Healthy Natural Drinks: Antioxidant-rich Cocktails: Note: Drinking Alcohol, simply adds up empty calories anyway, so notching up its health quotient by taking in some anti-oxidants is a good idea. Healthy Cocktail: Juices and Soft Drinks: *Use fresh ingredients instead of an over fill of sugar and artificial flavors e.g. a long, thin slice of fresh, peeled sugarcane is a healthy, unprocessed sweetener. *Maximize anti-oxidants, vitamins and fiber. Go for antioxidant-rich ingredients like Kiwi fruit; Strawberries; red Bell Peppers; as well as Thyme and Cinnamon. Apple Strawberry Drink: Makes 1 serving of 8 oz 1 pint Strawberries, hulls removed 1 apple, cut into 1” pieces Extract juice from fruits, stir. Apricot Elixir: Makes 1 serving of 6 oz 5 Apricots ¼ pint blue berries (half of one ½ pint box) Extract juice from apricots and blueberries, combine and serve by adding sparkling mineral water. This drink becomes a spritzer. Mulled Citrus Cider: Ingredients: 2¼C Apple juice ¾C Orange juice 2-3” cinnamon sticks broken Dash of ground cloves Method: 1. In a large saucepan combine apple juice, orange juice, cinnamon sticks and clove. 2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, cover for 10mins. 3. Remove cinnamon sticks. 4. Pour the citrus cider in 4 serving cups. Garnish with black pepper. Aam Panna Sweet lime Soda/Guava juice drink Ingredients: 60ml Guava juice/sweet lime soda 1green Mango 200ml water 1tsp roasted cumin seeds ½tsp salt 3tsp sugar ½tsp rock salt Method: 1. Place mango in a pan to boil till soft. Drain water. Peel, deseed and pulp the mango with a spoon. 2. Place the pulp in a deep bowl. Add water, sugar, salts and cumin. 3. Whisk thoroughly to mix the ingredients. 4. Transfer in a glass and pour Sweet Lime soda or Guava juice. Serve with ice cubes. Blueberry Syrup is a great Digestive Remedy: Ingredients: 4C whole fresh blueberries 2 ¼C sugar 1/8tsp each nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves powders Method: 1. Wash the berries thoroughly, blend until smooth, strain to remove the seeds then again blend with sugar and spices. 2. Pour this mixture in a pan and bring to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes. Keep on stirring continuously. Pour into hot, sterilized jar. Seal. Let it sit for a week before use. *Bottle Gourd with lime juice is good for the liver, typhoid and ulcer. Banana Milk Shake: The picture of the drink is shown on the title pag Some recipes concocted smoothies by a food stylist from Brazil: The addition of sour milk and whey to the cocktails smoothens away the acidity of the juices, and adds a bit of calcium to all the vitamins. *Addition of Green tea to the green Power to cocktail gives thus the right caffeine kick for someone who so feeling drowsy in the afternoon. *Ginger adds a zing to fruit cocktail, and coriander and chill go great with tomato juice. 1. A morning Cocktail -- The morning eye opener; This cocktail is full of vitamin C, which keeps the eyes healthy. Ingredients: 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut to fit feed tube of the juicer. 1 grape fruit, cut in half Method: Extract juice from pineapple pieces. Keep it aside. Now extract juice from the grape fruit. Mix the juices and pour over ice. Make 1 serving of 7 ounces. 2. Carrot Coconut drink also is beneficial for the eyes Ingredients: 10 carrots; 1/4 C Coconut milk Method: Extract juice from carrots. Combine with coconut milk and stir. Serve well chilled. Makes 2 servings of 6 ounces each. These are good for Heart diseases, Cancer and Obesity Passion fruit with lime juice: Ingredients: ¼ C Passion Fruit juice Juice of half a Lime Method: Make juices with a juicer, add whey. Mix them together. Decorate with lime and a pineapple stalk. Drink juice when you feel hungry and need a snack for fat free diet. Stretch your juices with water which will reduce calories and give them a special kick. To keep yourself well hydrated during summer besides water, here are some interesting drinks which are easy to make, but are nutritious as well. Wheat Amin: Made from wheat germ, bananas skimmed milk, this unusual combination is a power packed drink. It is low in fat and sugar and high on protein and complex carbs. Ingredients: 500 gm skimmed milk 2 medium sized bananas 4 tbsp wheat germ (soaked for 30 minutes) Method: Blend all ingredients to form the smooth drink. Soy Shake: Rich in protein and iso--flavones, the drink ups your immunity and also keeps heart