The Art of Tea drinking

 

The Art of Tea drinking:

When I was a teenager, my mom was given three beautifully decorated exotic tins that were filled with different teas. It had its place on the kitchen window sill by the kettle. Each one was filled with a unique blend of fragrant tea leaves.

Accompanying the tins was a beautifully carved metal ball that could hold the tea leaves that could open and close. We had to fill the ball with some tea leaves, lower it into your cup and then pour hot water over and let it steep. The whole experience ”tasted’’ so much better than the tea!

 

The history of tea dates back to 2737 BC. There is a legend out there that says that a Chinese Emperor named Shen Nung noticed that a green leaf had blown into a bowl of boiling water, colouring the water and creating what became tea. The first written document of tea as a medicinal drink was written by a doctor in southwest China.

 

Tea has so many health benefits, and I see it as a general tonic that can help with any ailment or emotion. Below are a few general benefits:

 

·   Alleviates tiredness.

·   Fights off illness by assisting your immune system.

·   Helps lighten depression

·   Boosts energy.

·   Refreshes you physically and emotionally.

·   Brings a sense of calmness and a feeling of tranquility.

 

There are so many different teas that are available on the market these days. Herbal- ,infused- , or flavoured teas are much more affordable than before.

 

As I’m sitting in the autumn morning sun, sipping on my mug of rooibos with unsweetened soya milk, I’m savouring all the goodness of rooibos. This tea is proudly South-African. Brimming with anti-oxidants and without caffeine, this brew can help you with almost anything! From calming nerves, helping stomach upsets and colic, anti-ageing, allergies and asthma, sunburn, bladder infections and sleeplessness.

 

Just stay away from adding sugar to every cup of tea! Your taste buds will eventually start tasting the natural sweetness in the tea. Keep an empty Tupperware next to your tea bags. Take out the amount of teaspoons you would usually add to your tea, but place the sugar in the container instead of your cup. Have a look at the end of the week how kind you were to your body. Yes, tea without sugar might sound dreadful to some of you! But the more you have it this way, the sooner your tastebuds will adapt. Keep honey for special occasions.

 

Now green rooibos tea is becoming a more familiar sight on shelves. I found the most beautiful description of the difference between red and green rooibos. “It comes from the same plant, but the difference is the curing process. Red rooibos has a full-bodied flavour with caramel notes and steeps into an amber-hued cup. Green rooibos has a more delicate, herbal flavour and steeps into a light orange-yellow cup.”

Green rooibos has higher levels of anti-oxidants than red rooibos. Red rooibos is cut and left to dry in the sun. The plant is then exposed to oxygen and then turns a copper red colour. Think of an apple that has been cut and left exposed to outside elements.

I personally don’t drink coffee and try to stay away from caffeine. Black tea (Carmelia Sinensis) and green tea (not to be mistaken for green rooibos tea) are some of the teas that contain caffeine. If you would like to increase your tea intake but want to cut down on caffeine, then try to avoid black tea.

I love to make my own mixture of rooibos and chamomile at night. I’m not too fond of the taste of only chamomile, but the benefits are calming and relaxing, wonderful for stomach upsets and a good night’s rest.

My favourite at this moment is green rooibos tea with bergamot flavouring. I love the taste of Earl Grey tea, but the caffeine content is not optimal for my body. The taste is very similar though.

How about calming chamomile with a hint of spearment? The Carmién range of teas have affordable teas to choose from. Beautiful packaging with tea leaves delicately embraced in a mesh tea bag. It can give a “high tea” feel to any tea time!

Our children’s favourite is the Turkish Delight rooibos tea. It is a blend of green rooibos and rose petals with a delicate rose flavour reminiscent of Turkish Delight. It does not taste sweet, so maybe add a drop of honey if you feel a bit deceived.

Citrus Chai rooibos contains rooibos, green honeybush, spices, dried orange peel, lemongrass, flowers and black pepper. A very unusual combination, but an experience to remember.

A friend of mine has a beautiful wooden cupboard with glass window panes. She collects different tea cups, with only some of them matching. There is a personality in every tea cup! Always lovely to see how one fancy tea cup can stand gracefully on its own.

