Fruit infused water

I love making infused water; it tastes amazing, looks pretty, it helps me drink more water which is something I am unfortunately not very good at and it is of course all healthy as it is only water, fruit and herbs.  For these I used lemon slices, lime slices, orange slices, strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate and mint leaves, but the opportunities are pretty much endless and you don’t need to add a lot of different things – a simple combo like cucumber and lemon tastes amazing!

Juice party!

Yellow juice:

1/3 pineapple & 1 apple

Green juice:

2 stalks of celery, 1/2 a cucumber, 1/3 cup broccoli, 3 cups of spinach, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 lemon & a thumb of ginger

Red juice:

1 large beet, 6 carrots, 1/2 grape fruit, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1/2 lemon & a thumb of ginger

Orange juice:

6 carrots, 1/2 orange, 1/2 apple, A little lemon & little ginger

Spicy quinoa salad

This quinoa salad is actually something I just quickly threw together for lunch the other day, it wasn’t meant for the blog, but I love how it turned out so I had to share it! It is so simple and easy to make, but I think it taste absolutely amazing and you can pretty much use whatever kind of veggies and greens you have available. Another big plus is that it taste just as great cold as it does warm, so you can make a large portion and have the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

Ingredients - 1 large/2 small servings:

Salad:

½ cup quinoa

1 cup water

1/ 2 small mango

1 large kale leaf

1/3 cup red bell pepper

1/ 3 cup cucumber

½ avocado

2 spring onion

Dressing:

3 tbsps. sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp. soy

The juice of 1 lemon

A little fresh flat leaf parsley or fresh cilantro (or both) – chopped finely

 

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa in cold water
2. Cook the quinoa for about 15 minutes and set it aside with the lid on while you prep the salad
3. Chop up the rest of the ingredients for the salad
4. Combine the ingredients for the dressing – you can use flat leaf parsley or cilantro or even both, but be careful not to use too much or it will overpower the other flavours
5. Mix the salad, quinoa and dressing
6. Enjoy!

Green juice for beginners

I am still a newbie when it comes to green juices and to be honest I was not a big fan at first, but today I found a combo that I really like so I see lots of green juices in my future! My plan is to slowly up the greens and maybe reduce the amount of fruit once my tastebuds have adjusted, but for now I will stick with this tasty combo.

Ingredients:
2 stalks of celery
Half a cucumber
4 cups of spinach
1 apple
1 orange
1 lemon
A thumb of ginger

Directions:

1. Just run it all through a juicer – if you do not have a juicer it is possible to do this with a blender and a nut milk cloth (or cheesecloth or something similar) to strain the pulp. My juicer is not good with leafy greens so I actually blend them in -  yes it is a bit of a process, but I definitely think it is worth it. 
2. I prefer to drink right away in order to preserve all the nutrients, enjoy! 

Beet hummus

Ingredients:

3 beets 

2 tblsp. tahini

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 - 1 tblsp. ground cumin

Garlic powder to taste or about 1/2 - 1 clove of garlic

A pinch or two of sea salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) - go easy on the seasoning at first, you can always add more later
2. Pulse until smooth
3. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
4. Enjoy! I like to use the hummus as a substitute for dressings, as a dipping for veggie sticks etc. 

Juice time!

Green juice:

3 cups of spinach

Half a cucumber

A handful green grapes

1 orange

1 apple

1/2 lemon

Small piece of ginger

Red juice:

1 beet

5 carrots

1 apple

1 orange

1/2 grapefruit

Small piece of ginger

Beet detox juice

I absolutely love this beet juice, not only because it is really fresh and tasty, but also because of the amazing health benefits found in beets: did you know that beets are rich in antioxidants, supports detoxification and helps cleanse the liver, has anti inflammatory properties, is high in vitamin k, betaine and calcium and it is also high in Nitrates which improve blood flow throughout the body – including the brain, heart, and muscles and it lowers blood pressure - beets are definitely a true superfood!

Ingredients:

1 large beet

6 carrots

1 apple

1 orange

Half a lemon (peeled)

A little ginger, about 1 cm

Directions:

1. Just run it all through a juicer – if you do not have a juicer it is possible to do this with a blender and a nut milk cloth (or cheesecloth or something similar) to strain the pulp.
2. I prefer to drink right away in order to preserve all the nutrients, enjoy! :)