disease and osteoporosis at bay. Ingredients: 500 ml soy milk 2 medium sized Apples 1 tbsp sugar (optional) A few drops vanilla essence 2 walnuts (crushed); Method: In a blender puree apples with soy milk, sugar and vanilla essence. Pour in a tall glass. Garnish with crushed walnuts. Spinach for health benefits: 250 gm spinach leaves 100 gm bathua or broccoli florets Cook them together and eat to get its medical benefits. This nutrient- packed veggie can benefit your health as follows: *Cleanse your digestive system. *The vitamin K in spinach gives you healthy bones. *Spinach is known to enhance acuity of vision. The carotene found in spinach protects eye diseases such as cataract. *Eating spinach for dinner checks increased frequency of urination in the night. *Chewing raw spinach leaves provides you with healthy teeth and makes them stronger, if taken with carrot juice, it helps you get rid of pyorrhea. *To relieve cough, gargle with warm spinach juice. *Rich in Vitamin C and beta-carotene, spinach reduces risk of developing colon cancer. *Spinach is low in calories and is excellent source of iron. Iron is vital for the formation of rich red blood with maximum oxygen carrying capacity. Trace of Copper increases the efficiency of the iron. Vitamin C is essential to health helps iron invigorate the blood. Spinach Juice: Mix 100 ml spinach juice with equal quantity of water. Take this concoction twice daily to get rid of constipation. Amazing Cocktail: It is delicious, healthy and refreshing. Amazing Cocktail: These juices are healthy needs- extracting the essence of both fresh fruits and vegetables. Makes 2 servings of 6oz each. Ingredients: 3 carrots, cut in pieces 2 apples cut to fit food tube 1 beet, cut in pieces 2 oz sliced cucumber; Method: Extract juice from all the above ingredients alternatively and continuously. Stir. Serve chilled. Note: i) Add a few teaspoons of lemon juice to retain fresh color in juices that are light in color, (peach, apricot, nectarine, mango) for best results. ii) Use fresh organic produce whenever available.
Herbs and More: The drink is a rich source of vitamin B and C, antioxidants and electrolytes. Ingredients: 250 gm Lauki (bottle- gourd) 1 Ambla (Indian Gooseberry) A little piece of ginger 8-10 mint leaves and tulsi (basil leaves) Method: Puree all the ingredients until thick. Garnish with mint or tulsi leaves. Green Tea: Scientific data shows that drinking a couple of cups of green tea could revive up your metabolism leading to control in weight loss could cause vomiting, nausea and bloating in addition to loading one with heavy doses of caffeine. In fact, many weight-loss teas contain botanical laxatives (Senna, Triphala) and diuretics. Green Tea is healthiest as it is not fermented. Black tea if taken with milk will reduce the polyphenols activity in the tea. One can add different spices to it. Cardamom reduces formation of gas, while ginger is ideal for cold and for good digestion. Masala Tea: Ingredients: 1” piece cinnamon 2 black- pepper 2 Cardamoms 2 Cloves Method: Roast the above ingredients and powder (make a masala). Boil water add tea leaves the above masala and sugar. Give a boil to tea and serve with milk. Herbal Tea: Ingredients: ½tsp Ginger paste 10 Tulsi (Indian Basil) leaves, crushed 3 Black peppercorns, crushed 2 Cardamom, crushed 1 ½ C Water 1tsp Honey Method: 1. Boil all the crushed spices and herbs except honey, in water for 2-3 minutes. 2. Switch off the gas and leave it covered for 2 minutes. 3. Filter, add honey. You can also add tea leaves and soy milk to make masala tea. As milk produces mucus, it should be replaced by soy milk. Drinking this warm stimulates digestion. Oahwa: Kashmiri Tea: A herbal concoction with spices and almonds. Serves-4 Ingredients: 4 Almonds 1tsp tea leaves 4-5 cardamom 5cm Cinnamon stick A few strands saffron 2tsp sugar Method: 1. Blanch and peel the almonds. Slice them finely and keep aside. 2. Bring 4 C of water to a boil with the tea leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, saffron and sugar. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. 3. Strain into 4 cups, add finely sliced almonds and t- 0.7g; Mineral Tracserve. Nutritious Value: Calories-18Keal; Protein- 0.3g; Faes; Carbohydrates: 2.6g; “Spiced Tea”: Cut one sour lime in half and stud it all over with cloves. Place in a bowl and pour 4 cups of hot tea without milk or sugar. Allow to cool. Add sugar to taste. Chill before serving.