Green tea is a powerful anti-oxidant and tonic. It also helps to speed up your metabolism if that is what you are looking for. If you really want to go for gold, then you have to try the Organo organic green tea that also contains Ganoderma Lucidum. This is a type of mushroom that far outweighs the sound of “mushroom tea”! This is a medicinal mushroom combination that is tremendously beneficial to the immune system. It stimulates white blood cell production, which in turn enables your body to fight disease much better. This is not the type of mushroom that gives you hallucinations. Why not try it before you place a negative label on it?

This brand has a wide variety of beverages to choose from. One of their beverages is Red Tea with Cordyceps and Ganoderma Lucidum mushroom. This is a powerful herbal infusion. This blend does not contain rooibos tea, but Camellia Sinensis, a popular species of Camellia or better known as the tea shrub.

An interesting fact is that the Cordyceps mushroom was exclusively reserved for the Emperors and high nobility in ancient China. It is highly prized for its vitality properties, boosting energy and endurance. The Cordyceps also help the body adapt to high levels of stress. Take this into account in today’s fast paced life.

 

Organo Red Tea is a useful alternative for those who are sensitive to large doses of caffeine. This tea still provides you with caffeine if you are a coffee drinker, but it contains fewer quantities caffeine than a cup of coffee. All this with the added benefits of Cordyceps and Ganoderma Lucidum.

 

If you would like to find out about Organo or would like to order, click on the following link… healthbaristajaco.myorganogold.com 

With exquisite packaging and a smooth flavour, you will definitely be impressing your guests.

So whether you prefer a dainty, gold threaded tea cup, a chunky oversized mug or just a plain white tea cup, be sure to look out for interesting teas that will turn your teatime into an exotic, health benefiting experience.

 

Lizelle

 

 

 

 

Pechoti what??

 

Pechoti what??

It sounds like I am swearing at you or talking about a foreign Italian fruit! How about those thin Italian rusks called Biscotti , but instead of dipping it in tea, having it with alcohol?! I know, I know, jokes aside.

Pechoti is an ancient Indian method that is making a come back, similar to oil pulling that has become a more familiar protocol. It is a method where you drip a few drops of essential oils into your belly button while lying down. The active plant oils get absorbed by the skin and transfer to all the concentrated nerves and blood vessels in the surrounding area.

Some people believe that there is a gland behind the belly button that can absorb the oils. There is no scientific evidence that backs this information. The oils can be absorbed in the area and you can benefit from the therapeutic essential oils being administered. There are main nerves in the area that can benefit. Always remember to dilute your oils in a carrier oil before using it, except if you are using Lavender or Tea Tree oil. These two oils can be used neat, just be sure to do a skin sensitivity test before hand.

You might be wondering how on earth did I find out about this method? I’ve always had an extremely sensitive navel. Other people can poke their belly buttons or play with theirs, where I cannot do that. So I wondered what would happen if I had to drip a few drops of essential oils into my belly button! Bizarre thought?!

Well, I took a chance and Googled it. Did you know that by oiling your belly button, you can remove impurities and toxins from the body through this method? There is no harm in putting a few drops of oil inside your navel. You obviously have to do this while lying down, and waiting for some of the oil to be absorbed in about 10 minutes.

I originally applied 2 to 3 drops at a time, twice a day, and repeated the process in 3 consecutive days. Every time I applied it, I prayed for God’s healing and restoration of any toxic chemicals in that area. I didn’t feel any side effects, except feeling a bit nauseous and uncomfortable under my ribs. I used Cinnamon ,Myrrh and Frankincense oil in an olive oil base. I applied neat Tea Tree oil the following week, but only 1/day for 3 days.

The internal lining of the abdominal cavity at your belly button is called your Parietal Peritonium. This structure is extremely sensitive and its sensory nerve fibres relay information back to the spinal chord. This is at the same level as the nerves that give sensation from your bladder and urethra.

