Tag: drink

carrot ginger creamy yoghurt smoothie
20Apr

Creamy orange and carrot smoothie

This smoothie has a great contrast of zing and cream as it blends carrot, ginger and Alpro yoghurt. I have never been a great veg eater, and although no longer as fussy as I used to be as a child (brocollini is now a staple), I often “forget” to add vegetables to my food.So I have decided to drink it! I have been using my Ninja nutri bullet blender everyday during lockdown to make what I call “smoothie snacks” (a good alternative to crisps, but the jury is still out on that).My recent favourite is this creamy orange and carrot smoothie. Ingredients:200ml orange juice1 small carrot, peeled and chopped100g alpro vanilla yoghurt1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped 1. Blend it all together (I also prefer to strain it for a smoother drink)Yep, that easy to get some vitamin c! Click here to explore other smoothie recipes.
1 min read
1539 Views
18Nov

Mood boosting iced tea with turmeric and chamomile

  Change can be a little scary. Last month I left my old job for a new role in a different hospital and trying  to fit into a new team comes with excitement but also challenges. I made this recipe a while back, when the stress from my old job reached its peak, giving me loads of sleep trouble, consequently making me so tired and the days unbearable. I tried Nytol, a herbal medicine but to no avail which led me to do some research on natural remedies. I had to give into the latest trend of putting turmeric on everything even though it has such a bitter after taste. There is extensive evidence (in rats and humans) that turmeric has a potential anti-anxiety effect. Research shows that anxiety negatively impacts on physical health and may damage brain cells and that adding turmeric to your diet may actually reverse this damage. If you would like to read more about it click here and here. So that is the star of the show. But we also have chamomile, which not only has anxiolitic propertie but also helps with insomina. I don’t enjoy hot drinks that much, not even in the winter
3 mins read
1248 Views
28Sep

Amaretto sour

I am not a big drinker, have never been, in Brazil growing up in family gathering everyone just seemed to drink beer. It was too hot for wine. Also soon after I became of legal age I moved to England so my experience of alcoholic drinks really started here. And to say the English enjoy alcohol is an understatement. In college the boys mainly stick to Ales, Lagers and Bitters while girls dilute the alcohol in shandies and spritzers and your good old alcopops. University was a bit more hardcore, people would buy cheap vodka and cheap wine and make all kinds of concoctions with cranberry juice and coke and get whole pitchers of Vodka Red Bull. Jack Daniels was an absolute treat at a house party.  Found a bit tough to fit in as I don’t particularly like the taste of alcohol, I find beer and wine unbearable and don’t even get me started on people drinking stuff neat. I was once flirting with a boy at a party and he thought of himself as a whisky connoisseur, when I showed disdain for the neat drink he started mixing it with apple juice and all sorts to show me how
3 mins read
594 Views
27Jun

Batida de coco

I feel that not a lot beats watching football with a great little snack by your side. However a special drink makes all the difference, it helps the most tense of hearts to relax which is no easy feat during the World Cup, these matches are tense! So this week our World Cup recipe is one that is very popular in Brazil, but not as well known abroad: Batida de coco, or coconut smoothie. Don’t know if smoothie is the right word as it contains a little booze, batida would be translated as beat or blitzed. I am pretty sure you’ve all heard that Brazil has some spectacular natural treasures, and when it comes to fruit there are just too many to name it, good news is I start to see them more and more in exotic fruit markets, and that is the case with the main ingredient today: fresh coconut. In the last few years fresh coconut, together with its water, has become the new super food for celebrities, but before that many only ever heard of shredded coconut and coconut milk. So if you ever walk by a market with exotic fruits try drinking the water from the
3 mins read
608 Views
20Jun

Mango Caipiroska

It has been a busy week, I have worked 40 hours on top of going to University (I am currently studying to become a nurse) and it was hard to juggle both, let alone think of a social life.  My long hours have meant I have missed a few of the world cup matches, thankfully I have caught glimpses of a few matches while some of my patients were watching it. I rushed home yesterday to catch the second half of the England match (they have a special place in my heart) and was so nervous watching it, almost as nervous when Brazil plays, but they disappointed me when they lost yesterday. But on a brighter note our Seleção has kept their momentum and I can’t wait for our game on Monday. This Caipiroska is the perfect drink for this coming week, not only because of its glorious colours (!) and I am so excited to tell you guys about it! Caipiroska is a vodka version of Caipirinha. For those who don’t know what Caipirinha is, it is one of Brazil’s biggest exports and my favourite drink. It is kinda like a Mojito but better (sorry, Cuba). It is made with Cachaça, a liquor made
3 mins read
790 Views