Power of Beetroot

Did you enjoy the Christmas and New Year festivities? Are you feeling that you may have slightly definitely over-indulged? I love juices for their pure properties, and the following juice is a sure way to help your body get rid of toxins and repair itself. Beetroot and Lemon work well together as a detox blend, but PLEASE note the details below on the power of Beetroot, to make sure this Juice is suitable for you.

Beet & Lemon Juice Detox

• 1/2 small beet
  Handful of beet greens
  1/2 fresh lemon
  4 dandelion leaves
  2 cored apples with skin
  1 inch fresh ginger
  1 cup distilled water
  Preblend the beet in a blender or food processor, then add other ingredients. Strain liquified ingredients through a cheesecloth until smooth. Drink this detoxifying juice as a breakfast substitute. The recipe makes one serving.

Important 

Beets are probably one of the most powerful vegetables available. Beets are known for causing both stools and urine to turn red and if this happens, don't be surprised.

Never drink beet juice by itself. Beet juice should always be mixed with other vegetables and/or apple juice. Pure beet juice (from the bulb or greens) can temporarily paralyze your vocal chords, make you break out in hives, increase your heart rate, cause chills or a fever.
Beets are best used in small amounts. I never use more than 1 to 2 ounces of beet juice (approximately ½ a small beet or ¼ a large beet).
Use moderately. Both the roots and greens are powerful cleansers of the body. Beets are said to really cleanse the blood and kidneys and this is why it is suggested you use beets moderately.
Beets (including beet greens) are high in oxalic acid and therefore should be avoided by those who suffer from or are at risk for kidney stones, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and those whose stomach is easily irritated.
Since beets are high in oxalic acid, you should also avoid combining beets with other vegetables that are high in calcium, such as broccoli. Oxalic acid combines with calcium to create an indigestible compound. You should also avoid eating calcium rich food immediately after eating or juicing beets or any food high in oxalic acid. This includes foods like tofu.

Instructions

• Wash beets thoroughly.
• Peel the outer layer of skin from the beets using a vegetable peeler.
•  Chop beets into pieces that are small enough to fit into the juicer.
•  Juice the beets.
•  Mix the beet juice with the juice of other vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, spinach, garlic, 

How to choose a winning cocktail

I could spend hours gazing at a cocktail menu. There are always so many choices, with mouthwatering ingredients, fantastic names and bright, glossy pictures. So... how do you choose?

For me, personally, the choice has to meet certain criteria, like:

• it must not contain an ingredient that I do not like
• the name must have a little class to it. I am not tempted to drink something that sounds like it has been scooped out of a sewer pit.
• the description on the menu must flow, and be swimming with tempting words
• it should be made with good, fresh ingredients

 There are other bonus factors that go with a cocktail, that increases it's chances of being on the winning list, like:

• something cute or tasty used as decoration to finish the cocktail
• some fancy bar tending skills used when the cocktail is made
• a hot, hot bartender making the cocktail
• when he leans over the bar to whisper "that's on the house". Wink, wink.

So, to put this to the test I would grab the menu for Shrub Cocktails Unique to Lumia.

Although the choice was a tough one, given the great range, I would say my favourite would be
 Strawberry Shiraz Cobbler
Makers Mark shaken with orange chunks, red wine ‘burnt orange and pink peppercorn shrub’ and strawberry liqueur.

The ingredients sound lush, the description sounds very tempting and classy.

After this I may have to try another to make sure I'd chosen correctly.

Now one would hope that when I got to Lumia, at The Crown, Melbourne, that they have a hot, hot bartender waiting to take my order, shake it with all he's got.

Can anyone confirm they have been to Lumia and that he does exist?

The perfect juice to put sunshine into the day

Today I picked up some great fruit at a great price. Perfect for making our own vitamin-rich juice at home. This juice is refreshing, and has a good bite to it, but is not sickly sweet.

Number 59 on my 2012 To Do List  is to make great juice with my new Breville Juicer, and since this juice qualified; here it is.

My idea of great juice is:

• fruit/veg that is in season, and therefore, cheap

• juice that is full of vitamins

• juice that tastes good

My ingredients today were:
1 bag of Oranges
1/2 pineapple
1/4 watermelon
2 apples

I have learned some great tips from playing with my juicer that are worth sharing.

Purchase a juicer that has a motor with a bit of grunt. You want to be able to throw in an whole apple and just do the minimum preparation.

Your juicer will come with a small jug to collect the juice as it is is extracted. This jug will hold small quantities, but if you working with quantities such as I have above, then you need a bottle or jug ready to pour the juice into.

Keep a cloth close by. This is sticky business.

Rinse your Juicer parts straight after finishing. This makes the cleanup process so much easier, than waiting until the juice and pith have dried on your parts.


Most juices will always taste better chilled.

The pith that is separated from the juice is great for several uses. Add it to your breakfast, add it to your cooking, or eat with yoghurt.