HATE EATING YOUR VEGGIES? TRY DRINKING THEM!...BENEFITS OF GREEN SMOOTHIES

Hello people. Trust your Saturday went well. Today, I finally got to visit a store I’ve been hearing about. It’s called “So Fresh Neighborhood Market”. I found their page on Instagram and was excited as I had no idea that a business like that existed in Nigeria. They retail whole fruits, vegetables, herbs, natural foods and they also create fresh juices and smoothies. I went in for two things, to get a green smoothie and to pick up some quinoa (oh yes…they have quinoa). Unfortunately, they had run out of quinoa, but I did get a smoothie. I had the “Island Burst” which was made up of spinach, bananas, orange, green apple and celery. I initially wanted something with Kale, but they were out of Kales, anyway, I was quite happy with my smoothie and would try to remake it at home, adding and subtracting some ingredients. If you are in Lagos and too busy to make a smoothie, “so fresh neighborhood market” is just a call way.

I had never been a fan of green smoothies. The thought of drinking spinach, or celery, or lettuce was simply yuck! That changed when I tried my first glass which had green apples, banana, kiwi and kale. Green smoothies have many health benefits, and can include spinach, lettuce, kale, and collard greens. Fruits like bananas, mangos, apples and pineapples can complement your veggie choice(s).

Consuming green smoothies is a good way to get vegetables in your diet. Vegetables are high in potassium, which can help lower blood pressure.

Green smoothies will provide you with a lasting source of energy. Fruits are a good source of energy, but eaten alone will only provide short bursts of energy. Because of their high content of vegetables, green smoothies have a balanced sugar content.

Unlike fruit juice or using a juicer, green smoothies use the whole fruit and vegetable so that you get all the fiber and nutrients. Fiber is essential for good colon health and it keeps your bowels in working order. Fiber also give you a full feeling, so you tend to eat less which make green smoothies a good choice if you’re trying to lose weight, green smoothies will help fight hunger and cravings.

When making your green smoothie, it is important to have a right balance of fruit and vegetables. Vegetables have an excellent amount of antioxidants and less sugar than fruits Here are a few links to recipes I found to help you create a cool glass of green smoothie.

/http://www.vegkitchen.com/

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/10-green-smoothie-recipes/

http://simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

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