By applying essential oils in your belly button, you can heal and connect nervous connections through the belly, especially because of the high concentration of nerves. Toxic chemicals can get stuck on your nerves. By detoxing those nerves, it should be able to fire correctly as it was originally intended.

Everyone’s belly buttons are different and unique! Fortunately I never had a belly button that popped out during my pregnancies. One of our children had a popped out belly button as a new born. Some say that this is caused by a hernia. Some of the cultures believe that you should put a big coin over the navel, and then tie it down with a bandage going around the waist. No, we didn’t follow that advice…

Lizelle

Recipe:

Steamed pear puree

Pears cut into long quarters

A few soaked dates

Cinnamon to taste

-Steam the pears in a steamer, or you can gently simmer it in a little water until soft.

-Remove the skins when cooled.

-Blend with a few soaked dates for sweetness.

-Add cinnamon to taste.

-Enjoy on gluten free flapjacks, serve with organic preservative free yoghurt, or with coconut cream and chopped almonds.

Fuel Injection

 

FUEL INJECTION

I grew up with my mom juicing raw vegetables for my dad before he was off to work in the mornings. Some of our dogs used to howl at the sound of the juicer, so we had to put them outside before we juiced!

Juicing raw vegetables can provide your body with a burst of micronutrients that can be utelised by the body straight away. Not an excessive amount of digestion has to take place because the pulp or fibre and the juice get separated from each other. Juicers separate, and blenders incorporate everything until smooth. Juice extractors are better for raw vegetables, pears, apples and melons.  Blenders are better for smoothies containing raw fruit, nuts and milk of some sort.

By juicing, you will be enhancing nutrient absorption where you won’t be overtaxing your body with bulk food to digest. Your body can spend that energy to do repair work instead.

Don’t be fooled by thinking you are drinking raw carrot juice when you purchase it in a carton. It has to be pasturised, ie. cooked. It is still good for you, and far better than sugary carbonated drinks, but you are losing out on most of the enzymes that have been destroyed in the cooking process. The enzymes are what we are after. Cooked carrot or beetroot juice tastes very different from raw, juiced carrots.

You can make your own fruit juice by putting it through a juice extractor. Your choices must consider the water content of the fruit. Be careful for concentrated sugars. Eating a whole fruit is very different from having apple juice. The fibre content acts like a filter, allowing for a slower release of natural sugars. Always remember to dilute your fruit juice there by keeping the sugar content lower. A good combination that works is red apple juice mixed with cooled strong rooibos tea.

 

Green juices will also increase your chlorophyll intake, increasing anti-inflammatory activity. Think spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, cabbage and apple. We always add an apple for a little sweetness without spiking blood sugar levels.

 

How about a red juice? Beetroot, radishes, red apples? Adding beetroot to any juice will boost your body, especially when you need that fuel injection to kick in to help get you through your day!

 

You can increase your vegetable intake this way, by starting your day with a glass of vegetable juice. This will kickstart your immune system and help your body with the overhauling process.

 

The most frequent combination that we juice is beetroot, radish, spinach, carrot, ginger and apple. You can always add lemon, ginger and radishes and herbs as you like. Beetroot, spinach and carrot combination is a good place to start.

 

Some choose to do a juice cleanse or juice fast which will assist your body in the detoxification process. A lot of people say that juicing is a waste of time, chopping vegetables and cleaning their machine. Many say that it is healthier and more economical to eat the whole produce. All of these are valid points, but how about adding juice to your wholefood, predominantly plant based diet?

 

A word of caution; if you’ve done an extended juice fast, be sure to start with the correct foods and not overloading your system and ending up with constipation.

