Green Goddess juice

Having looked far and wide for a great green juice, this one packs in a lot of the nutrition we need and tastes amazing.

Half a Cucumber
Juice of 1 Lime
Half Romaine Lettuce
1 Pink Lady Apple
Half cup of pure Coconut Water (vita coco is a good brand)
3 handfuls of Spinach
3 Celery Stalks
2 handfuls kale (optional)
1 sachet of wheatgrass powder (optional)

i dont want to buy a juicer (i've read too many reports of them being hard to clean) so i chop everything up and squeeze the lime juice, then use a hand blender to make it all creamy, adding the coconut water first to ensure it liquifies with ease. Then i pour it into my Prolex blender which has a jug with internal mesh filter. The cross blade then blends the veg mulsh further and forces the juice through the mesh to the outer area of the jug ready for pouring. Apart from the motor base, everything else rinses easily and is dishwasher proof.

Easy cleaning and quick results makes this a fairly fast morning juice or post-work pre-meal winner.

HEALTHY SNACKS

Being on a diet doesn’t mean your foods have to be bland or boring! Sometimes during the day, you need a pick-me-up snack. These snack ideas are more on the creative side while still being healthy! And remember: everything in moderation.

* Pitta bread and hummus topped with feta cheese and chopped olives
* Cottage cheese with low-fat yogurt and raspberries
* Homemade fruit smoothies - blueberries, coconut milk and mint is unusual but delicious
* Handful of almonds, raisins, and hazelnuts
* Cherry tomatoes
* Strawberries mixed with the contents of vanilla pods
* Pineapple with cubed cheese
N.B. Use fresh pineapple only to ensure you get the amazing enzymes found in this fruit
* Edamame beans with hot sauce or your favourite spice
* Almond butter and banana on rice cakes
* Sunflower seeds - any ideas of what to eat with these?
* Hard boiled egg
* Orange and apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon
N.B. Cinnamon blocks receptors in the brain so you dont crave sugar later on after eating these sugary fruits
* Spinach leaves with strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette dressing
* Frozen fruit - i've found banana, cherries and clementine segments to be the best fruits to freeze (they dont go watery and lose their flavour upon melting)

Brilliant suggestions! Thank you

STOCKING THE PANTRY FOR A PH BALANCED LIFE

If you're interested in living a more pH balanced life (alkalising your body and reducing the level of harmful acids) then this is what your pantry would benefit from containing:

FRESH PRODUCE:

* Ginger
* Onions
* Chilli peppers
* Limes
* Sun-dried tomatoes
* Broccoli
* Dark lettuces (e.g. Romaine)
* Spinach
* Kale
* Red & Green cabbage
* Celery
* Carrots
* Cucumber
* Squash
* Courgettes
* Beetroot
* Radishes
* Avocado
* Tomato
* Bell peppers
* Chard
* Asparagus
* Green beans
* Leeks
* Aubergine

GRAINS:

* Spelt
* Buckwheat
* Kamut
* Millet
* Quinoa
* Brown basmati
* Pasta (made from quinoa, spelt or buckwheat)
* Rice, soba or buckwheat noodles
* Sprouted wheat tortillas
* Flours - wholewheat, gram, rye, millet, spelt

BEANS/PULSES:

* Edamame (soybean)
* Aduki
* Lentils
* Mung beans
* Chickpea
* Black-eyed peas
* Pinto
* Kidney
* Black

NUTS:

* Almonds
* Hazelnuts
* Pine nuts
* Brazil
* Macadamia
* Pecans
* Walnuts
(Avoid peanuts and cashew nuts because they contain high levels of mycotoxins)

SEEDS:

* Linssed
* Sesame
* Sunflower
* Alfalfa
* Pumpkin
* Tahini

SPICES (fresh and dried):

* Garlic
* Onion
* Cumin
* Basil
* Coriander
* Cayenne pepper
* Turmeric
* Cinnamon
* Curry
* Parsley
* Sea salt
* Chilli salt

HEALTHY, COLD-PRESSED OILS:

* Extra virgin olive oil
* Rapeseed
* Sesame
* Linseed

"MILK":

* Almond
* Soy
* Rice
* Coconut

A lot of tasty meals can be made from this list and i'll continue to add my favourites as i go along.

Sarah xx