Cold Weather – Hot Tea

With cold winds chilling even Dubai’s mild winter climate I made my favorite winter tea today. Something I only do back home in Bavaria, when it is “really” cold.
Maybe you also enjoy trying this recipe, regardless your location?

Apple Cranberry Tea
10 portions

What to Buy
4 red or yellow apples
1 organic lemon
5 gm ginger
15 gm cranberries
30 ml agave syrup
3 l water

How to Make It
Cut the apples in chunky pieces, leaving the skin on. Slice the ginger and lemon with their skin. Place the apples, cranberries, ginger, and lemon in a large pot, top with water and simmer on low heat for around 1 hour. Season with agave syrup to taste and strain before serving. You will see the tea being slightly thickened by the apples’ pectine.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
I often make this tea without cranberries, but with additional 1 quince, or some elderberries. Whatever is available. Also I sometimes replace the ginger with cinnamon stick.
Apples are rich in pectine and help to bind and flush out toxins. Ginger is great to strengthen immune power and aids digestion.
To learn more about cranberries please see also here.

Celery – a humble green vegetable for springtime juicing

I have a new favorite juice. It works magic. And it helps to reduce your craving for sweet food which can be contraproductive if you wish to loose weight.

I love this slightly salty, fresh, highly aromatic juice which holds plenty of health benefits. The crispy, yellowy-green celery stems are a perfect source of vitamin B1, B2, B6 and vitamin C with rich supplies of potassium, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, phosphorus,  and plenty essential amino acids. The important minerals in this juice balance the body’s blood pH, neutralizing acidity.

Stock up your fridge with:
• APPLES
• CELERY STICKS
• PINEAPPLES
• LEMON
• a small bottle of FLAXSEED OIL  (a very good source for omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids)

For 1 large glass of refreshing juice you need:
100 g pineapple, peeled
1 apple
4 sticks celery
½ lemon, peeled

Juice all ingredients. Stir in one teaspoon of flaxseed oil. Serve immediately.

Post-Festive Detox Juice

Now is the perfect time for a post-festive season detox!

While detoxifying the body once in a while on a regular basis helps to maintain good health and wellbeing in general, now, after feasting on rich Christmas and New Year’s buffets many of us make plans to cleansing the stressed cells. Here is one easy to-do tip that brings back radiant skin, good digestion, and energy!

Stock up your fridge with:

Apples: A flavonoid called phlorizin that is found only in apples may increase bone density. Boron, another ingredient in apples, strengthens bones. The pectin in apples helps maintain a healthy digestive tract. It also supplies galacturonic acid to the body which lowers the body’s need for insulin and may help in the management of diabetes. And pectin helps to lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

Green Papayas: Green papaya is naturally high in papain which is a digestive enzyme needed in the second phase of digestion in the small intestine. The green, unripe fruit is much higher in papain than mature papaya, although mature fruits are still a good source. The white sap in the green papaya is actually the papain. This enzyme dissolves toxins and mucus in the body when taken on an empty stomach.

Drink a freshly pressed apple and green papaya juice (use also the skin for juicing) every day in the morning on an empty stomach. After a few days you will be granted perfect digestion, some weight loss, smooth detoxification and radiant skin!