encylclofoodia

Chocolate is good for you!

Chocolate is bad for you!

A new report states that eating chocolate could save your life!

Latest studies conclude that chocolate could end the world!

We regularly recieve lots of conflicting information about what is good for us and what is bad for us.  The truth is that chocolate in small doses is unlikley to do you any long term harm, and while eating it 3 times a day might give you access to  some of the anti oxidants it contains, the antioxidants will also be accompanied by lots of sugar, fat, and other oxidants (meaning that the ANTI oxidants will really have their work cut out).  I think the biggest benefit chocolate can have is that of pleasure, the combination of sweet, creamy and a consistency which melts at body temperature, all make for a pleasurable experience.

The weekend is a time for pleasures such as these, so this weekend I created a juice that was all about pleasure, it just so happened that it was good for me…no conflicting stories.   This juice had a wonderful frothy creamy head, and was light, sweet and zingy underneath, it was good for digestion, good for skin and good for clearing the head after a couple of glasses of wine 😉

While juicing may not make me 3 again, it will keep me looking young

Recipe below

Using a blender & juicer

• 3 apples
• An orange
• 1/2 small pineapple
• handful of spinach

Blend an apple and the spinach as far as you can (take the core out of the apple first), then juice the skinned pineapple, orange and the remaining apples.

Add the two mixtures together in the blender and liquidize to mix thoroughly and get the lovely frothy top!

Ahhh the apple, originally hailing from Southwestern Asia and Eastern parts of Europe, and I’m so thankful it did.  Here the blended apple provides a great combination of a small amount of soluble fibre mixed with phytonutrients from the same fruit to deliver excellent blood fat reduction.   This is not to mention the high anti oxidant and anti inflammatory factors that are positively impacting our hearts (good for cardiovascular health) lungs (more apples can equal less asthma)  and general well being.

Surprisingly (or not) the pineapple is little to do with pine or apples, each fruit is actually a cluster of lots and lots of individual flowers that come together to make the big juicy tropical lump.   With 1 cup providing 128% of our daily manganese requirements, it should be high on the juicing agenda for anyone looking to boost thier energy or anti oxidant defences.

Spinach features a lot in my recipes, for many reasons , SO many in fact that I’ll be detailing them in my next juicing adventure….

Next stop: Plant life….Green Juices