I’ve been striving to drink green tea every day since I cut out espresso and just this past weekend I found a great recipe for grapefruit juice + pear for my juicer – will post the recipe soon. Who knew that things so yummy help with weight loss. But there’s more! The article said:

Grapefruit

Naringenin, a flavonoid in grapefruit, balances out blood sugar levels and helps to prevent metabolic syndrome, a pre-diabetic condition associated with weight gain around the waist. Scientists at the University of Western Ontario found it worked by programming the liver to burn up excess fat, rather than store it.

Asked to drink grapefruit juice before each meal, obese people lost 31/2-10lb over three months through this alone, according to a study at the University of California.

TIP: Begin your day with a glass of grapefruit juice to kick-start your liver into fat-burning mode. Preferably, fresh from a juicer!

Green tea

Green tea speeds up the rate your body burns cellular energy by up to 40 per cent, according to research reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The plant also increases the rate of fat burning. Researchers have found this effect is caused by the combination of caffeine and flavonoids found in the tea, whether it is drunk hot or cold.

TIP: Drink two to three cups a day to keep your metabolism in top gear.

Chilli Pepper

Capsaicin, the heat-producing molecule that gives chilli peppers their fiery edge, is thermogenic, meaning it speeds metabolism and heat production. Research has found that cells can burn up to 25 per cent more calories after a person has eaten chilli. Trials at Maastricht University found that chilli peppers also reduce appetite by suppressing hunger and prolonging the feeling of fullness.

TIP: Add some spice to light summery salads or to starters so that you eat less for your main meal.

Cinnamon

A Scandinavian study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when volunteers were given rice pudding with three grams of cinnamon, they produced less insulin after the meal. Because insulin is the hormone that turns excess sugar into fat, this means less weight gain. Furthermore, cinnamon may slow down emptying of the stomach, meaning it can make you feel fuller for longer.

TIP: Sprinkle cinnamon on your morning cereal and cappuccino to balance out your blood-sugar levels.

I love this little bugger, even though he barks at everything, I can’t imagine my life without the little guy <3

This is an easy and tasty juice to make. Just make sure you have fresh produce and a juicer for the job, a blender won’t due for this one we’re going to be juicing the rind and all.

Ingredients

• ½ cantaloupe (with rind)
• 1 apple
• 1 pear

How To Make

Simply throw the ingredients through your juicer, rind included on the melon. This has tons of vitamins that we normally don’t get from melons. No seeds though.

Enjoy!

Going “green” in my daily life also means trying to find some substitutions for indulgences. One of my favorite asian deserts is green tea ice cream. Now I know that ice cream is far from healthy so I figured I’d try my hand at sorbet for the first time. Without an ice cream machine, this may be a tedious process.

I found several sites with recipes, and choose this one.

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons good quality green tea
• 3/4 cup sugar

How To Make

Bring water to boil, add leaves, and remove from heat. Steep for 4 minutes.Add sugar and stir until dissolved.

Let cool on stove slightly, then chill tea, covered, until cold.

Freeze in freezer-proof container, stirring every 30 minute to an hour until near frozen. At about 3 hours in, pull it from the freezer and move the contents to a food processor or using a stem mixer, blast the sorbet smooth. Place back in the freezer until frozen, for up to a week.

No color gets better than this – pure, fresh, straight outta my juicer. Carrot Juice. Lekker!

This is a beautiful amuse and easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1 container fresh basil
• 1 small jar of kalamata olives without pit
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 8 half soup sticks
• 8 slices parmaham

How to Make

First, set aside 8 basil leaves to add when you assemble the glasses.

Make the tapanade: Combine the olives, basil, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt + pepper. Quick and easy!

Now let’s assemble! Drop this tapanade into several champagne glasses. Wrap the soup crackers with parmaham and place one basil leaf in the top.  Stick the sticks in the tapanade (you can most likely fit 3 sticks in each glass. and serve to your guests.

They will love it! Here’s what the finished product looks like.

Summer is on the way and with that comes fresh ingredients. That’s a key for high quality Gazpacho.

Here’s my quick recipe:

Ingredients

• 8 Roma tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cucumber
• 1 large spanish red pepper
• 1 lime
• Fresh cilantro
• Sale + Pepper to taste
• splash of extra virgin olive oil
• Tablespoon of tomato paste

Directions

Quarter the cucumber, pepper, onion and tomatoes and puree in a blender.

Add juice from 1 lime, salt/pepper, paste, and olive oil. Pulse a few more times until it’s smooth.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Serve soup in chilled bowls, garnish with chives or cilantro, and serve chopped vegetables and croutons as accompaniments.

An extra touch for presentation: add 1 ice cube to soup bowl just before serving. Can also be served in amuse glasses for a fresh taste to a summer get together.