 

Below is a list of some of the benefits that you will be reaping from:

Beetroot:

-boosts stamina

-detoxifies the liver

-helps prevent anaemia and iron deficiency

Cabbage:

-loaded with vit C and K

-improves gut health

-decreases inflammation

-detoxing

-Treats asthma and sinus congestion

Carrots:

-improves eye health

-anti cancer effect

-improves skin health

-boosts immunity

Spinach:

-boosts iron levels

-decreases cancer growth

-promotes healthy hair and skin

-helps with alkalinity levels

Apples:

-anti inflammatory

-fights heart disease

-pectin benefits digestion

-high in vit C

Radishes:

-improves blood flow

-clears sinus and phlegm

-good source of vit C

-regulates blood pressure

Ginger:

-treats nausea

-Treats chronic indigestion

-gingerol has powerful medicinal properties

-fights germs, illness and inflammation

Celery:

-reduces inflammation

-high in mineral salts

-boosts hydration

-high in vit A, C

-heals and activates the gut

-fights infections

Mint:

-improves cold symptoms

-relieves indigestion

-improves irritable bowel symptoms

-combats acne

Lemon:

-relieves sore throat

-cancer fighting

-aids digestion

-helps to clear skin

-high in vit C

-detoxing

Parsley:

-reduces bloating

-helps to clear skin

-high in iron

-blood purifier

-high in vit K, good for blood clotting

-powerful anti-oxidant

-excellent for bone health

-cancer fighting

-anti-bacterial

 

 

*We always add a little water to the juice extractor after the last vegetables have been fed through. It helps to clean the machine and dilutes the juice a bit.

*Try not to down the glass in one go. Sip sip on it to help with digestion. We usually have something to eat an hour after we had our juice.

*I would suggest starting off with a quarter glass, then working your way up to half a glass of fresh vegetable juice. A full glass should be sipped on and not downed.

*The fresher, the better! It starts to lose some of its nutritional content as it stands.

Wo says you can’t have “salad” for breakfast?!!

 

Lizelle

 

Coffee Pot

 

Coffee pot

I still remember as students how sophisticated and grown up we felt when we sat down and chatted over bottomless coffee for the first time! A Mugg and Bean had just opened in the town where I was studying, and several cups later left you feeling bubbling and on top of the world…

Until you fell off “that world” and crashed! You were left with moodiness, restlessness, irritation, agitation, stomach pain and a migraine. This doesn’t sound like a very good deal to me! It sounds more like a hangover than anything else.

Try doing coffee for years on end, and then giving it up. I have heard numerous testimonies of people, and it sure points to addiction to me. You see, caffeine is a highly addictive substance. Once people are hooked, it is one of the hardest habits to kick. Not to mention the combination of sugar AND caffeine.

Yes, coffee does have its perks (hence the “Perculator”…!) It contains anti-oxidants and it helps with mental alertness. I would personally choose to get my anti-oxidants somewhere else, because the cons far outweigh the pros.

If you cannot function optimally without having coffee every single day, then you need to sit down and think about what is happening inside your body.

When coffee hits your bloodstream, it starts to stimulate your adrenal glands. Your body gets pumped with adrenalin, hence the mental alertness. You feel good, and you are ready to face the world again. Stressor hormones like Cortisol get released. For most men, this is the hormone which contributes to an extended waistline. Men are left with irritation, anxiousness and no patience. In women, it increases symptoms of PMS, and can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety. Most people will grab a coffee again to feel better. This is all a vicious cycle and can eventually lead to adrenal fatigue.

People go to sleep at night. Caffeine withdrawal sets in, which is when your body is in detox mode and repairing starts. You struggle to wake up, because you are in a state of withdrawal and dehydration. What do most people do? Start the coffee pot!

Did you know that when a person drinks a lot of coffee they are sometimes called a “Coffee Pot?!”

Caffeine can inhibit calcium absorption in the body, so you have to be careful. Please don’t tell me that you will add more milk to your coffee to counter the malabsorption. Too much caffeine consumption can lead to water retention and cellulite.

Many women would rather have coffee during the course of their day than having a nutritious snack to get “energy” to keep going. Caffeine does give you a feeling of being full and satisfied, and many diets recommend coffee as part of their menu plan to help boost metabolism. You need to listen to your body and rest when you need to, have a smoothie or a glass of water.

What about people suffering from high blood pressure? Have you checked your caffeine consumption lately? It may be related. Caffeine also increases your heart rate, so take that into consideration.

