Golden Milk

The one last thing to top of every meal is a nice warm extremely healthy drink. for my last food item I decided to make a drink that encompassed all of that! Introducing golden milk!! First I put a can of coconut milk, a 3 inch stick of cinnamon, turmeric powder, ground black pepper, and honey in a small saucepan. I had to be really careful with the turmeric powder because it will stain everything it touches! Next I added 2 cups of water to the saucepan. I let the contents of the pot boil then simmer for 10 minutes. it tried to boil over a few times but everything turned out fine.

After 10 minutes with some help I poured the milk through a strainer to remove extra pepper and the cinnamon stick.

I added a little more honey to add a little more sweetness. I filled a mug and but some ground cinnamon on the top. My little bros liked it and my dad liked it because turmeric helps with inflammation in the body.

This drink is supper healthy but is a bit more savory then sweet. What should I add next time that would make it sweeter but still keep it healthy?

Making a "healthy" version of strawberry milkshake

       Who doesn't love a good old milk shake. Although sometimes they may be over priced, today I will teach you how to make your own milkshake at home. This is a much healthier alternative than store bought ones since store bought ones may contain preservatives, artificial sweeteners and flavoring.
This milkshake is totally customizable. You can add your favorite fruits or syrups into your milk shake to suit your taste. For example, you can add bananas, blueberries, and raspberries or chocolate syrups. Also you can add your desired amount of sweetness and the amount of liquid to adjust to the consistency you like. Today I will be making a strawberry milkshake.

Ingredients: 6 Fresh strawberries, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 cup of milk and 1 scoop of strawberry ice cream (For I serving)

This is super easy to make, you put everything in your blender and just blend away. "Blenders come in many different forms, and there are varies models out in the market" (Paul 15). I learned that having any types of blenders will do the same job. But when you consider how often you use a blender and the purpose you use it for, you will know which types suits your own need. For example my blender is for smoothies and beverages only, so it is small and comes with a lid so it can be a to go after you finish blending it.
Also having a pair of fruit knife would be handy for cutting out the stem of the strawberry. "A smaller version of the chef's knife, this is ideal for neat, precise knife work" (Paul 12). This part is not only handy but also safe too. You don't want to use a big knife for a strawberry and accidently cut yourself.
   
I would consider this milk shake to be healthy besides from the ice cream. Using a natural sweetener and fresh fruits is a really important step towards making your life style much healthier than just using frozen fruit and sugar. Lastly I hope you all can try to make your own milkshake using healthy ingredients.

What are your guys' favorite types of milkshakes and do you guys like fruity milkshakes or sweet plain ones such as chocolate and vanilla?

Chocolate IS Healthy. . .

Have you ever been told: “Chocolate isn’t good for you!!” or “Try something healthier, chocolate is too sugary!”? According to the latest research, chocolate, in moderation hold extremely beneficial properties for our bodies. Michael Van Straten, author of Low Carb Super Drinks is a medical practicion and has been a doctor for many years. He has done a plethora of research on foods and their benefits and has created a book to help people find healthy recipes. The first line in the ‘Mealtime Drinks’ chapter reads: “Here’s some delicious chocolate, with the feel-good factor it always brings- and, according to latest research, heart benefits too” (Straten 70). Yes, chocolate is actually good for you. . . in proportions. No one is saying have a chocolate each day, but every now and then, a small piece of dark chocolate actually proves to help your body and in the latest research, has even proven to help reduce heart problems. Straten explains that even though there is delicious chocolate in this drink, that it is low in carbs because dark chocolate has far less fat and sugar than milk varieties. He says that mint is also one of the olderst remedies for indigestion (Straten 70). The drink he refers to is called ‘Bittermint Chocolate’, and it sounds delicious. It is made of:

3 oz of organic, good-quality plain mint chocolate

400 ml or 14 fl oz skimmed milk

4 small sprigs of fresh peppermint, washed

To cook and prepare:

1.      Grate about 15g of the chocolate and reserve

2.     Break the rest into chunks and put into a saucepan with the milk and two sprigs of peppermint

3.     Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the chocolate is dissolved

4.     Fish out the mint

5.     Whisk or froth with a cappuccino wan

6.     Pour into mugs and serve with the grated chocolate and extra mint floating on top.

Straten emphasizes the fact that foods can help our bodies as much as medicines can. Foods are as healing as medicines and sometimes, medicines are even made up of many herbs and other foods. I know that this drink is calming and enjoyable since it contains mint, and I am more than curious to know how beneficial this drink really is beyond any immediate feelings. It tastes absolutely delicious too!

