mung beans in the top row and dried chickpeas below).  Don't completely cover the bottom of the container with beans/seeds, because they will be expanding quite a bit, so leave some space like I've done.

Then all you do is re-stack your layers so that the perforated layer is on top and the un-perforated container is at the bottom to catch the water - each day pour 1/2 cup of clean water onto the top of the sprouter and it will pour down over all your beans/seeds.  Remember to empty the water from the bottom holder every few days so that it doesn't overflow.  Also, keep the sprouter out of direct sunlight - I just put mine in a corner on my kitchen counter where the sun doesn't reach.

I've started these sprouts today and will add some more photos to this post as the sprouts progress.  Within a few days you'll have deliciously fresh & crunchy sprouts. :)

My favourite way to eat sprouts is by adding them to salads.

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Sprouts: Day 2

 They look pretty much the same as yesterday, but have expanded some.

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Sprouts: Day 3

The top 2 have started sprouting.

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Sprouts: Day 4

The mung beans (bottom pic) are almost ready! Actually you can eat them already, but I like them sprouted a little more before I use them.

Anyhoo....Project Chickpea Sprouting has been terminated...they haven't succeeded in sprouting, and it may or may not have something to do with the fact that my dried chickpeas have expired.... :O  But nevermind, they work exactly the same as the ones above. :)

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And the sprouts are ready!  :D

Sprouts: Day 5

So how easy was that?!  Now I place them in a sealed container in the fridge where they'll still keep for a few days.  Just a note though, in my experience, the chickpeas don't keep as long as these other 2, so rather eat them sooner.

Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Drink

I often have this ACV drink for the health benefits that ACV has to offer, especially it's alkalizing, detox and weight loss-assisting properties.

To be honest, it did take me 3 tries to develop a liking for this drink, but now that I've found the ACV to honey ratio that I find tasty,  it's actually quite refreshing. :)

2 tbs apple cider vinegar (not the fake "flavoured" stuff)
2 big squeezes of honey
2 cups water

I add the ACV, then the honey, 1/3 of water and then mix until the honey has dissolved (just takes a few seconds), then add the remaining water.

I don't measure the honey that I add, I just add 2 big squeezes from the bottle of honey...but the usual recommendation is 1 tbs honey for every 1 tbs ACV - start there and add more honey if you like it sweeter, or less if you like the strong taste of ACV.

I try to drink at least 1 glass a day.

Mixed Avocado Salad

This is my husband's favourite salad - he loves salad and most of all salad with avo.  For me, avo or feta complete a salad.  :)  We have this with dinner several times a week - it's fresh, easy, quick to make and so healthy (also alkalising).  The more ways you can find to add raw fresh foods to your diet, the better.

2 tomatoes
1/4 cucumber
2 leaves lettuce
1 stick celery
1/4 large green pepper
1 avocado
2 tbs sunflower seeds
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
drizzle olive oil
Himalayan crystal salt, to taste

Dice, slice and chop the veggies, sprinkle over the seeds, olive oil and salt, mix and serve. 

I don't particularly like celery actually, but it's so healthy that I include it anyway - it's good for the kidneys, helping them to eliminate waste; it helps cleanse the body of toxins; it contains a lot of nutrients such as Vit. C, fibre, folic acid, potassium and compounds known as coumarins and acetylenics which help prevent free radicals from damaging cells, aids in cancer prevention and has also been show to stop the growth of tumors. 

I grow my own basil, so when I have that on hand I love to add it with this salad. 

I also sprout mung beans, alfalfa seeds and chickpeas, so when I have these on hand as well I add them to salads.  They're extremely nutritious - I'll post some info on them soon.

Start Your Day with Lemon Water

Lemon is one of the most alkalizing foods.  Even though it's classified as an acidic food, once it has been digested and assimilated by your body, it has an alkalizing effect on you, which is helpful if you're trying to bring down the acidity of your body.  It's also one of the best foods to aid in detoxifying your body.

I've got into the habit of squeezing half a lemon worth of juice into almost every of the several glasses of water I drink every day.  I now enjoy the taste of this lemon water. :)

Even if you don't wish to drink it all through out the day, it's good to start off your day with a glass of lemon water before breakfast, since it helps your body, including your liver, to flush out toxins.