Society has left most people stuck in a highly stressed, fast paced life, with high demands being placed on them. People have to grab coffee as a stimulant, in order to face the demands and pressure being placed on them. Performance far outweighs anything else these days. If you don’t perform, you might end up losing your job. So coffee has become a fashionable and social thing, especially being able to walk around with a take away coffee! That’s how they do it in the movies and it is enticing!

An average cup of brewed coffee has around 95mg of caffeine. Instant coffee has around 62mg of caffeine per cup where as decaf still contains a small amount of 2-7mg. Black tea, certain fizzy drinks, cocoa and green tea are some items that also contain a high amount of caffeine.

What are your options?

Weaning:

·    Switch to decaf for a month.

·    Then decaf every 2^nd or 3^rd day.

·    Then decaf over a weekend.

Cold turkey:

·    Stop coffee immediately and focus on repairing and normalizing body systems and functions.

·    Switch to rooibos and herbal teas, avoiding black tea as it contains caffeine.

·    Make sure that you are drinking enough water to stay hydrated and to help your body flush out toxins.

·    Have nutritious snacks and smoothies.

·    Switch to chicory “coffee”, barley  extract or carob as a warm drink. (See my previous blog titled “Carob”) Chicory almost tastes like Frisco instant coffee. You should be able to find these items at selected retail stores and health shops.

Carob powder-Dischem and health shops.

Chicory powder-Checkers and Dischem 

Barley extract- Dischem

 

Seriously reconsider before you reach for coffee the next time you have that craving. Take your unused coffee beans, put them in a pretty bowl on your table. Take a whiff every now and then to get a bit of that feel good factor. Are you dependent on caffeine?

 

Lizelle

 

Recipe:

“Coffee” milkshake

Frozen, chopped bananas (1 and a half/person)

Plant based milk for consistency

Vanilla

Chicory powder (1tsp/person)

Ice (optional)

-Blend until creamy and frothy.

-Replace chicory with carob powder for a chocolate milkshake.

 

*To freeze bananas, peel and chop the bananas into chunks. Place into a sealed Tupperware and into the freezer. It should be frozen in about 5 hrs.

Carob

 

         Carob

I was recently blessed with a bag full of carob pods! I believe that not many people will be excited about such a gift!  I was overjoyed because I have never eaten a carob pod straight from the tree before. One of my favourite treats is a delicious malted carob steamer. A creamy, rich, earthy beverage, with a hint of cinnamon and sweetener. We usually get this from Seattle Coffee shop. The mixture that they use is ordered from MaryAnn Shearer’s, The Natural Way. It consists of carob powder, a little fructose, barley malt powder and vanilla powder. We usually order ours with unsweetened almond or soya milk.

We have been using carob powder for years now. I love hot chocolate! But with all the caffeine, sugar and dairy involved, I made the choice to switch to carob powder. It might be a strange taste at first, but the key is not to see it as a chocolate alternative, but a delicious, healthy ingredient that is good enough to stand on its own.

Our kids grew up with carob as their “chocolate” drink, without the nasties that caffeine can bring. A little bit of carob powder, hot water, plant-based milk and honey. Cocoa powder can lead to sore tummies, caffeine highs and then irritation, emotion outbursts and irregular sleeping patterns.

 

What is Carob exactly?

Carob powder is made from the bean pods of the carob tree. The long, brown pods are dried and then ground into a fine powder. It has an almost chocolate taste and can be used as a substitute for cocoa powder.

What makes me really excited about carob is that it is an excellent source of minerals. It is loaded with fibre and pectin, with helps to eliminate toxins. This is a superfood which helps to improve digestion, lowers cholesterol, and can be used to treat diarrhea. It also helps to lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar. Carob has an astringent, binding effect on the mucous membranes of your digestive tract.

Carob powder can be used as a hot drink, to make “chocolate” malted ice cream, in smoothies, in cooked oats, pancake batter etc.

If you really want to use your imagination, how about using the pods as vegetarian biltong!? If you do manage to get hold of the pods, just remember to remove the pips as you chew on it! A good friend shared a fond childhood memory of them walking and chewing carob pods on their farm.