                

Do you agree with Straten that foods eaten in proportion, like dark chocolate, can be good for you even when you are cutting out all ‘unhealthy’ foods from your diet?

Straten, Michael Van. Low Carb Super Drinks. Great Britain: Mitchell Beazley, 2005. Print.    

Fruit Smoothies

For my second blog I’ve decided to make one of my favorite types of drinks, smoothies. In my cookbook I found a recipe for a great smoothie with some of my favorite fruits in it, so I tried the recipe out to see how the smoothie would turn out.

The ingredients include:

• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1 cup chopped watermelon
• 1 cup chopped peaches
• 1 cup raspberry sorbet
• ¼ cup orange juice

“Place the strawberries, watermelon, peach, sorbet, and orange juice in a blender and purée until smooth and creamy” (Garten, 224). I did exactly what Garten had said to do, but I also added some ice in with all the other ingredients so that my smoothie would turn out to be nice and cold.

You can also add some extra orange juice if you prefer your smoothies to be runnier and less thick (Garten, 224). I added about a fourth cup more of orange juice because the ice I had added before had made the smoothie a little too thick for my liking.

The smoothie turned out great in the end. This is a simple but yet a great tasty drink to make, and I recommend that you try it out sometime.

 

What’s your favorite drink? And is it difficult or fairly easy to make?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print.             

Healing Drinks

The world has and continues to develop and discover new technologies and one of the most prominent and arguably most important is our advancements in medicine. Today, our world has been immensely changed with a numerous amount of technological advancements and science-focused ideas. Despite this, it is often forgotten that medicine began in the kitchens of our homes. Many prescriptions are herbal-based and play a prominent role in developing treatments for many diseases such as arthritis and cancer (106-107). Our world has advanced our medical capabilities to an extraordinary state and while there are medicines to cure diseases and sicknesses, commonly smaller concerns such as stress can be cured and/or calmed by fruits, vegetables, and flowers that have beneficial properties for our bodies. For example, melons and spinach. Melons are filled with nutrients and spinach has no fat, is filled with fiber, and is stuffed with powerful antioxidants. Being able to analyze fruits and vegetables for their astonishingly healthy makeup allows medicine to grow and for scientists to discover new bases for remedies.

Personally, I have, experienced stress and anxiety to an extreme extent for quite a while. I constantly am looking ahead at what I need to get done and what I will have to do. More recently, I have taken it into my own hands to try and find things that will help reduce its impact on my body. While, I know I have not been able to try all of the available options that may pose positive change, I have tried a plethora of activities such as running, changing my diet, and rescheduling my homework and work routine. I have recently come across medicine practician and author of Low Carb Super Drinks; Michael Van Straten who has a variety of different hot and cold drinks that are immensely beneficial to our bodies. One drink he has created is referred to as the 'Stress Buster'. “The ingredients were popular with ancient Greeks and Romans, who knew that the natural oils in parsley and mint soothe the stomach and clam jangley nerves. Both parsley and mint have a healing effect on the entire digestive system and are calming to the central nervous system" (117). I decided I’d try it out, using these healing ingredients to create a so called ‘healing drink’ for myself. In its entirety, it is composed of one medium, yellow-fleshed melon, a handful of mint leaves, six spinach leaves, and a handful of parsley. All I had to do was clean all the ingredients and then blend them together.

While I was buried neck-deep in my homework one night, I took a break, to gulp down the drink, and then returned to complete my work.

Following up on it, I felt my body calm down, and the edge of my stress was taken off.





Do you believe that there are drinks and edible homemade remedies to help render stress to a minimum? Or, do you believe that the idea of ‘healing drinks’ is all a mind game?

Straten, Michael Van. Low Carb Super Drinks. Great Britain: Mitchell Beazley, 2005. Print.