Today's recipe is called Carrot Delight. Because if you are not a fan of carrot juice, this is a fantastic way to get it into your belly in a very delicious way.
All you'll need is..
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 Ripe Tomatoes
1 Large Red Navel Orange
2 Small Kiwis
and
4 Good Sized, Whole, Organic Carrots
Thanks to our trip to the marketplace the other day I have the ingredients for this juice. I'm still really happy about those finds!
4 Good Sized, Whole, Organic Carrots
Thanks to our trip to the marketplace the other day I have the ingredients for this juice. I'm still really happy about those finds!
Be sure to wash everything well and then, depending on your juicer, start slicing things up to fit inside!
I have to baby my juicer and so I cut up everything. But you may not have to do this, just figure out how much your juicer can handle.
This made quite a bit of juice and filled me up quickly, and was so yummy! The kiwi's gave it a bit of a tang which helped couple the sweetness. I also use whatever opportunity I can to throw in ginger because it's so good for you, so I put about a 1/2 a tsp in. If you have actual ginger root just use a piece the size of a quarter. It doesn't take much at all!
And now enjoy, because it's seriously the bomb. ;)
So today I got a call from my brother around noon telling me that, not surprisingly, him and his wife had become sick.
I say "not surprising" because I got over this same sickness not two days ago; achy limbs, swollen throat, fever and chills. It was awful. So when my brother told me they were coming over to be doctored, I broke out all the home remedies I'd tried on myself when I was sick.
I'd taken medicine as well, I'm not against it. I just wanted to use natural remedies if I could. And to my delight some of them worked rather well!
Some herbs and spices have absolutely fantastic qualities that do a lot for your body and your immune system. So I used what knowledge I had on the subject, whipped up some soup that would include all of these things and wrote every bit down. Let me tell you about some of the spices and herbs I used and then I'll share the recipe!
Cayenne : The health benefits are endless for this pepper, but some of the best for cold and flew season are these. It helps if you have stiff joints, which I'm sorry to say, this particular version of the flew is causing a lot of. And because it is a very hot pepper it helps you to breath when your congested. It's good for your heart to boot. So, this is a perfect addition for your winter soup to serve when no one is feeling well.
*Note* - Depending on the form of your pepper it can be dangerous to handle. They are one of the hottest peppers and need to be handled with care. Do not get it in your eyes or in any cuts and try not to breath it in. In moderation it's excellent, but you don't want to get concentrated amounts where they shouldn't be.
Ginger : These benefits are also endless. But for this soup, they help relieve nausea, heartburn, bloating and stomach discomfort. It also helps with weight loss so I add it to my juices a lot.
Ginger tastes rather tangy so be careful not to add too much to your recipes because it can easily overpower other spices, but I'll let you know how much I added in mine to help.
Garlic : Again, endless benefits. But one excellent thing it does is help boost your immune system! Which is essential when your not feeling well. It helps with low energy, poor digestion, cholesterol problems, etc, etc....
I usually am rather generous when using garlic because my family likes the stuff anyway and it is always a good thing. Sometimes I feel like we're trying to ward off vampires! ;)
Nutmeg : I know this may seem strange. Nutmeg is for pumpkin pie and gourmet hot cocoa's right? Absolutely! But it has a lot of antibacterial properties and makes an excellent addition to this wintery soup.
So here we go...
Mixed veggies over rice ( I'm still working on a name, ;) )
Remember in the last recipe how I said to save the juice pulp? Well here's why! It comes in handy.
In this one there was tomato, carrot, green bell pepper and jalapeno. This juice was amazing by the way.
Since the pulp is frozen I cover it in water and set it on the stove over medium heat until everything is mixed in well.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Then turn off the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Once it's cooled a bit, drain the broth from the pulp. Be sure to save the broth!
If you don't have this pulp. Just put the ingredients into a food processor.
1 Tomato
2 Organic Whole Carrots
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno
Be careful of the jalapeno juice, it's almost as hot as the cayenne.
Set this mixture aside.
Be careful of the jalapeno juice, it's almost as hot as the cayenne.
Set this mixture aside.
Next get your veggies ready. I always, always, always suggest using fresh everything. But if you don't have fresh, like in the winter when everything is more expensive because it's winter. You can use frozen. Never use canned if you're looking to be healthy. Canned fruits and veggies almost always have some kind of salt or sugar as well as water.