You can also buy carob chunks which usually look like chocolate blocks, but that are roughly broken into pieces. It is usually a mixture of carob powder, plant fat and a sweetener. The chunks can be eaten as a chocolate or used where you would use chocolate.

Look out for Health Connection or Nature’s Choice Carob Powder which should both be stocked at Dischem and most Health Shops.

Believe it or not, our dogs love to chew on carob pods! We call it their daily sweet treat or dessert. Chocolate is highly toxic to dogs, but carob pods are a nutritious, fibre rich, non-toxic treat for them. Now who says that a dog can’t have “chocolate”!?

Lizelle

Recipes:

Carob ice cream

Frozen, chopped bananas

Little plant milk or coconut cream for blending

A few tsp carob powder, depending on how strong you want it.

-Place everything in a food processor.

-Pulse a few seconds at a time, and disperse bananas in between processing.

-Process for longer periods the finer it gets.

-Process until smooth and creamy.

-Serve straight away.

Caramel sauce

1 Can coconut cream

Three quarter block of pressed dates

Pinch of cinnamon

-Chop the dates, add the cream, dates and cinnamon to a small pot.

-Gently simmer until the dates are soft.

-Gently mash with a potato masher.

-You can put up the heat a bit and let it boil for about a minute, watching it carefully. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

*You can serve it as a warm caramel sauce over flapjacks or pancakes.

* Use cold as a spread over tortilla triangles or in porridge.

*Replace the cinnamon with some carob powder for a chocolate caramel sauce.

Diverse Tea Tree oil

 

Diverse Tea Tree oil

 

I’ve recently had a few body aches and pains and swollen glands. After a few days of making sure I’m eating “clean”, drinking enough water and resting, there was still no change. We stay as far away as possible from using any medication. I’ll usually grab some Frankincense essential oil, but these symptoms did not seem to lift. After becoming quiet and seeking God for wisdom, I felt lead to using tea tree oil on my armpits!

 

It sounded quite strange at first, because I’ve been chemical deodorant free for a few years now, and we only use natural deodorant. I’ve done armpit detoxing and changed my diet. Excessive sweating and bad body odor are things of the past. I decided to follow through with what I heard, and trusted God in the process.

I replaced my natural deodorant with a drop of tea tree oil under each armpit in the morning and repeated it in the afternoon. Within two days my aches and pains started diminishing. I did two more days of underarm treatment. I then felt that I needed to place one drop behind each knee instead of my armpits, and a drop on the sides of my neck for a day. Within one week, all the aches, pains and fatigue were gone.

You see, essential oils are volatile oils, which means that it travels through the air, pores of the skin and mucus membranes, and can reach glands, nodes, muscles and blood.

There are more than twenty lymph nodes in the armpit which help fight infection. Nodes are small lumps of tissue that are part of the body’s lymphatic system. Lymph is responsible for draining fluid from tissues, transporting it to lymph nodes, which then destroy bacteria and other harmful substances. Clean lymph then flows through the main vein.

Tea tree oil is an all-round, versatile, affordable essential oil. This oil comes from an Australian plant and is drying, healing, cleansing, anti-bacterial, anti-septic, anti-viral and anti-microbial. It can be used as anti-bacterial medication without some of the nasty side effects of conventional medication.

 

Other tea tree oil uses and benefits:

·      Acne treatments and spots

·      Insect bites

·      Nail fungal treatment

·      Fights sinus infection – can inhale straight from the bottle!

·      Strep throat – apply to the sides of the throat or gargle and spit with a tea tree oil solution

·      Pneumonia – steam inhalation

·      Hand sanitizer

·      Scalp treatment

·      Add to home made cleaning products- helps to kill mould

·      Mosquito repellent

·      Skin infections

·      Add to a diffuser

·      Add a few drops to the lower abdomen when you have a urinary infection and add 3 drops to your bath water

·      Add a few drops to your washing machine when washing towels, dogs bedding, even underwear and socks

·      Mix tea tree oil with coconut oil for extreme vaginal infections

 

Tea tree oil can be applied directly to the skin. If you have more sensitive skin, mix with a little coconut oil or olive oil before application.

