Raw Coconut-Creamsicle Smoothie - Fight that Cold & Cough!

I hope all of you are having a healthy winter so far.  Everywhere I go I hear people coughing and/or talking about being on antibiotics.  So far, I have been staying healthy this winter.  I have been focusing on a lot more raw foods and making sure I get plenty of green barley juice to strengthen my immune system.  I bought a big beautiful coconut and decided to create two recipes from it.  I am posting my original creation - Raw Coconut-Creamsicle Smoothie today and will post my recipes for chocolate pudding on Wednesday.  Both these recipes can be made from one coconut.  Having colds in mind, I tried to combine ingredients in this smoothie that will help you to recover quickly and relieve symptoms of your cold or flu. Read all the health information below and you will be amazed at what the ingredients will do to help you.  If you have never opened a young coconut, it is extremely easy and fun.  You can buy young coconuts at the health food store or at an Asian market.  At the Asian markets you can buy inexpensive (under $10.00) a cleaver knife that will help you to open the coconut. First wash your coconut. I then grab the cleaver with my right hand and hit the coconut with the lower edge of the knife all around the top of the coconut (see picture below), until it starts to break open. Keep your left hand out of the way while you are doing this. You then lift the lid you have created, pour out the coconut water, and scrape out all the young coconut meat with a spoon. Some people like to remove some of the outer shell of the coconut before starting to hit it with the cleaver, but I actually skipped this step and it opened right up for me.  Once I remove the coconut meat, I usually rinse the pieces to remove any part of the shell.  I was able to get about 2 1/2 cups of coconut water and about 1 good sized cup of coconut meat from my young coconut, but this varies with the size of your coconut.  When picking out your coconut make sure the coconut has a hard bottom, as few imperfections as possible and when you shake it, you don't hear any water moving around.  This means you have a nice sealed and sterile coconut. You will use the coconut water in your smoothies and the the coconut meat for the chocolate pudding recipe I am posting on Wednesday. I hope you enjoy the recipes and are staying healthy!!  Make sure you get enough rest every night and stay away from refined foods.

Young Coconut Water is an antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral, which means you can help reduce the effect of colds, and the flu by drinking it. This drink is high in potassium. Potassium is our central electrolyte which regulates so many of the bodily functions. Drinking coconut water will certainly help your potassium levels providing 294 mg per serving.You will also be amazed to know that through drinking one cup of coconut water, you'll receive over 2.5 grams of fiber.

Pineapple has Bromelain - The "Magic" Ingredient Found Only in Pineapples and Papayas
This tropical fruit is just one of two fruits found on the planet that contains Bromelain. Pineapple juice contains an enzyme called Bromelain. It's health benefits are numerous:
1. It's effective in reducing the body aches and pains you may feel when you have a cold.
2. Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory. It kills bad bacteria and fights infections. Drinking pineapple juice when you have a cold will help soothe and heal a sore throat and reduce swollen glands.
3. Pineapple juice helps to thin mucus and congestion so your body can expel it easier. The bromelain helps calm annoying coughs as well.
4. Drink pineapple juice when you have a cold and it will help settle a nauseous stomach.
5. Pineapple juice has also been used to treat other respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, hay fever, asthma and pneumonia.

Mandarin Oranges - The USDA tested mandarins from 10 different micro climates in Placer County and found that they contain six to seven times the amount of synephrine, a naturally occurring decongestant, than other citrus fruits.

Lemon has been used as a medicinal treatment since the days of ancient Rome. Lemon juice has been used as a cold remedy for ages. The lemon contains over eighty percent of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C. This is from the juice of one lemon! Vitamin C has been shown to boost the immune system. When more white blood cells are present to fight infection, the life of the offending virus is cut short.

Bananas are high in magnesium, a mineral that may help fight off colds and flu.  Stress hormones drain magnesium from the immune systems cells and impair their ability to fight off viral invaders.

The young Thai coconut I purchased! Beautiful white coconut meat and lots of water.

Save your coconut meat and use it for your chocolate pudding. Watch for recipe this week.

 Raw Coconut-Creamsicle Smoothie
Printable Recipe
Serves 2

1 cup young coconut water
2 lemons (juiced)
1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
1 banana
3 mandarin oranges (peeled)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup ice


Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy!!

Raw Jicama Chili Fries

I absolutely love these delicious Jicama Chili Fries. Jicama (pronounced \ˈhē-kə-mə\ is a a pale brown turnip with a crisp sweet taste. It is the tuberous root of a tropical American vine (Pachyrhizus erosus) of the legume family that is eaten raw or cooked.  The Jicama originated in Mexico. You can find jicamas in most stores. I only used one jicama to produce this big bowl of fries!  Jicama health benefits are numerous! It is low in calories and an excellent source of fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, and vitamins C and E. In fact, 1 cup of jicama contains nearly 6 grams of fiber. Jicama helps keep your cholesterol levels under control and may help protect against heart disease. Eating jicama also helps boost your immune system, promote healthy bones, and protect you against colds and flu - all great reasons for enjoying jicama.  You will love these!

Raw Jicama Chili Fries
Printable Recipe

1 large jicama
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp. sea salt

1.)  Peel and slice jicama into french fry shapes.  Coat well with 1 tsp. olive oil.  Add chili powder, nutritional yeast and salt.  Mix well and serve.

Winter Asparagus-Fennel Soup

This is an incredibly good soup for preventing and fighting a flu or cold. It also tastes sooo....delicious. The detoxing effects of asparagus, the anti-septic & anti-bacterial effects of onion and fennel's ability to help with respiratory disorders such congestion, bronchitis and cough, make it a SUPER SOUP!! I added brown rice as an excellent source of all-around nutrition. If you have never tried fennel, it is delicious and has a very slight licorice aroma and taste.  The fronds look a lot like dill.

Asparagus has an abundance of an amino acid called asparagine, that helps to cleanse the body of waste material. As a result, some people have smelly urine after eating asparagus. Don't worry if this happens to you. Just be glad that your kidney's are functioning as they should. It is believed that most people produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but only about 22% of the population have the genes required to smell them. Very interesting:) 

NOTE: According to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC), the founding father of natural medicine, the first and foremost principle of medicine must be to respect nature’s healing forces, which inhabit each living organism. Hippocrates considered illness a natural phenomenon that forced people to discover the imbalances in their health. He strongly believed in good food and related the course of any ailment to poor nutrition and bad eating habits. He stressed, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food"–advice that I believe in.



Fennel Bulb



Winter Asparagus-Fennel Soup

Printable Recipe

1 fennel bulb plant
1 bunch of asparagus
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 extra-large yellow onion
1/2 cup brown rice
4 cups (no salt added) vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk
2 tsp. sea salt or to taste (start with 1 tsp.)
freshly ground pepper, to taste.

1.)  Remove the fennel fronds from the bulb and stems.  Mince fronds to equal 1/2-3/4 cup.  Slice the fennel bulb and the stems into chunks.

2.) Cut 1 1/2 inches off the asparagus tips.  Cut remainder of asparagus into small chunks.

3.)  Slice onion into chunks.

4.)  Add 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil to large soup pot.  Add in all vegetables and saute for 5 minutes.  Remove asparagus tips and set aside.

5.)  Add brown rice and broth to soup pot.  Cover and simmer over low for 30-40 minutes.

6.)  Puree small batches of soup in blender until very smooth.  Return to soup pot.

7.)  Add almond milk, asparagus tips and the fennel fronds to the soup.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

8.)  ENJOY good health!!