This is the blend we use, it includes cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.
I put half of this bag in a pot and put just enough water in to cover it.
Feel free to guestimate how much you use, with cooking measuring your ingredients matters, but not as much as when you're baking. So feel free to wing it a bit. ;)
Add in:
1 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Basil
1 tbs Minced Onion
1 Bay Leaf
1\2 tsp Cayenne
1\2 tsp Thyme
Mix Well.
Mix Well.
My little helper made the waiting periods more fun. ;)
Next we're going to saute some veggies!
Grab 1 whole Green Bell Pepper
and 1 yellow squash
I used frozen yellow squash (16 oz or 1 lb )
Slice up the bell pepper into dime sized pieces.
Slice the squash into rounds and cut those in half.
Now get your pan ready. Add 2 tbs of coconut oil and set your stove on medium heat.
I use coconut oil for EVERYTHING.
It's amazing and the health benefits are too numerous to count.
It's also a healthy alternative to butter and other oils which may not be as good for you.
Add in the veggies ( sorry for the blurriness )
and saute them until they are lightly browned.
Add in another tbs of coconut oil if it begins to burn. Keep a close eye on it the hole time. This process shouldn't take more than about 15 to 20 minutes, assuming your stove is turned to medium heat.
It should look about like this when you're done.
Finally pour off most of the broth from your mixed veggies. Leave about a fourth of it. Save the broth!
Now add everything together. The pulp, veggies and sautéed veggies. Put the heat on low and let it simmer a bit. It should look like this.
At this point I added 1 tsp of nutmeg, mix it in well.
If you like you can also add salt. I purposefully left it out of this recipe because we have lots of salt and lots of sugar in everything we eat. So I've decided that if I do at it in it will be in moderation. I added 1 tsp of sea salt ( always go with sea salt and not iodized salt ) you can add more if you thing it's needed.
I also added a dash or so of pink Himalayan salt for flavor.
Now your dish is done!
I added brown rice to make it a more hearty meal. Ideally quinoa would be a better things to use. I'll write a post on why I love quinoa very soon!
And the finished product! It was rather delicious. I got good reviews from everyone who tried it in m family. And every single ingredient is something good for you.
If you'd like to leave the rice out and eat it more as a soup, just add some broth back in once you've mixed everything together and let it simmer a bit.
I used the broth for sick people. Since it has all of these yummy spices and herbs in it already, it's perfect for when your throat doesn't want to accept much of anything.
My nephew seemed to enjoy the dish quite a lot, that's gotta mean something right? ;)
If I were going to turn this into a dinner I would couple it with grilled chicken covered in a lemon glaze, then throw in some fresh spinach.
Perfect!
Hopefully in the future I'll be able to make everything with fresh ingredients, but for now I'll share these healthy recipes that won't break your budget and taste fantastic!
Here is recipe number one!
This juice is one of my favorites! It works great for the early morning when you need some energy and a nice sweet drink to fill you up before you start your day. :)
Here's what you'll need. One orange, on apple ( of the Granny Smith kind ) I have two up here because they are a different kind and are not quite as sweet. You'll need 4 large organic carrots, and ginger. It's always good to go fresh but since I don't have any fresh ginger I'll use about a half a teaspoon of ginger powder. If you do have ginger root, cut of a small pea sized piece, it doesn't take a lot. A little ginger goes a long way!
Wash all ingredients, run them through a juicer and there you have it!
What I like to call Sunshine juice.
All the ingredients are full of sugar so you'll have lots of energy to burn off throughout the day. ;)
Keep in mind that your diet while juicing is supposed to contain at least a 60/40 ratio of veggies to fruits. So don't drink all fruit juice but drink it when it counts, like early in the morning when you need something yummy!
Keep in mind that your diet while juicing is supposed to contain at least a 60/40 ratio of veggies to fruits. So don't drink all fruit juice but drink it when it counts, like early in the morning when you need something yummy!
I like to save my juice pulp, freeze it and make things with it later on. It can be added to soup or turned into crackers or made into fruit leather! There are all kinds of ways you can utilize this healthy fiber.
And there you have it, recipe number one. Making juice is super easy. Feel free to experiment with it yourself and find ones you like better. I will be sure to continue to post my favorites here for you to try. :)
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