Not to be taken orally, except if it is in toothpaste or when gargling where you will be spitting it out. (I have personally not tried this)

Make your own all-purpose cleaner:

·      15 – 20 drops tea tree oil

·      ¾ cup water

·      ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (use less if it smells too strong of vinegar)

-       Shake well, spray onto surfaces, wipe with a dry cloth.

After reading all of this and listening to my testimony, doesn’t it make you wonder if it would not help in the prevention and treatment of viruses that are going around through gland application and inhalation?

Lizelle

Recipe:

Roasted chickpea, green pepper and cherry tomatoes

2 cans chickpeas

2 green peppers diced

2 punnets cherry tomatoes

Thai 7 spice mix (or any other spicy mix)

Olive oil

Sugar free sweet chilli sauce (Simple Truth brand)

Gluten free pizza bases or tortillas

 

-       Place everything into an oven pan, except the bases or tortillas.

-       Grill until tomatoes are shriveled and peppers are grilled.

-       Serve with pizza base or tortilla squares (lightly fry tortillas in a pan until golden, slice into triangles).

 

 

Boosting Beetroot

 

     Boosting Beetroot

Did you know that raw beetroot does not stain your fingers? It washes right off! Comparing it with peeling and chopping cooked beetroot, where you will be left with pink fingertips for a while! I always wonder what made people think of digging out beetroot in the first place and then deciding to cook it and see how it turns out when cooked!?

 

I always think of beetroot being “red” so it is good for blood, which is also red. Your blood needs iron. Whenever you are feeling tired, lethargic, dizzy and a bit run down, go for beetroot. Without iron, our red blood cells cannot transport oxygen around the body. Beets should especially be included during menstruation.

 

Beets are also packed with nitrates, which the body convert to nitric oxygen. This compound dilates the blood vessels, which improves blood flow and lowers overall blood pressure. Nitrates are exceptional elements for sports performance and recovery.

Raw beetroot contains more vitamins, minerals and anti oxidants than cooked beet. Like all vegetables, the longer the cooking process, the lower the nutritional content, except with tomatoes. Nutrients leach out into the cooking water.

Where to use beetroot:

·    You can add beets to your raw vegetable juices through your juice extractor.

·    We enjoy making a raw beetroot salad/salsa to add to salads, in gluten free wraps, on cooked potatoes. Peel and grate a few raw beetroots, peel and grate an apple, add some pink salt, apple cider vinegar and black pepper. Toss and let stand at least half an hour before serving.

·    Roasted beetroot caramelizes the beet sugars giving you a wonderful, sweet beet to work with. Cook whole beets in an oven tray covered with foil until tender. Cool and peel the beetroot. Cut into chunks, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and pink salt. Roast open until slightly shriveled. You can add some goats cheese or feta, rocket or freshly ground black pepper to glam it up for guests.

·    Grate raw beetroot into coleslaw.

·    How about adding a cooked beetroot when making hummus next time?

 

Other beetroot benefits:

-High in anti-oxidants

-Boosts brain health

-Boosts heart health

-Aids digestion (High in fibre)

-Anti inflammatory

-Boosts detoxification process

 

*Remember that store-bought, bottled beetroot is full of added sugar, so try to stay away from it as far as possible.

If you are not up to the whole schlepp of cooking, peeling and chopping beetroot, and you just don’t have time for beetroot, then look out for the following products;

·    Redibeets powder by AIM (0nline orders)

·    Superscoop mix by Lisa Raleigh containing many superfood ingredients including beetroot, wheatgrass, alfalfa and mushrooms.

·    Nature’s Nutrition super greens and reds with 32 organic superfoods and dairy free probiotics. (faithful-to-nature.co.za online)

·    Health Connection Berry Beetroot Superfood mix including chia seeds.

You can find most of these at Dischem Pharmacy or on the online shops mentioned above.

If all else fails, then sit with your feet up and snack on a packet of crunchy beetroot crisps! So no excuses!

Lizelle