Keeping cool and healthy – healthy chocolate smoothie!

Three treats for you: a cooling summer cordial, a wonderful and healthy chocolate smoothie and good news on white tea.

Summer cordial first as I have passed on this recipe to several friends and it is ideal if you are bored with drinking plain water but you want to keep up your fluid intake in this hot weather. This is a very flexible recipe and you can vary it to suit your taste, I prefer it slightly more astringent than sweet as it’s more refreshing, but you experiment:

In a jug mix together juice of 1 lemon, large glass fruit juice such as apple or cranberry (not orange!) a mug of green (or white) tea steeped until cold, slug of high juice cordial such as apple or elderflower (not sugar free or with any sweeteners in it). Mix and chill then dilute to taste with still or sparkling water – 50/50 is what I use but you may prefer it stronger. I match the fruit juice to the cordial for best effect so apple and elderflower or cranberry juice and red fruit cordial and undiluted it makes a lovely mix for Pimms or white rum for a long drink.

You will see I mentioned white tea in that recipe, it has similar antioxidant levels to green tea, and new research from Germany shows that it has possible anti-obesity effects based on a series of experiments on human fat cells, known as adipocytes. An extract of the tea inhibits the production and growth of new adipocytes and stimulates fat mobilization from mature fat cells. So if your fat cells are as mature as mine you could try making that cordial with white tea and see what happens!

Healthy Chocolate Vanilla Smoothie Recipe

This recipe comes from Dr Kim and if you are a regular smoothie maker you will know that it works best with frozen fruit not ice. I buy frozen berries by the bagful for mine, but this recipe needs a little forward planning as you have to freeze a couple of bananas – easier if you peel and cut them into slices first!

This recipe tastes wonderful, and is rich in flavonoids, which are phytonutrients that can help keep your cardiovascular system healthy as you age. So make two and get even younger:

In a blender combine two handfuls of frozen sliced bananas, 1 flat tablespoon of raw, organic chocolate powder, few drops of vanilla essence to taste (or use vanilla bean specks from one whole vanilla bean) and enough milk to submerge about 3/4 of the banana slices in liquid if you want a very thick smoothie, or cover them completely for a more drinkable version.   Healthiest options here are soy, almond, cashew, rice, or oat milk rather than dairy, and you will find them in the supermarket or health store.

Article by AnnA